Psalms 72:1-20: a reflection

1God, give the king your justice; your righteousness to the royal son. 2He will judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. 3The mountains shall bring prosperity to the people. The hills bring the fruit of righteousness. 4He will judge the poor of the people. He will save the children of the needy, and will break the oppressor in pieces. 5They shall fear you while the sun endures; and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. 6He will come down like rain on the mown grass, as showers that water the earth. 7In his days, the righteous shall flourish, and abundance of peace, until the moon is no more. 8He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth. 9Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him. His enemies shall lick the dust. 10The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring tribute. The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts. 11Yes, all kings shall fall down before him. All nations shall serve him. 12For he will deliver the needy when he cries; the poor, who has no helper. 13He will have pity on the poor and needy. He will save the souls of the needy. 14He will redeem their soul from oppression and violence. Their blood will be precious in his sight. 15He will live; and Sheba’s gold will be given to him. Men will pray for him continually. They will bless him all day long. 16Abundance of grain shall be throughout the land. Its fruit sways like Lebanon. Let it flourish, thriving like the grass of the field. 17His name endures forever. His name continues as long as the sun. Men shall be blessed by him. All nations will call him blessed. 18Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds. 19Blessed be his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and amen. 20This ends the prayers by David, the son of Jesse.

Psalm 72 is a prayer for the king, and it is striking what it asks God to make him: not primarily strong or victorious, but just, and specifically just toward the poor. Give the king your justice, it prays; may he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice; may he defend the cause of the needy, give deliverance to the children of the poor. And again: he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper; he has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.

Notice where the psalm locates the mark of a good and godly king: in his care for the poor and the vulnerable. Over and over it returns to them, the poor, the needy, the weak, the one who has no helper, and it prays that the king will defend, deliver, and save exactly these. In God's vision of rule, the measure of a king is how he treats the lowest and weakest, those who cannot defend or repay themselves. Their blood, the psalm says, is precious in his sight.

And this psalm reaches beyond any earthly king to Christ, the true King, who came precisely for the poor, the needy, the helpless, and who defends and delivers them. It reveals God's own heart: a special care for the vulnerable and a King who champions them. That care should shape us who follow him. God's heart, and the heart of his King, is bent toward the needy and helpless. Let your own heart be bent the same way, valuing and defending the vulnerable, for their lives are precious in his sight.

Lord, Psalm 72 prays for a king marked not by strength but by justice for the poor, who delivers the needy who cry out and has pity on the weak. Thank you that Christ is that King, whose heart is bent toward the vulnerable and helpless. Let my heart be bent the same way. Help me value and defend the poor and the needy, those who cannot repay or defend themselves, knowing their lives are precious in your sight. Shape me by the heart of the King who champions the weak.