Psalms 72:9

“They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him, etc.] In token of subjection to him, reverence and worship of him, to whom every knee shall bow, (<234523>Isaiah 45:23). The Septuagint version, and others, render the word µyyx, “Ethiopians”, who dwell in a dry land, parched and burnt with the sun; and so it is a prophecy of their conversion to Christ, as in (<196831>Psalm 68:31 87:4); of which there is an instance, (<440827>Acts 8:27); the word is used of the wild beasts of the field, in (<231321>Isaiah 13:21); to which wicked men, for the malignity of their nature, may be compared; as they are to the wild ass, to lions, leopards, and bears; and yet these are so tamed by the power of…”

“They that dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him - The word rendered “they that dwell in the wilderness” - ציים tsı̂yı̂ym, means properly those who abide in deserts, dry places, solitudes; and it might be applied either to animals or to people. It is applied to the former in Isaiah 13:21 (see the notes at that place); Isaiah 23:13; Isaiah 34:14; Jeremiah 50:39. In all these, except Isaiah 23:13, it is rendered “wild beasts of the desert,” denoting jackals, ostriches, etc.; but here, and in Psalms 74:14, it is evidently applied to people, as denoting shepherds - nomadic tribes - people who have no permanent home, but who wander from place to place. The idea is, that these wild,…”

“They that: Kg1 9:18, Kg1 9:20, Kg1 9:21; Isa 35:1, Isa 35:2 his enemies: Psa 2:9, Psa 21:8, Psa 21:9, Psa 110:1, Psa 110:6; Luk 19:27 lick: Isa 49:23; Mic 7:17 Psalms 72:10”

“This third strophe contains prospects, the ground of which is laid down in the fourth. The position of the futures here becomes a different one. The contemplation passes from the home relations of the new government to its foreign relations, and at the same time the wishes are changed into hopes. The awe-commanding dominion of the king shall stretch even into the most distant corners of the desert. ציּים is used both for the animals and the men who inhabit the desert, to be determined in each instance by the context; here they are men beyond all dispute, but in Psa 74:14; Isa 23:13, it is matter of controversy whether men or beasts are meant. Since the lxx, Aquila, Symmachus, and Jerome…”