Every Nation on Earth Will Adore

Psalm 72 was a prayer for the Israelite king. At the time of Jesus, however, no king had ruled Israel for 600 years. If the psalm was prayed at all then, it would have been sung as a petition for a new king, the Messiah. The early Church would adopt this psalm as a prefiguring of Christ. We, the present Church, are challenged to see the Feast of the Epiphany and the singing of Psalm 72 as celebrating the present and the future. The verses give us more images for what the fullness of God’s kingdom will look like when all peoples are in right relation with the Creator. The psalm offers praise to the ruler and to the God who gives the ruler power. With its images of peace and justice, the psalm is one of comfort, hope, and also of challenge. We see many places in the world where this peace and justice do not yet exist, areas where the lives of the poor are endangered and threatened. As we pray and meditate on this psalm, we pray that the rule of God in Christ will come about, that justice for the poor and afflicted will be secured, that all nations and their leaders will lay their power and wealth at the service of God’s redemptive plan. We are challenged to work for peace and justice and care of the poor and the earth.

Give justice to your Anointed, O God,
and righteousness to those Chosen!
That your people may be judged in righteousness,
and your poor with justice.

In that day justice shall flourish and peace till the moon be no more!
Your Anointed shall rule from sea to sea,
from the River to the ends of the earth!

The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall render tribute.
May rulers of Arabia and Seba bring gifts.
All will fall down before the Anointed, all nations serve and pay homage.

The Anointed delivers the needy when they call,
the poor and those who are helpless;
Having pity on the weak and the needy, saving the lives of the poor.

[verses adapted from People’s Companion to the Breviary © 1997 by the Carmelites of Indianapolis]