Psalm 72:16-18

The Voice

¹⁶Let grain grow plentifully in this land of promise,
let it sway in the breeze on the hilltops,
let it grow strong as do the cedars of Lebanon,

Woven throughout the psalms are songs describing and praising those anointed as kings over God’s people. Psalm 2, one of the introductory psalms, describes the king as the son of God, the ruler of nations, and the anointed one. During the monarchical period in Israel, psalms like these were tied to the kings themselves, idealizing them as perfectly just and righteous and victorious. But during the exile, God’s exiled people longed for freedom and the implications of these songs began to change. Many Jews began to interpret these psalms as referring to a coming ruler, a Davidic king who would usher in an eternal kingdom and perfect peace. This hope was realized in Jesus. So this is why the earliest followers of Jesus went back to the psalms again and again. They found within many of the psalms, the story of Jesus anticipated and celebrated.

And may those who live in the city bloom and flourish
    just as the grass of the fields and meadows.
¹⁷May his name live on forever
    and his reputation grow for as long as the sun gives light.
May people from all nations find in him a blessing;
    may all peoples declare him blessed.