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The Reign of the Righteous King.

A Psalm of Solomon.

72 Give the king [knowledge of] Your judgments, O God,
And [the spirit of] Your righteousness to the king’s son [to guide all his ways].

May he judge Your people with righteousness,
And Your afflicted with justice.(A)

The mountains will bring peace and prosperity to the people,
And the hills, in [the establishment of] righteousness.

May he bring justice to the poor among the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor,


Let them fear You [with awe-inspired reverence and worship You with obedience] while the sun endures,
And as long as the moon [reflects light], throughout all generations.

May he come down like rain on the mown grass,
Like showers that water the earth.

In his days may the righteous flourish,
And peace abound until the moon is no more.(B)


May he also rule from sea to sea
And from the River [Euphrates] to the ends of the earth.(C)

The nomads of the desert will bow before him,
And his enemies will [a]lick the dust.
10 
The kings of Tarshish and of the islands will bring offerings;
The kings of Sheba and Seba will offer gifts.
11 
Yes, all kings will bow down before him,
All nations will serve him.(D)

12 
For he will rescue the needy when he cries for help,
The afflicted and abused also, and him who has no helper.
13 
He will have compassion on the poor and needy,
And he will save the lives of the needy.
14 
He will redeem their life from oppression and fraud and violence,
And their blood will be precious in His sight.
15 
So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him;
And let them pray for him continually;
Let them bless and praise him all day long.

16 
There will be an abundance of grain in the soil on the top of the [b]mountains;
Its fruit will wave like [the cedars of] Lebanon,
And those of the city will flourish like grass of the earth.
17 
May his name endure forever;
May his name continue as long as the sun;
And let men bless themselves by him;
Let all nations call him blessed.

18 
Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone does wonderful things.
19 
Blessed be His glorious name forever;
And may the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen.

20 
The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.

Book Three

The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.

A Psalm of Asaph.

73 Truly God is good to Israel,
To those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps had almost slipped.

For I was envious of the arrogant
As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For there are no pains in their death,
Their body is fat and pampered.

They are not in trouble as other men,
Nor are they plagued like mankind.

Therefore pride is their necklace;
Violence covers them like a garment [like a long, luxurious robe].

Their eye bulges from fatness [they have more than the heart desires];
The imaginations of their mind run riot [with foolishness].

They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
They speak loftily [with malice].

They set their mouth against the heavens,
And their tongue swaggers through the earth.(E)

10 
Therefore his people return to this place,
And waters of abundance [offered by the irreverent] are [blindly] drunk by them.
11 
They say, “How does God know?
Is there knowledge [of us] with the Most High?”
12 
Behold, these are the ungodly,
Who always prosper and are at ease [in the world]; they have increased in wealth.
13 
Surely then in vain I have cleansed my heart
And washed my hands in innocence.(F)
14 
For all the day long have I been stricken,
And punished every morning.

15 
If I had said, “I will say this,” [and expressed my feelings],
I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.
16 
When I considered how to understand this,
It was too great an effort for me and too painful
17 
Until I came into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood [for I considered] their end.
18 
Surely You set the wicked-minded and immoral on slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
19 
How they are destroyed in a moment!
They are completely swept away by sudden terrors!
20 
Like a dream [which seems real] until one awakens,
O Lord, when stirred, [You observe the wicked], You will despise their image.

21 
When my heart was embittered
And I was pierced within [as with the fang of an adder],
22 
Then I was senseless and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.
23 
Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 
You will guide me with Your counsel,
And afterward receive me to honor and glory.

25 
Whom have I in heaven [but You]?
And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 
My flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the rock and strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 
For behold, those who are far from You will perish;
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful and have abandoned You.
28 
But as for me, it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have made the Lord God my refuge and placed my trust in Him,
That I may tell of all Your works.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 72:9 I.e. lay themselves face down in submission.
  2. Psalm 72:16 I.e. the most barren part of the land.

Concern for Israel

I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me [enlightened and prompted] by the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For [if it were possible] I would wish that I myself were accursed, [separated, banished] from Christ for the sake [of the salvation] of my brothers, my natural kinsmen,(A) who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, the glory ([a]Shekinah), the [special] covenants [with Abraham, Moses, and David], the giving of the Law, the [system of temple] worship, and the [original] promises.(B) To them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to His natural descent, came the Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed), He who is exalted and supreme over all, God blessed forever. Amen.

However, it is not as though God’s word has failed [coming to nothing]. For not all who are descended from Israel (Jacob) are [the true] Israel; and they are not all the children of Abraham because they are his descendants [by blood], but [the promise was]: “Your descendants will be named through Isaac” [though Abraham had other sons].(C) That is, it is not the children of the body [Abraham’s natural descendants] who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are counted as [Abraham’s true] descendants. For this is what the promise said: “About this time [next year] I will come, and Sarah shall have a son.”(D) 10 And not only that, but this too: Rebekah conceived twin sons by one man [under the same circumstances], by our father Isaac; 11 and though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything either good or bad, so that God’s purpose [His choice, His election] would stand, not because of works [done by either child], but because of [the plan of] Him who calls them, 12 it was said to her, “The [b]older (Esau) will serve the [c]younger (Jacob).”(E) 13 As it is written and forever remains written, “[d]Jacob I loved (chose, protected, blessed), but [e]Esau I hated (held in disregard compared to Jacob).”(F)

14 What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Certainly not! 15 For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I have compassion.”(G)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 9:4 The Hebrew word “Shekinah” (“divine presence”) does not appear in Scripture, but has been used by both Christians and Jews to describe the visible Presence of God (the brilliant light of the divine), in such things as the burning bush, the cloud and the pillar of fire that led the Hebrews in the wilderness, and the Presence of God that rested between the cherubim over the mercy seat of the ark. It is said in the Talmud that the Emperor Hadrian once told a rabbi, “I want to see your God.” The rabbi replied, “You cannot see him.” “Indeed,” said the Emperor, “I will see him.” So the rabbi took the Emperor and positioned him to face the sun during the summer solstice, and said to him, “Look at it.” He replied, “I am not able to.” The rabbi said, “If you are not able to look at the sun, which is merely one of the servants that attend the Holy One—blessed be He—then how can you presume to look at the divine presence!”
  2. Romans 9:12 The descendants of Esau, the Edomites.
  3. Romans 9:12 The descendants of Jacob (Israel), the Israelites.
  4. Romans 9:13 The Israelites received God’s protection and blessing.
  5. Romans 9:13 The Edomites were left to God’s judgment.

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