Yesterday in my daily scripture reading I read Psalms 72 , which says it is a “Prayer for Guidance and Support for the King” written by Solomon.
The Psalm made me think of the wonderful hymn, “America the Beautiful“, for a couple of reasons. First, in verse 8 the Psalm says, “May he have dominion from sea to sea” which is paralleled by the songs “with brotherhood from sea to shining sea.” Second, the Psalm verse 16 says, ”May there be abundance of grain in the land; may it wave on the tops of the mountains” which is paralleled in the songs “For amber waves of grain.” Third, verse 3 says “May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness” which is paralleled in the songs “Purple mountain majesty.” I have no idea whether the songs composer, Katherine Lee Bates, had Psalm 72 in mind (or any other Psalm for that matter), but the Psalm verses did remind me of the song verses.
This made me also think about the claims that America is a Christian nation. For in Psalm 72 we are given a very particular image of what godly leadership consists. And while the Psalms are Old Testamental, thus pre-Christian, many Christian Patristic writers believed the Psalms represented the mind of Christ.
So how does Psalm 72 envision godly leadership in a godly nation?
[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.
[4] May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor.
[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. (The Septuagint according to the Orthodox Study Bible reads “He shall redeem their souls from usury and injustice.“)
One thing which is clear in Psalm 72 is that the ruler of a godly nation provides justice to the poor and helps secure that the poor benefit from the righteousness of the nation. The godly nation – the Christian nation – is to care for and provide for its poor. The godly ruler takes up the cause of the poor and defends them, has pity for them, and delivers them in time of trouble.
Another thing made clear in the Psalm is the hope that peace will abound for the godly ruler and the godly nation. The poor often suffer the worst of all citizens in the time of war as they already live on the edge of not being able to support themselves. If there is such a thing as a peace dividend, it ought to be used to help the poor.
Finall the godly nation and the godly rulers protect the poor from usury – the demands of interest charged by lenders. There is a financial burden the godly nation must bear to help its poor. The godly nation is not to just make lending to the poor easy, or even to make lending cheap. Rather the godly nation relies on generosity from its prospering citizens to provide for the needs of the poor and the disabled. A godly ruler is one who cares about the poor and insures that they are treated well by the nation and by the people.
