In ending this history, we would like to set two Psalms before our readers, one of them having Solomon as its subject, and the other composed by him. We would run out of space were we to attempt to set forth the wisdom of Solomon in the various writings of which he is the inspired author. We shall therefore limit ourselves to this short appendix.
Psalm 72 is a psalm “concerning Solomon”: human reason at first glance may even doubt that this psalm is prophetic and applies to the reign of Christ, since so many of the details apply so exactly to that of Solomon. “And he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth. The dwellers in the desert shall bow before him, and his enemies shall lick the dust. The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall render presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer tribute: Yea, all kings shall bow down before him; all nations shall serve him” (Psa. 72:8-11). “And he shall live; and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba; and prayer shall be made for him continually: all the day shall he be blessed” (Psa. 72:15). As to his character: “He will judge thy people with righteousness, and thine afflicted with judgment” (Psa. 72:2). As to the blessings of his reign: “In his days shall the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace till the moon be no more” (Psa. 72:7). “There shall be abundance of corn in the earth, upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon; and they of the city shall bloom like the herb of the earth” (Psa. 72:16). “All nations shall call him blessed” (Psa. 72:17).
Truly, there is scarcely one characteristic feature of that reign with which we have been occupied missing here. Nevertheless we find one thing that is not mentioned in Solomon’s reign: grace. That is why, too, this reign speaks less to our heart and conscience than that of David does. Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of the lilies of the field. His glory speaks less to the soul than the tender care of a father for his children and the grace with which his love overwhelms them. We find this stream of grace, which characterized David much more than it did Solomon, throughout our psalm.
We must therefore look to Him who will unite in His person the characters attributed to these two men of God in order to understand the millennial reign of the Messiah. His reign of righteousness will not only surpass Solomon’s reign, so miserably interrupted, by its splendor and its length, for they shall fear Him “as long as sun and moon endure, from generation to generation” (Psa. 72:5), and there shall be “abundance of peace till the moon be no more” (Psa. 72:7); but it shall begin as that of Solomon never began: “He shall come down like rain on the mown grass” (Psa. 72:6), bringing heavenly blessing there where judgment has done its work and has left nothing to harvest. Under His gentle influence a new harvest shall spring up. David had predicted this of One greater than his son: “From the sunshine, after rain, the green grass springeth from the earth” (2 Sam. 23:4). Observe this character of grace in our psalm bringing compassion, deliverance, and salvation, in order to bring out the afflicted from under the yoke of the oppressor: “He will judge... thine afflicted with rectitude” (Psa. 72:2, margin). “He will do justice to the afflicted of the people; he will save the children of the needy, and will break in pieces the oppressor” (Psa. 72:4). “For he will deliver the needy who crieth, and the afflicted, who hath no helper” (Psa. 72:12). “He will have compassion on the poor and needy, and will save the souls of the needy” (Psa. 72:13). “He will redeem their souls from oppression and violence, and precious shall their blood be in his sight” (Psa. 72:14). It is this that will give its incomparable stamp to Christ’s glorious reign, as it is said again: “I will satisfy her needy ones with bread” (Psa. 132:15). Thus thought the rejected Messiah here on earth when He fed the multitudes, and if the people would have had Him, He would have manifested Himself as the Messiah entering into His reign. But when He shall take His power to Himself and shall shine upon the earth as the Sun of Righteousness, He will rejoice in the work of His grace and will bring healing in His wings.
Psalm 127 is the only psalm of which Solomon actually is the author. He speaks of the house, the great object of his reign; but he announces a future time when men shall turn to building it and to laboring in vain, to watching in vain to keep the city from the enemy. Such a thing never took place under his scepter. That which Solomon established of course was not final; that which men shall set up will be even less so. But the time will come when Jehovah Himself will build the house and keep the city. Then His Beloved shall at last find “sleep,” that rest of which it is said: “He will rest in his love” (Zeph. 3:17). Then shall He have children as “an inheritance from Jehovah,” a new people; “from the womb of the morning shall come to thee the dew of thy youth” (Psa. 110:3). Then shall He be called happy.
Solomon, just like David, looks on to Christ. Each of them knows that he cannot be that righteous ruler over men. Both of them rejoice to see their dignity conferred upon Him who will never use it except for the glory of God.