A prophecy of the coming of Christ, and of his kingdom: prefigured by Solomon and his happy reign.

¹ A Psalm according to Solomon.¹

1. 71:1In other words, this is a psalm according to the wisdom and understanding of Solomon.(Conte)

² Give your judgment, O God, to the king, and your justice to the king’s son, to judge your people with justice and your poor with judgment.

³ Let the mountains take up peace for the people, and the hills, justice.

⁴ He will judge the poor of the people, and he will bring salvation to the sons of the poor. And he will humble the false accuser.

⁵ And he will remain, with the sun and before the moon, from generation to generation.

⁶ He will descend like rain upon fleece, and like showers showering upon the earth.

⁷ In his days, justice will rise like the sun, with abundance of peace, until the moon is taken away.¹

1. 71:7The first part does not literally say ‘rise like the sun.’ However, the word ‘orietur’ is often used to refer to the rising of the sun, so the meaning ‘rise like the sun’ is clearly implied.(Conte)

⁸ And he will rule from sea to sea and from the river to the limits of the whole world.

⁹ In his sight, the Ethiopians will fall prostrate, and his enemies will lick the ground.

¹⁰ The kings of Tarshish and the islands will offer gifts. The kings of Arabia and of Seba will bring gifts.

¹¹ And all the kings of the earth shall adore him. All nations will serve him.

¹² For he will free the poor from the powerful, and the poor one who has no helper.

¹³ He will spare the poor and the indigent, and he will bring salvation to the souls of the poor.

¹⁴ He will redeem their souls from usuries and from iniquity, and their names shall be honorable in his sight.

¹⁵ And he will live, and to him will be given from the gold of Arabia, and by him they will always adore. They will bless him all day long.

¹⁶ And there will be a firmament on earth, at the summits of mountains: its fruits will be extolled above Lebanon, and those of the city will flourish like the grass of the earth.¹

1. 71:16A firmament on the earth, etc: This may be understood of the church of Christ, ever firm and visible: and of the flourishing condition of its congregation.(Challoner)

¹⁷ May his name be blessed forever; may his name remain before the sun. And all the tribes of the earth will be blessed in him. All nations will magnify him.

¹⁸ Blessed is the Lord, God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.

¹⁹ And blessed is the name of his majesty in eternity. And all the earth will be filled with his majesty. Amen. Amen.

²⁰ The praises of David, the son of Jesse, have reached an end.¹

1. 71:20Are ended: By this it appears that this psalm, though placed here, was in order of time the last of those which David composed.(Challoner)