The Necessary End: The Doxology of Dominion Text: Psalm 72:18-19
Introduction: The Non-Negotiable Conclusion
We live in an age of profound theological confusion, which is to say, we live in an age of profound confusion about everything. When a culture loses its grip on the first things, it necessarily loses its grip on all the subsequent things. And the first thing, the foundational thing, is the nature and character of God. All our debates about politics, ethics, art, and education are downstream from our doctrine of God. Get God wrong, and you will get everything else wrong. And one of the chief ways we get God wrong is by refusing to follow the logic of Scripture to its appointed, glorious, and earth-shattering conclusion.
Psalm 72 is a messianic psalm. It is a prayer of David, for his son Solomon, but it is a prayer that bursts the seams of Solomon's own reign and finds its ultimate fulfillment only in the Lord Jesus Christ. The psalm describes a king who will have dominion from sea to sea, who will judge the poor with righteousness, and before whom all nations will bow down. It is a portrait of the victorious reign of Christ in history. And after this magnificent description of Christ's global kingdom, the psalm concludes not with a whimper, but with a bang. It concludes with a doxology, a burst of high praise that serves as the capstone for the entire second book of the Psalms.
These two verses are not a polite "thank you" tacked on at the end. They are the necessary, logical, and inevitable result of understanding who God is and what He is doing in the world. Doxology is not an optional add-on for the emotionally inclined. Doxology is the only sane response to reality. When you see God for who He is, the only thing to do is bless His name. These verses, therefore, are a potent corrective to the pinched, pessimistic, and retreatist eschatology that has infected so much of the modern church. This is not a description of a kingdom that is failing, but of a kingdom that is inexorably advancing until it fills the whole earth.
This doxology is a declaration of war against all gloom. It is a stake driven into the heart of every form of godlessness and despair. It teaches us where history is going, and it teaches us what our response ought to be as we watch it get there.
The Text
Blessed be Yahweh God, the God of Israel,
Who alone works wondrous deeds.
And blessed be His glorious name forever;
And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen, and Amen.
(Psalm 72:18-19 LSB)
The Source of All Blessing (v. 18)
The doxology begins by identifying the one who is to be blessed.
"Blessed be Yahweh God, the God of Israel, Who alone works wondrous deeds." (Psalm 72:18)
The first thing to notice is that God is the one being blessed. "Blessed be Yahweh." This is covenant language. When we bless God, we are not adding anything to Him that He lacks. God is not deficient, waiting for our praise to top Him off. Rather, to bless God is to confess and declare His supreme worthiness. It is to speak the truth about Him with joy and adoration. It is to acknowledge Him as the fountainhead from which all blessings flow. We bless Him because He has first blessed us.
He is identified in three ways. He is Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God who revealed His personal name to His people. He is God, Elohim, the transcendent Creator of all things. And He is the God of Israel, the God who is not a distant, abstract principle, but who has bound Himself in a covenant relationship to a particular people in a particular place. This is the Triune God of the Bible, not the generic deity of the philosophers.
And the basis for this blessing is declared: He "alone works wondrous deeds." This is a statement of absolute sovereignty and exclusive power. In a world full of idols, false gods, and strutting human potentates, the psalmist declares that only Yahweh does wonders. Men can build impressive buildings, armies can win impressive victories, and politicians can make impressive speeches. But only God can create out of nothing. Only God can part a sea. Only God can raise the dead. His deeds are in a category all by themselves. The word for "wondrous" points to things that are miraculous, extraordinary, and beyond all human explanation.
The ultimate "wondrous deed" is the work of redemption. The exodus was a wonder. The incarnation of the Son of God was a wonder. The cross was a wonder. The resurrection was a wonder. The salvation of a single sinner is a wonder. God does not delegate His wonders. He does not farm out His miracles. He alone is the author of salvation, from beginning to end. This is why He alone is worthy of all blessing. If we contributed one iota to our salvation, then we could take some of the credit. But because He alone works these wonders, He alone gets all the glory.
The Goal of All History (v. 19a)
The doxology continues, expanding from the doer of the deeds to the name of the doer, and from the present to eternity.
"And blessed be His glorious name forever; And may the whole earth be filled with His glory." (Psalm 72:19)
We are to bless "His glorious name forever." In Scripture, a name is not a mere label. It represents the character, reputation, and authority of the person. To bless God's name is to bless Him for who He has revealed Himself to be. His name is glorious because His character is glorious. It is a name full of grace, mercy, justice, holiness, and power. And this blessing is not a temporary affair. It is to be "forever." Our praise in this life is just a warm-up for the eternal anthem of the new creation.
But then comes the great petition, which is also a great prophecy: "And may the whole earth be filled with His glory." This is the goal of all creation, all of history, and all of redemption. This is where everything is headed. This is not wishful thinking. This is a prayer that is in perfect accord with the revealed will of God. God Himself has sworn an oath to this very end. As He told Moses, "But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD" (Numbers 14:21). The prophet Habakkuk echoes this: "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea" (Habakkuk 2:14).
This is the engine of a robust, optimistic, postmillennial eschatology. The mission of the church is not to conduct a frantic, last-minute evacuation from a sinking ship. The mission of the church is to be the instrument through which God fulfills this great promise. The Great Commission is the battle plan for filling the earth with God's glory. Through the preaching of the gospel, the discipling of the nations, and the application of God's law to every area of life, the glory of God, which is the revelation of His character, progressively fills the entire world.
His glory fills the earth when families are ordered according to His Word. His glory fills the earth when businesses operate with justice and integrity. His glory fills the earth when civil magistrates rule as servants of God. His glory fills the earth when artists create beauty that reflects His own creativity. This is not a spiritualized, ethereal glory that has nothing to do with dirt, and politics, and economics. It is a comprehensive glory that claims every square inch of the cosmos for Christ.
The Covenantal Affirmation (v. 19b)
The psalm concludes with a double, emphatic seal of agreement.
"Amen, and Amen." (Psalm 72:19)
The word "Amen" is a Hebrew word that means "truly," "so be it," or "let it be firm." It is a declaration of faith. It is to hear the promises of God and to respond, "Yes, I believe it. I affirm it. I stake my life on it." To say Amen is to add your personal signature to the truth of God's Word. It is a word of confidence and unwavering conviction.
And here, the psalmist doubles it for emphasis. "Amen, and Amen." This is not a sign of doubt, as though he needs to say it twice to convince himself. It is a sign of overflowing certainty. It is the hearty affirmation of a man who has seen the King in His beauty and knows, with every fiber of his being, that this glorious future is as certain as God's own existence. It is the response of the church militant as she looks to her triumphant future.
The first "Amen" looks back at the declaration. "Blessed be Yahweh God... who alone does wonders." Amen! That is true. He is the only wonder-working God. The second "Amen" looks forward to the petition and promise. "May the whole earth be filled with His glory." Amen! Let it be so. It shall be so. This is our confidence. This is our hope. This is our marching order.
Conclusion: Your Place in the Doxology
So what does this mean for us? It means that our lives are to be caught up in this great cosmic doxology. We were created to bless God and to be instruments by which His glory fills the earth. Every act of obedience, every word of witness, every prayer offered in faith is a participation in this grand project.
You are not a meaningless accident in a random universe. You are a creature made by the wonder-working God, saved by His wondrous grace, and commissioned to extend His wondrous glory. Your personal story only makes sense when it is plugged into His global story. The goal of your sanctification is not simply your own private holiness; it is to make the glory of God more visible in your particular corner of the earth.
When you are tempted to despair over the state of the world, when you see the apparent triumphs of wickedness, you must return to this text. You must plant your feet on the bedrock of God's promise. The outcome is not in doubt. The earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord. History is not a random series of unfortunate events. It is the unfolding of God's eternal decree, and it culminates in global worship.
Therefore, we must learn to pray this prayer. We must learn to live this prayer. And we must learn to end all our prayers, and all our endeavors, with this unshakable, world-conquering confidence. Blessed be God. May His glory fill the earth. Amen, and Amen.