Why read Psalm 71?
Read Psalm 71 to pray for just leadership and protection for poor people. Its portrait of a righteous king emphasizes peace, care for the vulnerable and an end to oppression.
You can read this psalm when its themes speak to your circumstances, or as part of your regular reading of the Psalter. This explanation draws on the text itself; the psalm is not reserved for one particular need.
"Give Thy judgement to the king, O God, and..." — so begins Psalm 71, twenty-one verses from the Tenth Kathisma. The Psalter is read in the Orthodox Church at every service, and this psalm has its own place in the order of prayer. Orthodox Septuagint numbering is retained: this Psalm 71 corresponds to Psalm 72 in Hebrew numbering.
The text of Psalm 71
1. Give Thy judgement to the king, O God, and Thy righteousness to the king's son,
2. That he may judge Thy people with righteousness and Thy poor with judgement.
3. The mountains shall bring peace to Thy people, and the hills righteousness.
4. He shall judge the poor of the people, show mercy to the children of the poor, and humble the slanderer.
5. And they shall fear Thee as long as the sun endureth, and as long as the moon, from generation to generation.
6. He shall come down like rain upon a fleece, and as drops falling upon the earth.
7. In His days shall righteousness spring up, and abundance of peace, as long as the moon endureth.
8. And He shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the world.
9. Before Him shall the Ethiopians kneel, and His enemies shall lick the dust.
10. The kings of Tharsis and the islands shall bring gifts; the kings of Arabia and of the Queen of Saba shall offer presents.
11. And all the kings of the earth shall worship Him, all the nations shall serve Him.
12. For He hath delivered the poor from the hand of the mighty, and the needy that had no helper.
13. He shall spare the poor and needy, and the souls of the poor shall He save;
14. He shall redeem their souls from usury and oppression, and their name shall be precious before Him.
15. And He shall live, and to Him shall be given of the gold of Arabia, and they shall pray for Him continually; all the day shall they bless Him.
16. There shall be an abundance of bread on the earth, up to the mountain peaks; the fruit trees shall grow tall like the cedars of Lebanon, and those in the city shall flourish like the grass of the earth.
17. His name shall endure for ever; as long as the sun endureth, shall His name be remembered.
18. All the tribes of the earth shall be blessed in Him, all the nations shall call Him blessed.
19. Blessed is the Lord God, the God of Israel, Who alone doeth wonders.
20. And blessed is the name of His glory for ever, and unto the age of ages.
21. All the earth shall be filled with His glory. Amen. Amen.
When Psalm 71 is read
- It belongs to the Tenth Kathisma; it may be read daily, together with the prayer rule (see the morning and the evening prayers).
- At the end of each psalm, the tradition adds: "Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen."
Neighbouring psalms
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
