Psalm Meditation 510
Palm/Passion Sunday
March 28, 2010

Psalm 72:1-7,11-20
1 Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king's son.
2 May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice.
3 May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness.
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.
5 May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth.
7 In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
11 May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service.
12 For he delivers the needy when they call, the poor and those who have no helper.
13 He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life; and precious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long 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.
16 May 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.
17 May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun. May all nations be blessed in him; may they pronounce him happy.
18 Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever; may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.
(NRSV)

I understand that in royal cultures, where there is an all powerful sovereign, that it is understood that the ruler owns all the resources of the realm. From those resources the ruler is expected to provide care for each and every subject and in return the subjects give the ruler loyalty and trust. In Israel there was also a strong connection between God and ruler so that in some instances the ruler and God were described using the same terms. Folks were certainly aware of the distinctions including the knowledge that the ruler was chosen by God and was an agent of God only as long as the word and will of God were followed.

So for this psalm to ask God to give the king justice and peace was to ask for that same justice and peace to be given to all in Israel. For the sake of the nation folks prayed for the health and prosperity of the king. It is not always easy to pray for those in power, especially in representative forms of government. We expect the rulers, representatives, elected officials to do what we would like for them to do or we brand them as wrong even evil. There are probably not a lot of us who can say we have wholeheartedly supported the actions of the folks for whom we voted let alone the folks who were elected by a majority of which we were not a part.

We no longer see rulers, especially elected officials, as special agents of God. We can even have trouble seeing them as human beings who deserve the respect due any person. God continues to work through flawed human beings of every stripe and party giving us not what we deserve but what God wants for us. God continues to call us to deeper and wider relationships with people, even people with whom we disagree.

© March 22, 2010