Psalm 72:19

And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

72:18-20 We are taught to bless God in Christ, for all he has done for us by him. David is earnest in prayer for the fulfilment of this prophecy and promise. It is sad to think how empty the earth is of the glory of God, how little service and honour he has from a world to which he is so bountiful. May we, like David, submit to Christ's authority, and partake of his righteousness and peace. May we bless him for the wonders of redeeming love. May we spend our days, and end our lives, praying for the spread of his gospel.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

And blessed be his glorious name for ever - The name by which he is known - referring perhaps particularly to his name "Yahweh." Still the prayer would be, that all the names by which he is known, all by which he has revealed himself, might be regarded with veneration always and everywhere.

And let the whole earth be filled with his glory - With the knowledge of himself; with the manifestations of his presence; with the influences of his religion. Compare Numbers 14:21. This prayer was especially appropriate at the close of a psalm designed to celebrate the glorious reign of the Messiah. Under that reign the earth will be, in fact, filled with the glory of God; the world will be a world of glory. Assuredly all who love God, and who love mankind, all who desire that God may be honored, and that the world may be blessed and happy, will unite in this fervent prayer, and reecho the hearty "Amen and amen" of the psalmist.

Amen, and amen - So be it. Let this occur. Let this time come. The expression is doubled to denote intensity of feeling. It is the going out of a heart full of desire that this might be so.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

18, 19. These words close the Psalm in terms consistent with the style of the context, while Ps 72:20 is evidently, from its prosaic style, an addition for the purpose above explained [see on [608]Ps 72:1].

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Heb. the whole earth shall be filled with his glory. For this may be either a prayer for or a prophecy of the spreading of the true religion in the Gentile world; which evidently relates to Christ and his kingdom.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And blessed be his glorious name for ever,.... Every name of Christ is glorious in itself, and precious to his people; "like ointment poured forth", as his name Messiah, to which the allusion is in Sol 1:3; his name Immanuel, God with us, Isaiah 7:14; Jehovah our righteousness, Jeremiah 23:6; Jesus a Saviour; as well as what belongs to his royal dignity, King of kings, and Lord of lords; a name above every name that is named in this world, or that to come;

and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; as it will be, when his kingdom shall be from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth; when the little stone cut out without hands shall become a great mountain, and fill the whole earth; when the Gospel shall be spread all over the world; and the earth be filled with the knowledge of Christ, by means of it, as the waters cover the sea; and when all nations shall come and worship before him.

Amen, and Amen; which word added is expressive of the desires of the psalmist, that all that he had said might come to pass; and of his faith, that so it would be: and it is repeated to show the vehemence of his desires, and the strength of his faith.

Geneva Study Bible

And blessed be his glorious name for ever: and let the whole earth be filled with his glory; Amen, and Amen.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

19. his glorious name] Lit. the name of his glory, as in Nehemiah 9:5. Cp the similar phrase in 1 Chronicles 29:13; Isaiah 63:14. The Name of His glory is the compendious expression for the Majesty of His Being, as it is revealed to men.

and let the whole earth &c.] From Numbers 14:21.

Amen, and Amen] So it is: the response of the congregation, affirming the ascription of praise on their own behalf (Psalm 106:48; Nehemiah 8:6).

Psalm 72:19

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Closing Beracha of the Second Book of the Psalter. It is more full-toned than that of the First Book, and God is intentionally here called Jahve Elohim the God of Israel because the Second Book contains none but Elohim-Psalms, and not, as there, Jahve the God of Israel. "Who alone doeth wonders" is a customary praise of God, Psalm 86:10; Psalm 136:4, cf. Job 9:8. שׁם כּבודו is a favourite word in the language of divine worship in the period after the Exile (Nehemiah 9:5); it is equivalent to the שׁם כּבוד מלכוּתו in the liturgical Beracha, God's glorious name, the name that bears the impress of His glory. The closing words: and let the whole earth be full, etc., are taken from Numbers 14:21. Here, as there, the construction of the active with a double accusative of that which fills and that which is to be filled is retained in connection with the passive; for כבודו is also accusative: let be filled with His glory the whole earth (let one make it full of it). The אמן coupled by means of Waw is, in the Old Testament, exclusively peculiar to these doxologies of the Psalter.