Wednesday, 5th Week of Easter

Psalm 72

Psalm 72 was originally a coronation song for the kings that descended from David. Eventually the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem, took the Jewish people into exile, and ended the Davidic kingdom. Even after that exile ended, and the Jews returned to their homeland, their kings ruled from places like Persia, Greece, Egypt, and Rome. So, this psalm became part of the Jewish people’s expectation of the future Messiah, the one chosen by God to “rule your people righteously and the poor with justice; that the mountains may bring prosperity to the people, and the little hills bring righteousness” (vs. 2-3).

We see Jesus, “the Christ” as that Messiah (of which “Christ” is the Greek translation of the Hebrew “Messiah”). So it is natural to pray this psalm to Jesus Christ. Frankly, only someone like Jesus could “live as long as the sun and moon endure…[and] come down like rain upon the mown field” (vs. 5-6). The king envisioned in Psalm 72 is a traditional ruler who imposes justice from above by his decree. But he is also a king who sinks into the ground like the rain, and unseen, nourishes the creation, and blooms in good time, in unexpected places, and by no decree of human beings.

When I pray the psalms, I always pause between the halves of the verse, and take a breath. Sometimes, I find one verse speaking to me in a personal way, and I’ll stop reciting the psalm, and I’ll simply say that one verse silently in my mind, but timing my breathing with each section of that verse. Try it yourselves sometime. Don’t just say the psalm, breathe it , and see what rain comes down upon the fields of your heart and mind, giving you new insights, new feelings, new hope. Happy praying.