Psalm 72 (B)

Psalm 72

¹Please help the king to be honest and fair just like you, our God.
²Let him be honest and fair with all your people, especially the poor.
³Let peace and justice rule every mountain and hill.
⁴Let the king defend the poor, rescue the homeless, and crush everyone who hurts them. (CEV)

Click on the link for the Psalm above for the text or listen to Psalm 72:

Reflection:

This psalm is set for Epiphany in year B, likely, because it speaks about kings. Epiphany is a day we remember in our Christian calendar that the kings or wisemen or magi visit Jesus. They bring gifts that we understand as symbolic of Jesus life. And, we remember that these visitors disobeyed a kings request in order to protect the vulnerable Jesus. The holy family is warned about the slaughter of children targeting their precious child and escape even as many other precious children are slaughtered. Perhaps in Psalm 72 we read the antithesis to that type of kingship. In Psalm 72 kings are called to protect the vulnerable.

Psalm 72 might have been used as part of the coronation ceremonies for ancient Israel so it is also fitting for an inauguration. It is a psalm that sets the tone for leadership and its mission by naming the attributes of God that we hope our leaders emulate and that we hope we can emulate: Honesty, Fairness, Justice, Peace, and Defender of the poor and vulnerable. And when we recite these words, we must also remember it is not only the king (or president) who is listening. The people who hope these words are true and the people who’s experience is that these words are not true of all leaders. So, let us, as people of God, who know that we don’t always live up to our ideals, try again to live up to them as we renew our devotion to God’s work in this world.

Prayer:

The Lord’s Prayer is about the amount of time you need for hand scrubbing 😉

Breath Prayer: I am including breath prayers because this is the practice that I engage in most often. Sometimes, I simply manage my breathing as I would when I was singing as a warmup and strengthening exercise. This practice helps me to feel centered, strong, and connected with myself and the divine. Sometimes, I add words or intentions for the inhalation and exhalation.

Nicole Cardoza’s Guided Meditation For Anxiety
Try this short meditation, created by Yoga Foster and Reclamation Ventures founder Nicole Cardoza, the next time you feel yourself getting overwhelmed, stressed, or anxious. Read in Yoga Journal.

Mr. Roger’s “Taking a breath” This one is short, but Mr. Roger’s voice is calming for me (and many Pittsburghers) and even his virtual presence can summon childhood memories of calmness and safety.

Let us pray:

One way to think about breath prayer is that whatever is exhaled other people will inhale. So, sometimes we might inhale and exhale the same idea with the hope that what we receive from God, we can share with others. For example, you may imagine receiving God’s steadfast love while praying that others are receiving God’s steadfast love.

Another way to think about breath prayer is to pick something you would like to receive for your inhalation and something you would like to release for your exhalation. The idea is to keep it simple, so I encourage you to simply find one word for each inhale and one word for each exhale. That simple prayer could be something like this: God fill me with your Holy spirit. I receive your call and release my doubts.

Or you may want to use a short phrase: Help us to be honest, just, and fair, especially to the poor.

Ok, everyone take a deep breath. Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Breath out. Repeat as needed.

Sources and notes:

“Since the king overhears this prayer offered to God about the king he is also addressed and pressured rhetorically to fulfill what is expected of him. The psalm becomes a warning for the king in its function as a “mirror” that allows him to evaluate his reign. …. Also overhearing the psalm are the king’s subjects both peasants and the elite.” W p. 221 Also overhearing this prayer is Solomon’s mother. “Queen Mother Bathsheba would probably have noticed the idealistic hyperbole in the prayer at her son’s coronation, which contradicted her own earlier experience of monarchy.” W p. 225 If I were preaching this text, wondering about how Bathsheba reacted to it would be part of it. When women’s voices are silence we forget that they were part of the event. Bathsheba certainly would have been at the coronation for her son and her emotions/thoughts/prayers were likely complicated. Maybe she hopes that Psalm 72 is true even after her very different experience of what kings are like.

WBC Allen, Leslie C. 1983. Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 101-150. Vol. 21. Waco, TX: Word Books, Publisher.

Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. 1974. Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible. 8th ed. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Press.

Brueggemann, Walter. 2007. Praying the Psalms: Engaging Scripture and the Life of the Spirit. 2nd ed. Eugene, OR: Cascade.

Brueggemann Brueggemann, Walter. 2014. From Whom No Secrets Are Hid: Introducing the Psalms. Edited by Brent A. Strawn. 1st ed. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

WBC Craigie, Peter C. 1983. Psalms 1-50–Word Biblical Commentary. Vol. 19. Waco, TX: Word Books.

Creach, Jerome Frederick Davis. 1998. Psalms: Interpretation Bible Studies. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

W de Claisse-Walford, Nancy L. WISDOM COMMENTARY: Psalms Bks. 4-5. Edited by Barbara E. Reid. Vol. 22. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2020.

W Hopkins, Denise Dombkowski. WISDOM COMMENTARY: Psalms Bks. 2-3. Edited by Barbara E. Reid. Vol. 21. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical, 2016.

NIB Keck, Leander E. 2015. The New Interpreters Bible Commentary. Vol. 3. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.

Mays Mays, James Luther. 1994. Psalms. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press.

McCann, J. C., & Howell, J. C. 2001. Preaching the Psalms. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.

Miller Miller, Patrick D. 1986. Interpreting the Psalms. Philadelphia, PA: Fortress Press.

Schlimm Schlimm, Matthew Richard. 2018. 70 Hebrew Words Every Christian Should Know. Nashville, TN: Abington Press.

Spong Spong, M. (Ed.). (2020). The words of her mouth: Psalms for the struggle. Cleveland, OH: The Pilgrim Press.

WBC Tate, Marvin E. 1990. Word Biblical Commentary: Psalms 51-100. Edited by David Allan. Hubbard and Glenn W. Barker. Vol. 20. Waco, TX: Word.

OTL Weiser, Artur. 1998. Old Testament Library: Psalms. Translated by Herbert Hartwell. 3rd ed. New York, NY: Manchester University Press.

I began writing Psalm reflections during Lent of 2020 shortly after we decided to close the church building, work from home, and worship via zoom. Many churches use the revised common lectionary that rotates scripture on a three-year cycle (A, B, and C). Starting in Advent 2019, Third Church decided to worship with the texts from Year D, which is still not circulated as are years A, B, and C. Year D was created with the goal of including scriptures that were left out or not used as frequently as others. Reflections exploring the Psalms in year D. While we were using Year D, most other lectionary followers were using Year A. Now that we are rejoining those who use the lectionary, we are on Year B. This we hope will keep all of us planning and preparing worship on the same page.

I use the Vanderbilt Divinity Library’s resource for lectionary readings to make text selections when I’m following the Revised Common Lectionary.