John Calvin Commentary Psalms 72

O God! give your judgments to the king. While David, to whom the promise had been made, at his death affectionately recommended his son (who was to succeed him in his kingdom) to God, he doubtless composed for the Church a common form of prayer. This prayer was intended so that the faithful, convinced that they could not be prosperous and happy except under one head, should show all respect and yield all obedience to this legitimate order of things. It was also intended that from this typical kingdom they might be led to Christ.

In short, this is a prayer that God would equip the king whom He had chosen with the spirit of uprightness and wisdom. By the terms righteousness and judgment, the Psalmist means a proper and well-regulated administration of government. He contrasts this with the tyrannical and unbridled license of pagan kings, who, despising God, rule according to the dictates of their own will. In this way, the holy king of Israel, who was anointed to his office by divine appointment, is distinguished from other earthly kings.

From these words, we incidentally learn that no government in the world can be rightly managed except under God’s direction and by the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If kings possessed sufficient resources in themselves, it would have been pointless for David to have sought by prayer from another what they already possessed.

But in requesting that the righteousness and judgment of God be given to kings, he reminds them that none are fit for occupying that exalted station unless they are equipped for it by God’s hand. Accordingly, in the Proverbs of Solomon (Proverbs 8:15), Wisdom proclaims that kings reign by her. Nor is this surprising, when we consider that civil government is such an excellent institution that God wants us to acknowledge Him as its author and claims all its praise for Himself.

But it is proper for us to move from the general to the specific. Since it is the unique work of God to establish and maintain a rightful government in the world, it was much more necessary for Him to impart the special grace of His Spirit for the maintenance and preservation of that sacred kingdom which He had chosen in preference to all others. By the king’s son, David no doubt means his successors. At the same time, he also has in mind this promise:

Of the fruit of your body will I set upon your throne,
(Psalms 132:11).

But no such stability as is indicated in that passage is to be found in David’s successors until we come to Christ. We know that after Solomon’s death, the kingdom’s dignity decayed, and from that time its wealth diminished. This continued until, through the people being carried into captivity and the shameful death inflicted upon their king, the kingdom was brought to total ruin.

Even after their return from Babylon, their restoration was not such as to give them much hope, until finally Christ arose from the withered stock of Jesse. He therefore holds the first rank among the descendants of David.

He shall judge your people in righteousness. Some read this in the form of a wish—O that he may judge, etc. Others retain the future tense, and thus it is a prophecy. But we will come nearer the correct interpretation by understanding something intermediate as implied. All that is afterward spoken concerning the king flows from the supposition that the blessing prayed for in the first verse is conferred on him—from the supposition that he is adorned with righteousness and judgment.

The prayer, then, should be explained thus: Govern our king, O God! that he may judge. Or in this way: When you shall have bestowed on the king your righteousness, then he will judge uprightly. To govern a nation well is an endowment far too excellent to grow out of the earth; but the spiritual government of Christ, by which all things are restored to perfect order, should much more be considered a gift of heaven.

In the first clause of the verse, David speaks of the whole people in general. In the second clause, he expressly mentions the poor, who, on account of their poverty and weakness, need the help of others, and for whose sake kings are armed with the sword to grant them redress when unjustly oppressed.

Hence, also, proceeds peace, of which mention is made in the third verse. The term peace being employed among the Hebrews to denote not only rest and tranquillity, but also prosperity, David teaches us that the people would enjoy prosperity and happiness when the affairs of the nation were administered according to the principles of righteousness.

The bringing forth of peace is a figurative expression taken from the fertility of the earth. And when it is said that the mountains and hills shall bring forth peace, the meaning is that no corner of the country would be found where it did not prevail. This includes even the most unpromising parts, indicated by the mountains, which are commonly barren or at least do not produce as great an abundance of fruit as the valleys.

Besides, both the word peace and the word righteousness are connected with each clause of the verse and must be twice repeated, the idea conveyed being that peace through righteousness should be diffused through every part of the world. Some read simply righteousness, instead of In righteousness, supposing the letter ב (beth) to be redundant here, which does not, however, appear to be the case.

He shall judge the poor of the people. The poet continues his description of the end and fruit of a righteous government, and unfolds at greater length what he had briefly touched upon concerning the afflicted among the people. But it is a truth which ought to be kept in mind, that kings can keep themselves within the bounds of justice and equity only by the grace of God; for when they are not governed by the Spirit of righteousness proceeding from heaven, their government is converted into a system of tyranny and robbery.

As God had promised to extend His care to the poor and afflicted among His people, David, as an argument to reinforce the prayer which he presents on behalf of the king, shows that granting it will tend to the comfort of the poor. God is indeed no respecter of persons; but it is not without cause that God takes more special care of the poor than of others, since they are most exposed to injuries and violence.

If laws and the administration of justice are taken away, the consequence will be that the more powerful a man is, the more able he will be to oppress his poor brothers. David, therefore, particularly mentions that the king will be the defender of those who can only be safe under the protection of the magistrate, and declares that he will be their avenger when they are victimized by injustice and wrong.

The phrase, The children of the afflicted, stands for the afflicted, an idiom quite common in Hebrew, and a similar form of expression is sometimes used by the Greeks, as when they say υἱους ἰατρων, the sons of physicians, for physicians. But as the king cannot discharge the duty of succoring and defending the poor which David imposes upon him, unless he curbs the wicked by authority and the power of the sword, it is very justly added in the end of the verse, that when righteousness reigns, oppressors or extortioners will be broken in pieces. It would be foolish to wait until they should yield of their own accord.

They must be repressed by the sword, so that their audacity and wickedness may be prevented from proceeding to greater lengths. It is therefore requisite for a king to be a man of wisdom, and resolutely prepared to effectively restrain the violent and injurious, so that the rights of the meek and orderly may be preserved unimpaired.

Thus, no one will be fit for governing a people but he who has learned to be rigorous when the case requires. Licentiousness must necessarily prevail under an effeminate and inactive sovereign, or even under one who has a disposition that is too gentle and forbearing. There is much truth in the old saying, that it is worse to live under a prince through whose leniency everything is lawful, than under a tyrant where there is no liberty at all.

They shall fear thee with the sun If this is read as an apostrophe, or a change of person, it can be properly and without distorting the meaning understood as referring to the king. This implies that the attributes that chiefly earn a sovereign reverence from his subjects are: his impartially securing for every person the possession of their own rights; his manifesting a spirit of humanity always ready to help the poor and miserable; and his demonstrating a spirit determined rigorously to subdue the audacity of the wicked.

But it will be more appropriate, without changing the person, to explain it as referring to God Himself. The preservation of mutual equity among people is an inestimable blessing, but the service of God is well worthy of being preferred even to this. David, therefore, very properly commends to us the blessed fruits of a holy and righteous government by telling us that it will bring in its wake true religion and the fear of God.

And Paul, when instructing us in 1 Timothy 2:2 to pray for kings, expressly mentions what we should aim for in our prayers, which is, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. Since there is considerable danger that if civil government were overthrown, religion would be destroyed and the worship of God annihilated, David implores God to have regard for His own name and glory in preserving the king.

By this argument he simultaneously reminds kings of their duty and stirs up the people to prayer, for we cannot be better occupied than in directing all our desires and prayers to the advancement of the service and honor of God. When we consider Christ, this is far more truly applicable to Him, as true religion is established in His kingdom and nowhere else.

And certainly David, in describing the worship or service of God as continuing to the end of the world, implies in passing that his thoughts ascend to that everlasting kingdom which God had promised: They shall fear thee with the sun; and generation of generations shall fear thee in the presence of the moon.

He shall descend as the rain upon the mown grass. This comparison may seem somewhat harsh at first sight; but it elegantly and aptly expresses the great advantage that all derive from the good and equitable constitution of a kingdom. We know that meadows are cut in the early summer when the heat is intense; and if the earth did not absorb new moisture from the falling rain, even the very roots of the grass would wither because of the soil's barren and parched condition.

Therefore, David teaches us that just as God defends the earth from the sun's heat by watering it, so he similarly provides for the welfare of his Church, and defends it under the king's government. But this prediction has received its highest fulfillment in Christ, who, by infusing his secret grace into the Church, makes her fruitful.