Psalms 72:12-14 - Joseph Benson’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

For he shall deliver the needy, &c. The fame of his just and merciful government shall induce multitudes either to put themselves under his rule and protection, or to show great respect and reverence for him. He shall spare the poor and needy He shall take pity on them, and add no heavier burden unto that of their lamentable poverty. And shall save the souls That is, the lives, of the needy. He shall not be prodigal of their lives, but as tenderly careful to spare and preserve them as those of his greatest subjects. If applied to Christ it means, that he shall save their souls, properly so called, namely, from the guilt and power of sin, into the favour and image of God, and a state of communion with him here, and the everlasting enjoyment of him hereafter, it being Christ's proper work to save men's souls. He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence The two ways whereby the lives and souls of men are usually destroyed. And precious shall their blood be in his sight He shall set so high a value upon their lives, and love them so dearly, as never to expose them to imminent danger, much less to cast them away, merely to gratify his own revenge, covetousness, or insatiable desire of enlarging his empire, as earthly kings commonly do; but, like a true father of his people, will tenderly preserve them, and severely avenge their blood upon those that shall shed it.