May 12th — Psalm 72

“Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to a king’s son. May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice. May the mountains yield prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness. May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the needy, and crush the oppressor. May he live while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations. May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,

like showers that water the earth. In his days may righteousness flourish and peace abound, until the moon is no more. May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth. May his foes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust. May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles

render him tribute, may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts. May all kings fall down before him, all nations give him service.” Psalm 72:1-11

I’m not sure about you but I’m getting tired, and I am sick of worrying about getting sick. This world is heading in a direction that seems less and less certain to me. The rule of people on this planet has been a dismal failure since the beginning of time. It has been filled with mostly oppression, injustice and corruption. Money and power talk on this planet, not the righteousness of G-d, nor G-d’s wisdom and justice. The world is ever more upside down and inside out. Bad is good; up is down — Left is right; right is wrong. Evil is good; insanity is sanity. Abnormal is normal.

The Western world especially is moving and changing, and not necessarily for the better. Christians who believe that G-d created all things, and that G-d is in all things are quick to be labelled crazy.

What a crazy world we live in. But this is the world that G-d has given to all of us. Like the Psalmist, we pray for the leaders of this world — in America and across the globe. We can only pray that more leaders will see the need for the love of G-d to be made manifest in their ruling and in their lives. If we truly believe that prayer is powerful and effective, then now is the time to be a prayer warrior.

PRAYER

Almighty God, you gave the kingdom of justice and peace to your servant David. Extend to every nation the dominion of our Lord Jesus, David’s son, so that in the light of his reign the poor may receive justice and all people of the earth may dwell in peace; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.

Amen.