NOTES for Psa 71:12-13

In every age people dream of the triumph of justice on earth, of righteous judgment and just rule, but they soberly realize that in our sinful world this is rarely attainable. Still, even in the fallen condition there are many people who, at least dimly, have managed in their deeds to reflect a gleam of the Lord's mercy. And although not all Solomon's actions were blameless, though he stumbled more than once and the Bible does not hide his wrong steps, in his best hours he followed the wisdom he received from above.

At the beginning of the psalm it is said that the king is given to judge the poor. One may ask: for what purpose? Surely not in order to condemn them? But later it becomes clear: if judgment is the triumph of justice, then to judge the poor means to deal with them justly. Thus, in the image of a wise king, the psalmist tried to express the idea of the triumph of the highest truth.

But the highest justice will be established only when the Lord Himself reigns. Let Solomon's majestic rule have given colors for the pictures of the coming triumph; that triumph itself will surpass everything we can imagine.