Judge the poor and the fatherless, do justice to the afflicted and the destitute;
God stands in the assembly of those He Himself appointed to judge, and puts them on trial for the way they have used their office. Verse 3 is the heart of the charge. It names the work He gave them to do, and so exposes what they left undone.
The "gods" of this psalm are men who held a commission from God. Jesus Himself defined the word when He quoted this psalm:
He is there for judgment among the "gods." The Lord defines that word for us from this very psalm (v. 6) as "those to whom the word of God came" (John 10:35) — that is, the judges of Israel, who held a commission to represent Him. So they were identified with the One they represented. They carried the most solemn responsibility to represent His character too, both His righteousness and His love to men.
The verse asks for justice, and for special care toward those least able to get it. But pity must never bend the verdict:
But once that is cared for, they must show Him on His saving side as well, in His regard for the poor, the weak, the defenceless, and the oppressed: "Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute." It must still be justice. Justice must not be broken, even out of pity for the poor, and there was a special commandment about this (Ex. 23:3). Yet his poverty should still make him an object of special and tender care.
The list is not random. It matches what God Himself is like:
He is high over all, the great, the mighty and the terrible. But He has a heart for the widow and the fatherless. They are helpless ones, stripped of all earthly and natural supports — the poor bereaved and broken-hearted widow, and the desolate orphan. God thinks of, and cares for such, in a very special way; they have a claim on His loving heart and mighty hand. "A Father of the fatherless, and a Judge of the widow is God in His holy habitation."
What if the rulers of the nations had done this work? One writer draws a striking conclusion:
If they had done this they would have rightly represented God, for He cares for the poor and the needy. I venture to say that if the governments of the nations had attended to this business for which God appointed them there would have been no war. They would have had God's approval instead of His chastisement. But often the rulers of this world honour those who rob the widow and the orphan, if they have wealth and power enough to get noticed. Their victims cry in vain, except to God.
The first application is to Israel's judges, but writers do not leave it there:
The judges ought not to favour the wicked. They ought to judge on behalf of the poor and needy, defending them from the persecution of the wicked (v. 3) and delivering them from cruel oppression. We need this same call today in many of our courts of justice. We need it even in the professing church of God, where those in outward honour are too often guilty of oppressing the common people.
Human courts have failed this charge. So who will meet its demand? Not better laws:
All injustice will be put right at once. This is bound up with the Messiah's righteous rule. So we read, "He will deliver the needy when he cries, the poor also, and him who has no helper... He will redeem their souls from deceit and violence, and their blood will be precious in His sight." (Ps. 72:12-14.) Men love to dream that this is the goal of human enlightenment and progress. But they do not know, or they forget, how incurably corrupt human nature is. So they do not consider this: even if the whole world obtained just and equal laws, those laws would fail, either in how they are run or in how they are applied.
- Commissioned — Those called "gods" are men to whom God's word came. Their authority is borrowed, and it carries a duty — to represent Him in righteousness and in love.
- Character — God is "a Father of the fatherless." A judge who ignores them misrepresents the God he serves.
- Careful — The verse asks for justice for the weak, not justice bent for them; pity must not corrupt the verdict.
- Current — Writers apply this beyond Israel's courts — to our courts today, and to places of honour among God's people, where ordinary people are still oppressed.
- Coming — Human government has failed this charge. The psalm's demand waits on the reign of Christ, who delivers the needy with no helper.
Rescue the poor and needy, deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.
This verse is an order, not advice. It is aimed at the judges of Israel — men who held office in God's name, yet failed the very people they ruled. It raises the question of what authority is for, and what happens when the men who hold it take the side of the strong.
The psalm calls these rulers "gods." The Lord Jesus Himself explained that word, using this very psalm.
He is there to judge among the "gods." The Lord defines that word for us from this very psalm (v. 6) as "those to whom the word of God came" (John 10:35) — that is, men commissioned to represent Him. They are the judges of Israel. So they were identified with the One they represented. That laid on them the most solemn responsibility: to represent His character too, both His righteousness and His love to men.
Their rulings were never meant to be their own opinion.
In Scripture the judges of Israel are sometimes given the name of God. That marks out more closely and more strongly where their authority came from, since they were the guides and leaders of His people. The word of God came to them (John 10:35). They sat to hand down justice in the name of Jehovah, and according to His declared mind. The verdict they gave was not their own but His.
"Rescue" here is not favouritism swung the other way. One writer draws a careful line: the weak man's poverty gives him a claim on tenderness, but never on a bent verdict.
Once that is cared for, they must also show Him on His saving side — in His care for the poor, the weak, the defenceless, and the oppressed. "Judge the weak and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and destitute." It must still be justice. Nobody may break that, not even out of pity for the poor, and there was a special commandment about this (Ex. 23:3). Yet his poverty should still make him an object of special and tender interest: "Rescue the weak and needy: deliver him out of the hand of the wicked."
Why should rulers bother with the powerless? Because the God they stand in for does. One writer takes that all the way to the nations and their wars.
Then comes the call that sets out the whole purpose of their appointment: "Defend the poor and the fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and the needy; and rid them out of the hand of the wicked." Had they done this, they would have rightly represented God, for He cares for the poor and the needy. I dare to say that if the governments of the nations had attended to this work God appointed them to, there would have been no war. But those who rob the widow and the orphan are often honoured by the rulers of this world, then as now, if they have wealth and power enough to get noticed. Their victims cry in vain, except to God.
(Older translations read "the poor and needy" where the ESV has "the weak and the needy.")
This is not just an ancient problem. One writer applies it to modern courtrooms, and then to religious life.
Instead of favouring the wicked, the judges ought to judge on behalf of the poor and needy. They should defend them from the persecution of the wicked (v. 3) and deliver them from the hands of cruel oppression. We need this same call today in many of our courts of justice, and even in the professing church of God, where those held in outward honour are too often guilty of oppressing ordinary people.
The psalm does not end with the order of verse 4. It ends with a cry for God Himself to act, because the men He commissioned had failed.
The voice of the Spirit announces that man has failed completely, even with the highest responsibilities and in the most favoured position. So it calls here upon GOD to arise. The foundations of the earth are out of order. No hand but His can set them right again. He will surely do it in the promised day when all things are restored, once He has burned away the impurity from the city that bears His name and that He still loves.
One writer names the only person fit to fill that throne.
What help is there, then, when things are as humbling as this? "Arise, O God, judge the earth; for You shall inherit all the nations!" Here the Lord Jesus is set before us as the only one able to fill the throne according to the thoughts of God.
- Commissioned. Judges were called "gods" because the word of God came to them; their verdicts were meant to be His, not their own.
- Charged. Their job was spelled out: rescue the weak from the grip of the wicked. That is what representing God looks like in office.
- Constrained. Rescue must stay justice. Pity for the poor may never bend a verdict. Poverty earns tender interest, not a rigged case.
- Compromised. Rulers then and now honour the powerful and leave the victims crying to God alone. The same charge falls on our courts and on church leaders.
- Completed. Every appointed rescuer failed, so the psalm asks God Himself to arise. Only Christ can fill that throne.