God Helps Those Who Help Others

Psalms 72:12–20
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Solomon reigned in what has been referred to as Israel’s golden age. He built the magnificent temple, and even the pots and pans in the kitchen were made of gold. However he had pity on the poor and  the weak and helped everyone who was poor and needy (vv. 12-13). He cared for them when they hurt and he saved them from cruel and violent deaths (v. 14). Because of Solomon’s prosperous reign and generosity people responded with gifts for him. An example of this is the amount of gold brought to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba. The blessings of the king’s rule was reciprocal. As He blessed those who he came in contact with, they spoke well of Him (vv. 15-17). Not only did the people praise the king but they said “Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel” (v. 18), and “Blessed be His glorious name forever” (v. 19). It is stated that this is the end of the prayers of David (v. 20). However, this probably refers to an earlier collection of psalms, because 18 other psalms after this one are attributed to David.

A worldly proverb says that God helps those who help themselves. The clear teaching of scripture is that God helps those who cannot help themselves and those who help others (vv. 12-13). Because of the righteous reign of the king people responded with gifts for him which included a massive amount of Gold brought by the queen of Sheba (I Kings 10:10). The people prayed for agricultural prosperity with grain and fruit in abundance. Also Lebanon, with its cedar forests, was a picture of a flourishing land as well as trade and peaceful alliances.

Application

As I examine Christ’s view of the needy I need to examine my attitude toward them. Am I ignoring them or seeing how I can meet needs? This includes the spiritual as well as the physical and material needs.