Psalms  ◦   Chapter 72

1Give the king the knowledge of your design law, O God,
imbue him with your perfect character of love and truth.

2Enable him to govern in harmony with your righteous principles,
and to share your right remedy with those suffering in sin.

3Then the temple-mount will be a place of healing to the people —
the places of worship will promote your righteous character.

4The king will advocate for the poor and afflicted
and give remedy to those who need it;
his perfect character of love will crush the selfish oppressor.

5The people will revere you, O God, as creator of sun and moon,
as designer and builder of all reality,
through all generations.

6The king will bring life — like refreshing rain to a mown lawn,
like showers that water the earth.

7From his life, the righteous will blossom and grow —
an abundant harvest of spiritually-healthy people
ever increasing until the dark night of sin is past.

8He will reign from sea to sea,
from the river Euphrates to the ends of the earth.

9The people from the entire earth — even from its remotest parts — will kneel before him
and his enemies, consumed with guilt and shame,
will hide their faces in the dirt to evade his gaze.

10The rulers of the western nations and distant lands
will bring him gifts;
the monarchs of the eastern and southern nations
will present him their offerings.

11All heads-of-state will bow down before him,
and all nations will serve him.

12For he will rescue the needy when they turn to him
and heal the broken-hearted who choose him as their only remedy.

13He will be merciful to the weak — those who recognize their spiritual need —
and heal them from their sin-sick terminal condition.

14He will deliver them from the oppression and violence of selfishness,
for their lives are very precious to him.

15He will be Life — the healing remedy to cure the infection of sin;
he will provide the gold of a perfect righteous character of love.
May the people keep in constant communion with him —
praising, valuing and adoring him continually.

16Let the seeds of truth blossom throughout the world;
in every high place of worship may they flourish.
Let the fruit of righteousness abound like the forests of Lebanon,
thriving like grass of the field.

17His character of love will endure forever,
the fame of his perfection — longer than the sun.
The human race will be blessed by him,
and they will call him "the blessed one."

18All praise to our Creator God — the God whom Israel trusted —
who alone does what is marvelous.

19Praise be to his glorious character of love forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his life-giving glory.
So let it always be!

20(This concludes the prayers of David, son of Jesse).