Fathers

Psalms 72

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Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king's son. He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment. The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the little hills, by righteousness. He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure, throughout all generations. He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass: as showers that water the earth. In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him; and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents: the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him. For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper. He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence: and precious shall their blood be in his sight. And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised. There shall be an handful of corn in the earth upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon: and they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth. His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed. Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things. And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen. The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

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What the Fathers say

Psalms 72:17

Eastern Fathers

Athanasius of Alexandria

And if, as David says in the seventy-first [LXX] psalm, "His name remains before the sun and before the moon, from one generation to another," how did he receive what he always had, even before he now received it? Or how is he exalted, being before his exaltation the Most High? Or how did he receive the right of being worshiped, who before he now received it, was always worshiped? It is not an obscure saying but a divine mystery. …

Discourses Against the Arians 1.11.41 ↗

Justin Martyr

And as they kept silence, I went on: "[The Scripture], speaking by David about this Christ, my friends, said no longer that `in His seed' the nations should be blessed, but `in Him.' So it is here: `His name shall rise up for ever above the sun; and in Him shall all nations be blessed.' But if all nations are blessed in Christ, and we of all nations believe in Him, then He is indeed the Christ, and we are those blessed by Him. …

Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter CXXI ↗

Western Saints

Augustine of Hippo

"Be," therefore, "the name of Him blessed for ever: before the sun endures the name of Him" [Psalm 72:17]. By the sun times are signified. Therefore for everlasting endures the name of Him. For eternity does precede times, and is not bounded by time. "And there shall be blessed in Him all the tribes of the earth." For in Him is fulfilled that which has been promised to Abraham. …

Exposition on Psalm 72 ↗

Hilary of Poitiers

But He Who is before the heaven, which in your view is even before time, is also before the ages. Nor is He merely before the ages, but also before the generations of generations which precede the ages. Why do you limit things divine and infinite by what is perishable and earthly and narrow? With regard to Christ, Paul knows of nothing except an eternity of times. Wisdom does not say that it is after anything, but before everything. …

On The Trinity 12:34 ↗

Bonaventure

To Him are referred all the eloquent sayings of Scriptural wisdom, as for instance those of Solomon and others. And yet the Jews understand as applying to Solomon what is said of Christ in the Psalm: "Fairer in beauty are you than the sons of men; grace is poured out upon your lips." Solomon was not like that. And again, "May his name be blessed forever."

Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 3 ↗