Epiphany
Preaching
Aids To The Psalms
Exploring The Message
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.
For he delivers the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence he redeems their life;
and precious is their blood in his sight.
Alternate Image
"To wealth and prosperity!" The Singer and others clink their
glasses to this toast as they make economic plans for
the coming year for the company. One suggests they can raise
their profit line if they become more aggressive at the
bargaining table with their employees and keep the cost of wages
down. Another speaks that because of their powerful position in
the market they should be able to effectively wage a price war
with some of their competitors by driving them from the market.
What losses they incur can easily be made up later. Another
proposes a plan to hire away the arch competitor's best
brainpower, weakening that company's ability to compete with
them. Another suggests that they wage an ad campaign that lifts
up the main weakness of their product as a great strength. "The
magnanimous lie" campaign is what he calls it. The Singer leaves
the meeting exhausted.
"To prosperity and well-being!" The glasses clink at another
meeting the Singer attends. Another group makes economic plans
for the coming year. One idea leads to another and the
participants come up with more and more ideas for better products
and better service for their customers. As the Singer leaves at
the end of the meeting she feels exhilarated, she feels
prosperous and possesses a marvelous sense of well-being.
Reflection
"May the mountain yield prosperity." Prosperity is how the
NRSV translates the familiar Hebrew word, shalom. Shalom is a
concept that is wider than peace. Perhaps the best translation
would be that feeling of "well-being" when you are sure you have
done something right. This psalm tells us that if we cooperate
together, if we work for the common good, if we seek to be in
tune with God's will for all people, we will enjoy maximum
prosperity. If we benefit at someone else's expense our victory
is bitter and does not benefit our soul. If we work for a society
where all benefit, our victory tastes sweet and our souls
rejoice. Social justice makes for healthy, prosperous, nations.
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.
For he delivers the needy when they call,
the poor and those who have no helper.
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
From oppression and violence he redeems their life;
and precious is their blood in his sight.
Alternate Image
"To wealth and prosperity!" The Singer and others clink their
glasses to this toast as they make economic plans for
the coming year for the company. One suggests they can raise
their profit line if they become more aggressive at the
bargaining table with their employees and keep the cost of wages
down. Another speaks that because of their powerful position in
the market they should be able to effectively wage a price war
with some of their competitors by driving them from the market.
What losses they incur can easily be made up later. Another
proposes a plan to hire away the arch competitor's best
brainpower, weakening that company's ability to compete with
them. Another suggests that they wage an ad campaign that lifts
up the main weakness of their product as a great strength. "The
magnanimous lie" campaign is what he calls it. The Singer leaves
the meeting exhausted.
"To prosperity and well-being!" The glasses clink at another
meeting the Singer attends. Another group makes economic plans
for the coming year. One idea leads to another and the
participants come up with more and more ideas for better products
and better service for their customers. As the Singer leaves at
the end of the meeting she feels exhilarated, she feels
prosperous and possesses a marvelous sense of well-being.
Reflection
"May the mountain yield prosperity." Prosperity is how the
NRSV translates the familiar Hebrew word, shalom. Shalom is a
concept that is wider than peace. Perhaps the best translation
would be that feeling of "well-being" when you are sure you have
done something right. This psalm tells us that if we cooperate
together, if we work for the common good, if we seek to be in
tune with God's will for all people, we will enjoy maximum
prosperity. If we benefit at someone else's expense our victory
is bitter and does not benefit our soul. If we work for a society
where all benefit, our victory tastes sweet and our souls
rejoice. Social justice makes for healthy, prosperous, nations.
