Understanding Psalm 72: A Prayer for Righteous Leadership

Scripture: Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

¹Give the king your justice, O God,

and your righteousness to a king’s son.

²May he judge your people with righteousness,

and your poor with justice.

³May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,

and the hills, in righteousness.

⁴May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,

give deliverance to the needy,

and crush the oppressor.

⁵May he live while the sun endures,

and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

⁶May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,

like showers that water the earth.

⁷In his days may righteousness flourish

and peace abound, until the moon is no more.

⁸May he have dominion from sea to sea,

and from the River to the ends of the earth.

⁹May his foes bow down before him,

and his enemies lick the dust.

¹⁰May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles

render him tribute,

may the kings of Sheba and Seba

bring gifts.

¹¹May all kings fall down before him,

all nations give him service.

¹²For he delivers the needy when they call,

the poor and those who have no helper.

¹³He has pity on the weak and the needy,

and saves the lives of the needy.

¹⁴From oppression and violence he redeems their life;

and precious is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵Long may he live!

May gold of Sheba be given to him.

May prayer be made for him continually,

and blessings invoked for him all day long.

¹⁶May there be abundance of grain in the land;

may it wave on the tops of the mountains;

may its fruit be like Lebanon;

and may people blossom in the cities

like the grass of the field.

¹⁷May his name endure forever,

his fame continue as long as the sun.

May all nations be blessed in him;

may they pronounce him happy.

¹⁸Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

who alone does wondrous things.

¹⁹Blessed be his glorious name forever;

may his glory fill the whole earth.

Amen and Amen.

²⁰The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.

Questions

1. How does the psalmist’s praise of and prayer for the king translate to how we interact with our political officials?
2. What does it mean to judge in righteousness?

Background

Related Scriptures: Deuteronomy 17:14-20; Ezekiel 34; Matthew 5-7

The blessing of the king is dependent on his ability to protect the poor and oppressed in the community.

The blessing of the Psalm is a desire for the future not a promise, it must be continuously earned.

Reflection

What does it mean for God to bless a nation? Certainly, the psalmist was anticipating peace and prosperity for his nation when he penned Psalm 72. God’s blessings include the kinds of peace and prosperity we associate with a good and easy life. And the Psalmist desired these blessings for his nation and so wrote about them as being poured out on the king. But we should notice what the psalmist asks for the king, that he protects and cares for the poor and oppressed. The psalmist wants the king to be a conduit of God’s blessings for the people. The psalmist wants God to bless the king, but the psalmist also wants the king to bless the people. This is a consistent theme from the earliest mention of a king in Deuteronomy throughout the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy we get an outline of the king’s responsibilities these duties are centered around understanding scripture and being able to apply it to life. This is important for us to notice. In the Old Testament the king’s primary duty was not the economy or the military it was ensuring the community was committed to caring for one another in a manner consistent with God’s love for humanity.

The Psalms and prophets took this idea very seriously, they frequently associate the responsibility of the king with caring for the poor, widow, orphan, immigrant, and oppressed. In other words, they saw the king’s role as caring for those who would otherwise be forgotten by society. The king’s heart was supposed to be so formed by Scripture that he was motivated completely by God’s love for the people and sought to express that love daily in his judgments for the people. It is failures to uphold God’s justice and defend the defenseless that the prophets criticized the leaders for, saying it was their actions that provided the cause of God’s punishment. Notice how in Psalm 72 the primary prayer is that the king will live up to the standard of Deuteronomy and righteousness will thrive. Yes, there are the traditional celebrations that we think of long life and riches, but they are contingent on the king doing what is right.

This is the Bible’s way of expressing patriotism. Yes, the people love their country and want the best for it, but this love does not overlook he sins of the community. The Psalms and prophets frequently note when the leadership is not living up to the standard God has set. They call out Israel for not promoting righteousness and lifting the poor and oppressed. And they remember the sins of the past, so they are not relived. Patriotism for the Bible’s authors is about wanting the best for the nation but also recognizing and remembering the things the nation does that do not lead to righteousness and peace. The prayers for blessings remember where the blessings come from and how the blessings are obtained. Past sins are acknowledged so they can be averted and present sins are repented of. Patriotism is about remembering the ideals of society and where society falls short of reaching those ideals. Patriotism begins with wanting what is best for the people and what is best is that righteousness prevails. And for the authors of the Bible that begins with the leadership promoting the cause of the poor and needy, ensuring that all are treated well. Patriotism necessitates that we consider whether society is benefiting all people. Patriotism is about wanting what’s best for society and recognizing when there are people in society being left behind. When we approach our own nations, it is completely commendable to celebrate the ideals of the nation (so long as they are in line with God’s ideals). It is commendable to take pride in our nation and want the blessings that God provides. But it is foolhardy to overlook the areas in which we are failing. It is wrong to not hold leaders accountable for how their actions fail to protect the vulnerable. When we pretend like our country has achieved the ideals of God, we fail to be patriotic in the Bible’s sense and start to idolize the nation. Patriotism is about loving what a country can become when it commits to loving all members of society and seeing all of them thrive. Patriotism is about wanting God to bless the nation because the nation is a blessing the way God envisions. Patriotism holds the nation to God’s ideals and expects blessings when those are accomplished.