The Government of the Messiah: Psalm 72:12-14
Introduction: The King and His Kingdom
We live in an age that is utterly confused about true authority and genuine compassion. Our culture manufactures a counterfeit compassion that is all sentiment and no substance, and it promotes a view of justice that is little more than organized envy. The modern state wants to be your savior. It promises to deliver the needy, to protect the afflicted, and to have compassion on the poor. But it does so by robbing Peter to pay Paul, by crushing liberty under the weight of bureaucracy, and by offering a salvation that extends no further than the next election cycle. It is a cheap, tawdry imitation of the real thing.
Psalm 72 is a royal psalm, a prayer for the king. In its immediate context, it was likely for Solomon, the son of David. But the language here swells and overflows the banks of any mere earthly king. No son of David, not even Solomon in all his glory, could ever completely fulfill the terms of this psalm. It describes a reign of perfect justice, universal dominion, and perpetual peace. This is a psalm about the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a detailed portrait of the Messiah's administration. And in these three verses, we are given the very heart of His government. It is a government that does what no human government can ever truly do. It delivers, it has compassion, and it redeems.
The world offers two false alternatives. On the one hand, you have a hard-nosed, godless libertarianism that says to the man in the ditch, "You're on your own." On the other, you have a soft-headed, godless socialism that says to the man in the ditch, "We will create a federal program for ditch-dwellers." The gospel of King Jesus offers the only true solution. It is a kingdom of grace that creates a people of grace. The compassion described here is not the abstract policy of a distant government; it is the personal character of the King, which is then worked out through His people, the church. This is the true social justice, not the Marxist knock-off brand that is peddled in our universities and seminaries. Biblical justice is rooted in the character of the King, and it is glorious.
The Text
For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
He will have compassion on the poor and needy,
And the lives of the needy he will save.
He will redeem their life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be precious in his sight;
(Psalm 72:12-14 LSB)
The King Who Hears and Delivers (v. 12)
We begin with the fundamental action of this perfect King. He intervenes.
"For he will deliver the needy when he cries for help, The afflicted also, and him who has no helper." (Psalm 72:12)
The first thing to notice is the reason for the King's universal reign, described in the previous verses. Why will all nations serve Him? "For," the text says. Because. This is the reason. His authority is not arbitrary; it is not the raw power of a tyrant. His authority is established in His righteous character. He rules because He is worthy to rule. And His worthiness is demonstrated in His active deliverance of the helpless.
He delivers the needy "when he cries for help." This is crucial. This is not a detached, impersonal welfare system. This is a personal King responding to the personal cry of His subjects. God's salvation is for those who know they need it. The gospel is for those who cry out for mercy. As Christ Himself said, He did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32). The gate into His kingdom is a low one; you must stoop to enter. You must recognize your spiritual bankruptcy, your neediness. The Laodicean who says, "I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing," is the one who is truly wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked (Rev. 3:17). The King delivers the one who knows he is needy and cries out.
And notice the scope of His concern: "The afflicted also, and him who has no helper." This describes the person at the absolute end of his rope. The afflicted, the one who is bowed down, and the one who has no human advocate, no one in his corner. In the ancient world, to have no helper, no kinsman-redeemer, no patron, was to be utterly destitute and vulnerable. This is a picture of total helplessness. And this is precisely where the King steps in. Man's extremity is God's opportunity. When all human help fails, the King's help is revealed. This is true of our temporal needs, but it is profoundly true of our spiritual state. Apart from Christ, we are afflicted by sin and have no helper. We cannot save ourselves. No one can pay our debt. But the King, Jesus, is the helper of the helpless. He is the friend of sinners.
The Compassionate Heart of the King (v. 13)
Verse 13 moves from the King's action to His motivation, from His hand to His heart.
"He will have compassion on the poor and needy, And the lives of the needy he will save." (Psalm 72:13)
The word for "have compassion" or "pity" speaks of a deep, heartfelt concern. This is not the condescending pity of a superior, but the tender compassion of a father. The King's justice is not a cold, mechanical process. It is driven by love. When Jesus walked the earth, we saw this verse in the flesh. The gospels repeatedly tell us that He was "moved with compassion" when He saw the crowds, harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36). He had compassion on the sick, the blind, the lepers. His miracles were not just displays of power; they were eruptions of His compassionate heart.
He has compassion on the "poor and needy." Again, this must be understood first in its most basic sense. God's law is filled with commands to care for the economically poor, the widow, the orphan (Deut. 15:11). A society that honors Christ will be a society marked by true charity and generosity. But we must go deeper. The ultimate poverty is spiritual poverty. Jesus began His most famous sermon with, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:3). The subjects of this King are those who know they bring nothing to the table. They have no righteousness of their own. They are spiritual beggars. And the King has compassion on them.
And what is the result of this compassion? "And the lives of the needy he will save." The word for "lives" here is nephesh, which can also mean soul. The King is not just interested in improving their material circumstances. He is in the business of saving souls. He saves their lives from death, and He saves their souls for eternity. This is a holistic salvation. The gospel of King Jesus is concerned with the whole person. He saves us from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and one day, the very presence of sin.
The Redeeming Work of the King (v. 14)
Verse 14 gives us the central mechanism of this salvation. It is a work of redemption, and it is costly.
"He will redeem their life from oppression and violence, And their blood will be precious in his sight;" (Psalm 72:14)
To "redeem" means to buy back, to pay a price to set someone free. This King does not just deliver by a show of force; He delivers by paying a ransom. The ultimate "oppression and violence" from which we suffer is not from human tyrants, but from the tyranny of sin, death, and the devil. We were held captive, slaves to sin (Romans 6:17). We were under the sentence of death. And the King, Jesus Christ, redeemed us. What was the price? The Apostle Peter tells us plainly: "knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold... but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18-19).
This is the gospel in the heart of the Psalms. The King saves His people by substituting Himself for them. He pays their debt with His own life. He redeems them from the oppression of sin by taking the violence of the cross upon Himself.
And the verse concludes with the reason for this costly redemption: "And their blood will be precious in his sight." The world system devalues human life. People become statistics, cogs in a machine, cannon fodder for a tyrant's ambitions. But in the kingdom of God, the lives of His people are precious to the King. The word "precious" means weighty, valuable. This is the foundation of true human dignity. Our value is not determined by our utility, our wealth, our power, or our productivity. Our value is bestowed upon us by our Creator and our Redeemer. He considers the lives of His needy ones so precious that He was willing to spill His own precious blood to save them. As Psalm 116:15 says, "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His godly ones." He does not treat their suffering or their death lightly. Their lives are of infinite worth to Him.
Conclusion: The Subjects of the King
So what is our response to such a King? First, we must see that this psalm demolishes all our self-righteousness and all our self-reliance. If you do not see yourself as needy, afflicted, poor, and without a helper, then this King is not for you. You must come to Him with empty hands. You must cry out for help.
Second, we must rejoice that we have such a King. Our King is not a distant, uncaring deity. He is a King who hears, who feels compassion, who redeems at great personal cost. Our security does not rest in our own strength, but in His character. He will deliver. He will have compassion. He will save. He will redeem. These are divine promises.
And finally, as the church, we are the body of this King in the world. We are called to be a living demonstration of His government. How does the world see the character of King Jesus? They ought to see it in us. We are to be a people who hear the cries of the needy. We are to be a people marked by deep, genuine compassion. We are to be a people who love and protect the preciousness of human life, from the unborn to the elderly. We are to be a people who proclaim the great redeeming work of the King, who shed His precious blood so that poor and needy sinners like us could be saved. Our King reigns, and His government is a government of grace.