August 01, 2022 – Monday
Psalm 72:2, 4, 12, 13, 14 NIV
2 May he judge your people in righteousness, your afflicted ones with justice.
4 May he defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy; may he crush the oppressor.
12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have no one to help.
13 He will take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death.
14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence, for precious is their blood in his sight.
Comments
Tonight, at our church’s Monday Evening Bible Study we covered Psalm 12, all 20 verses. Its title is A Psalm for Solomon. Spurgeon writes, It is, we conjecture, the Prayer of David, but the Psalm of Solomon. This is because it is believed by Spurgeon, the spirit and matter of the Psalm are David’s, but that he was too near his end to pen the words, or cast them into form: Solomon, therefore, caught his dying father’s song, fashioned it in goodly verse, and, without robbing his father, made the Psalm his own. Thus, we have verse 20, This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse. I suggest reading the Psalm in its entirety as it is not only a prayer by David for his son Solomon, but also for the Messiah to come.
I was taken by the verses above where the Messiah was to judge your afflicted ones with justice (v2), defend the afflicted, save the children of the needy; crush the oppressor (v4), deliver the needy who cry out, the afflicted who have not one to help (12), take pity on the weak and the needy and save the needy from death (13), rescue them [the needy, the afflicted, the children of the needy] from oppression and violence (14). This is not much of a surprise as when you spend time in the Old Testament where you find God has a heart for the widows, orphans/fatherless, and the poor and at the same time great anger for those who to not care for them and/or take advantage of them frequently.
But even more I was taken by how the verses above lined up with what Jesus said in Matthew 25:31-46, especially verses 35-36, 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me. This after separating the people before Him into sheep on His right and goats on His left. Then the question arose, 37 Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? Then Jesus answered, 40 Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Next Jesus addressed the goats on His left, 41 Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.
Then they had the temerity to ask, 44 Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you? His answer must have shocked them into silence, 45 Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me. Clearly Jesus identifies with the afflicted, widows, orphans, and the poor. The question for each of us is do we care for the afflicted, widows, orphans, and the poor? Do we want to end up a goat or a sheep?
Bottom Line: Knowing what God and Jesus care for, we must care for them as well.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You for providing with such great clarity what we are to care for. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek