Psalms 82:3

“Defend the poor and fatherless, etc.] Or, judge f1182 them; such as have no money to enter and carry on a suit, and have no friends to assist and advise them, and abide by them; these should be taken under the care and wing of judges; their cause should be attended to, and justice done them; their persons should be protected, and their property defended and secured for, since they are called gods, they ought to imitate him whose name they bear, who is the Father of the fatherless, the Judge of the widows, and the helper of the poor that commit themselves to him, (<191014>Psalm 10:14 68:5), such a righteous judge and good magistrate was Job; (see <182912>Job 29:12), do justice to the…”

“Defend the poor and fatherless - literally, judge; that is, Pronounce just judgment; see that right is done to them. This is required everywhere in the Scriptures. The meaning is not that judgment is to be pronounced in their favor because they are poor, or because they are orphans, for this would be to do what they had just been charged with as in itself wrong, accepting of persons; that is, showing favor on account of condition or rank, rather than on account of a just claim. The idea is, that the poor and the fatherless, having no natural protectors, were likely to be wronged or oppressed; that they had none to defend their claims; and that magistrates, therefore, as if they were their…”

“Defend: Heb. Judge, Psa 10:18; Deu 10:18; Isa 1:17, Isa 1:23 do: Jer 5:28, Jer 22:3, Jer 22:16; Jam 1:27 Psalms 82:4”