The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies.

For this reason some commentators regard this as a Psalm written by David to express his hope for Solomon.

[8] The hymn "Jesus shall reign where'er the sun" is a lyrical adaptation of Psalm 72 written by Isaac Watts.

"Reges Tharsis", set to music as a motet by a large number of composers, uses words beginning at verse 10.

Heinrich Schütz set Psalm 72 in a metred version in German, "Gott, gib dem König auserkorn", SWV 169, as part of the Becker Psalter, first published in 1628.