Praying for the Government
Psalm 72:1-7, 12-19 (End of Book 2)
Of Solomon.
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….
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.
We return our walk through the psalms. The Book of Psalms is divided into 5 sub-sections, called “books”, Psalm 72 completes the second sub-section.
Psalm 72 is a royal psalm, a celebration of the king – in this case Solomon. Frequently commentators have also seen the psalm as foreshadowing the coming of Jesus as king and find links between the psalm and coming reign of God in Jesus Christ. I would invite us to take a different approach, asking ourselves what does this psalm say about the things that “kings” – governments – should do, should pay attention to?
Governments should govern “with righteousness” and ensure that “your” (that is God’s people) poor receive justice (vs. 2). The government is to “defend the cause of the poor of the people” (vs. 4) and deliver “the poor and those who have no helper” (vs. 12). To accomplish this means not only having “pity on the weak” (vs. 13) it also means standing up to and crushing “the oppressor” (vs. 4).
The government is to see the lives of everyone in the nation as precious, all people are of such value that the government is prepared to save any of them, redeem all of them, from oppression and violence.
This gives us very specific things to pray for when we pray for the government of our country, or of any country. That those who govern would seek justice for the poor, would protect those who have no helper, and would see as precious the lives of all who face oppression and violence. That those who govern would be willing to challenge the oppressors and those who threaten violence against any person, for all persons are made in the image of God and are loved by him.
PRAYER:
God of grace, you put all governments in place. We pray for the governments of our country, our province, and our municipality. May they help the poor and the needy, may they uphold those who have no helpers. Give them the courage to challenge the oppressors and those who threaten violence. Help us to continually uphold government leaders and officials in prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.