He shall judge thy people with righteousness, and thy poor with judgment.
The prayer is for the king exalted to a sacred trust, that he govern God's people with righteousness and judge the poor with justice. It is an inspired prophecy of Solomon's reign, foretelling that he would rule in just this way. Righteous and fair rule, especially toward the poor, is thus set forth as the defining mark of the righteous reign Solomon could have had and had opportunity to have, if he followed his father's divinely inspired instruction.
Judging with righteousness and justice meant being not only a warrior, statesman, and sovereign, but a strong, good man, an example of fidelity and a teacher of righteousness. It meant showing mercy and loving-kindness to subjects and ruling justly in the fear of God. That reign was conditional on knowing God and serving Him with a perfect heart and willing mind, on keeping His statutes, commandments, judgments, and testimonies and walking in His ways in truth with all heart and soul. It required humility of heart, constant trust in God, and unceasing watchfulness against temptation.
Solomon's whole life might have remained in accordance with that prophecy, and at first he fulfilled it while he heeded David's wise counsels, bringing glory to the name of the God of Israel. His later pride, self-sufficiency, and self-exaltation, his desire for political power, alliances with heathen nations, and conformity to worldly customs broke the pattern. His marriage to worshipers of false gods and his idolatry completed the departure, showing that separation from God advances one false step at a time. The lesson warns followers of Christ to refuse the world's standard of right and hold to God's standard in Holy Writ.
The prayer is for the king exalted to a sacred trust, that he govern God's people with righteousness and judge the poor with justice. It is an inspired prophecy of Solomon's reign, foretelling that he would rule in just this way. Righteous and fair rule, especially toward the poor, is thus set forth as the defining mark of the righteous reign Solomon could have had and had opportunity to have, if he followed his father's divinely inspired instruction.
Judging with righteousness and justice meant being not only a warrior, statesman, and sovereign, but a strong, good man, an example of fidelity and a teacher of righteousness. It meant showing mercy and loving-kindness to subjects and ruling justly in the fear of God. That reign was conditional on knowing God and serving Him with a perfect heart and willing mind, on keeping His statutes, commandments, judgments, and testimonies and walking in His ways in truth with all heart and soul. It required humility of heart, constant trust in God, and unceasing watchfulness against temptation.
Solomon's whole life might have remained in accordance with that prophecy, and at first he fulfilled it while he heeded David's wise counsels, bringing glory to the name of the God of Israel. His later pride, self-sufficiency, and self-exaltation, his desire for political power, alliances with heathen nations, and conformity to worldly customs broke the pattern. His marriage to worshipers of false gods and his idolatry completed the departure, showing that separation from God advances one false step at a time. The lesson warns followers of Christ to refuse the world's standard of right and hold to God's standard in Holy Writ.