Justice and Righteousness – Psalm 72

A text – Psalm 72

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.

A reflection:

Here is a psalm probably meant for the coronation of a king, or for the celebrated anniversary of such a day. It is a prayer the people say on behalf of their ruler. A summary of it might boil downto this: Since the king will be the highest judge in the land, may he have the justice and righteousness of God to dispense to the people.

Justice, in this psalm, does not mean a way of giving everyone fairly what they have earned. Justice, in this psalm, means making sure the widows and orphans and others often neglected get what they need for their survival and comfort.

Righteousness, in this psalm, does not mean some kind of super piety or good behavior. Righteousness, in this psalm, means a right relationship with God. The king knows his place, and it is not God’s place but instead the place of God’s most responsible servant and steward.

If the ruler has this justice and righteousness, then that ruler will be perfectly prepared to judge, to defend, to live, to nourish, and to rule in peace.

This is the season of Epiphany, the season when we celebrate the revelation of Jesus as the Son of God and as the fulfillment of the promises of God. In a way, when we say this psalm, we are echoing the prayers of the Israelites down through the centuries for a longed-for king that only God could deliver, one with a right relationship with God and a way of caring for the poor above all. Jesus, the Messiah, would become the one who scorned hypocrisy and high-handedness, who told stories about sinners receiving the love of God, and who healed folks who wouldn’t have been touched by those with authority in his nation. Jesus would be the ultimate fulfillment of the psalm that celebrates a king with justice and righteousness.

May we still pray for our rulers, that this vision of justice and righteousness would come true before our own eyes. The rulers, deserving or undeserving, need these prayers more than we (or they) know.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for this psalm that helps us maintain a clear vision of how you want those in authority to be. Thank you for the vision of power used in service of the weak and lowly, and for the vision of always taking the place you want us to take in your kingdom.  Amen.