The Majestic Reign of the Messiah
V. 13. He shall spare, have pity on, the poor and needy and shall save the souls of the needy, delivering them from the damnation which threatens them.
V. 14. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence, the word here used being the standing term of the Old Testament for redemption and deliverance of every kind; and precious shall their blood be in His sight, valuing their lives so highly that He pays the high price of His own blood for their redemption. Moreover, it is true in general that God will not forsake His children, even if the enmity of the world reaches the point where the blood of the believers is shed on account of their testimony of the truth. In life and in death Christ is their Redeemer, and He will finally avenge the blood of His children. Since these conditions obtain, therefore the kingdom of Christ will surely spread and extend over many nations.
V. 15. And He shall live, the Possessor and the Giver of life, and to Him shall be given of the gold of Sheba, of the wealth of Arabia Felix, this being taken to represent the gifts of men as they throng to do homage to the Messiah. Prayer also shall be made for Him continually, in a service of worship before Him, which shall continue throughout eternity; and daily shall He be praised, the righteous blessing His name for the rich gifts of His grace. And now, with a glance at Canaan in the glory of its earthly products, Solomon speaks of the kingdom of Christ in terms of this rich plenty.
V. 16. There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains, that is, the spiritual offspring of the Messiah will be as abundant as the grain of the lowlands, which clothed even the hills to their very tops; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon, as the proud and mighty cedars of Lebanon; and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth, literally, “and they shall thrive from out the city as the grass of the earth,” budding forth and bearing blossoms and fruit in rich and luscious abundance, for such are the conditions which obtain in Christ’s Kingdom of Grace.
V. 17. His name shall endure forever, exist, maintain itself, throughout eternity; His name shall be continued as long as the sun, or, “before the sun will flourish, propagate, His name.” Wherever the Church is established, it grows from generation to generation through the power of His Word. It is for this reason that the name of the Messiah will last throughout eternity, the Church Militant merging into the Church Triumphant; as long as the sun continues in his course, His name will be proclaimed and bring forth fruit in abundance. And men shall be blessed in Him, blessing themselves in Him, calling themselves happy, fortunate, beyond description in the possession of His grace; all nations shall call Him blessed, praising the Lord Yahweh for all His wondrous deeds for the salvation of the world.
In view of these unspeakably glorious facts which have been set forth briefly in his hymn, the inspired poet closes with a doxology: v. 18. Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things, all glory and honor being given to Him alone; v. 19. and blessed be His glorious name, Himself with all His divine attributes, as He has revealed Himself to men in His Word, forever; and let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen.
As the Word of God had its course here in time, being proclaimed in every part of the earth, so the heavens will resound with the praises of His glory throughout eternity. This is most certainly true.
The psalm closes with a note of the men who collected this second book of the psalter: v. 20. The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended, this remark being apparently attached to an original collection of David’s hymns.