Psalms 72:16

“There shall be an handful of corn, etc.] By which are not meant the people of Christ, compared to corn, or wheat, in distinction from hypocrites, said to be as chaff, (<400212>Matthew 2:12); who are but few, yet fruitful and flourishing; nor the Gospel, so called in opposition to the chaff of false doctrine, (<242328>Jeremiah 23:28); nor the blessings of grace, signified by corn, wine, and oil, (<243112>Jeremiah 31:12); but Christ, who compares himself to a corn of wheat, (<431224>John 12:24); for its choiceness and purity, and for its usefulness for food; and he may be compared to an handful of it, because of the little account he was made of here on earth, and the little that was expected…”

“There shall be an handful of corn - “Of grain,” for so the word means in the Scriptures. The “general” idea in this verse is plain. It is, that, in the time of the Messiah, there would be an ample supply of the fruits of the earth; or that his reign would tend to the promotion of prosperity, industry, abundance. It would be as if fields of grain waved everywhere, even on the tops of mountains, or as if the hills were cultivated to the very summit, so that the whole land would be covered over with waving, smiling harvests. There is a difference of opinion, however, and consequently of interpretation, as to the meaning of the word rendered “handful.” This word - פסה pissâh - occurs nowhere…”

“A handful - This intimates the small beginnings of his kingdom; and therefore does not agree to Solomon, whose kingdom was in a manner as large at the beginning of his reign, as at the end, but it exactly agrees to Christ. The earth - Sown in the earth. Mountains - In the most barren grounds. Shake - It shall yield such abundance of corn, that the ears being thick and high, shall, when they are shaken with the wind, make a noise not unlike that which the tops of the trees of Lebanon, sometimes make. Of the city - The citizens of Jerusalem, which are here put for the subjects of this kingdom. Psalms 72:20”

“72:16 the trees of Lebanon: Lebanon was renowned for its lumber (see study note on 2 Chr 2:8).”

“There: Job 8:7; Isa 30:23, Isa 32:15, Isa 32:20; Mat 13:31-33; Mar 16:15, Mar 16:16; Act 1:15; Act 2:41, Act 4:4; Co1 3:6-9; Rev 7:9 upon: Isa 2:2, Isa 2:3 the fruit: Psa 92:12-14; Isa 29:17, Isa 35:2; Hos 14:5-7 of the city: Psa 72:6; Kg1 4:20; Isa 44:3-5; Jer 33:22; Rev 7:14 Psalms 72:17”

“Here, where the futures again stand at the head of the clauses, they are also again to be understood as optatives. As the blessing of such a dominion after God's heart, not merely fertility but extraordinary fruitfulness may be confidently desired for the land פּסּה (ἁπ. λεγ..), rendered by the Syriac version sugo, abundance, is correctly derived by the Jewish lexicographers from פּסס = פּשׂה (in the law relating to leprosy), Mishnic פּסה, Aramaic פּסא, Arabic fšâ, but also fšš (vid., Job, at Psa 35:14-16), to extend, expandere; so that it signifies an abundance that occupies a broad space. בּראשׁ, unto the summit, as in Psa 36:6; Psa 19:5. The idea thus obtained is the same as when…”