Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 72:13
He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.
13. He shall have pity on the weak and needy,
And the souls of the needy shall he save.
The weak may include the sick as well as the poor. Cp. Psa 40:1; Psa 82:3-4; Isa 10:1; Isa 11:4; Amo 4:1. Souls primarily = lives, and so in Psa 72:14.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He shall spare the poor and needy – He will have pity on; he will show mercy or favor to them.
And shall save the souls of the needy – Will guard and defend them; will be their protector and friend. His administration will have special respect to those who are commonly overlooked, and who are exposed to oppression and wrong.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
The souls, properly so called; this being Christs proper work to save souls; or, the lives, which oppressors shall endeavour to take away.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
He shall spare the poor and needy,…. Pity them, have mercy and compassion on them, and sympathize with them; such an one is Christ, a merciful King, as well as High Priest, who is touched with a feeling of his people’s infirmities, and who in his love and pity has redeemed them;
and shall save the souls of the needy; not to the exclusion of their bodies, which are also his care and charge, are bought with his blood, are preserved by him, will be raised from the dead, and made like his glorious body; but souls are mentioned as being the most excellent part of man, and which having sinned, are liable to damnation and the second death; and are therefore the special objects of redemption and salvation; these are saved by him from all their sins, and from wrath to come they deserve; hence his name is called “Jesus”, a Saviour.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Psa 72:13 He shall spare the poor and needy, and shall save the souls of the needy.
Ver. 13. He shall spare the poor and needy ] Hereby David showeth his son and all his successors, Qualis debeat esse rex bonus, what manner of man a king ought to be. Regiment without righteousness turneth into tyranny; it is but robbery with authority. O. Scipio Nasica for his good government was surnamed Optimus by the Senate, and had a house given him at the public charge, in Via Sacra, that the poor might repair to him.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
poor = impoverished. Hebrew. dal. See note on Pro 6:11.
souls. Hebrew. nephesh. App-13.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 72:13-16
Psa 72:13-16
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUSTICE OF HIS REIGN
“He will have pity on the poor and needy,
And the souls of the needy he will save.
He will redeem their soul from oppression and violence;
And precious will their blood be in his sight:
And they shall live; and to him shall be given of the gold
of Sheba: and men shall pray for him continually;
They shall bless him all the day long.
There shall be abundance of grain in the earth upon the top of the mountains;
The fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon:
And they of the city shall flourish like grass of the earth.”
“He will save … he will redeem” (Psa 72:13-14). In our opinion, these words simply do not belong in any treatise regarding King Solomon. The only way we can understand such terminology as this is to ascribe it to the prayer of David, at a time when he was almost on his death bed, anticipating the reign of his son Solomon, and applying the prophecies spoken to him by Nathan (2 Samuel 7) to Solomon, whom David mistakenly supposed would be that “everlasting king” of God’s promise through Nathan.
Solomon never saved any souls, nor did he ever redeem anybody.
“And they shall live” (Psa 72:15). The marginal reading here makes more sense, “He shall live,” that is, the Christ shall live perpetually, and to him the gold of earth’s remotest place shall be offered to him in worship.
“And men shall pray for him continually; and they shall bless him all the day long” (Psa 72:15). This verse has been understood to deny the application of the passage to Christ, on the basic truth that Christ does not need anyone to pray for him. Of course, that truism is certainly a fact; but there is a sense in which men can and should pray dally “for Christ.” “His subjects shall offer prayer for him continually, as Christians do when they pray, `Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.'”
“Abundance of grain … fruit … like Lebanon … flourish like grass” (Psa 72:16). The psalmist is sure that in a kingdom where righteousness, justice, truth and compassion are in control that, not merely fertility but extraordinary fruitfulness would also be given to such a nation.
“Shall shake like Lebanon” (Psa 72:16). There is hardly any way to be sure of exactly what this means; but the image is that of fruit trees so loaded with fruit that they make a dense forest like Lebanon.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 72:13-14. Precious . . . blood, etc., shows that save the souls does not have reference to the spiritual lot of these people. It pertains to their bodily safety in this world, which had been imposed upon by deceit.
Psa 72:15. Given gold of Sheba is figurative, meaning the good favor that will come to the worthy man who has been oppressed by the wicked.
Psa 72:16. Corn usually is produced in the valleys, or at best on the side of the mountains or hills only. But the abundance of the crop will be such that it will reach to the tops of them. Shake like Lebanon was said to compare the abundance of the products. Lebanon was covered with a luxurious growth that indicated the fertility and prosperity of the country as being very great.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
shall save: Psa 109:31, Job 5:15, Job 5:16, Eze 34:16, Mat 5:3, Mat 18:11, Jam 2:5, Jam 2:6
Reciprocal: 2Sa 22:28 – afflicted Isa 25:4 – thou hast Isa 41:17 – the poor Jer 22:16 – judged Mat 11:5 – the poor