Sixteen verses on nations, rulers and justice, grouped by what you want to pray, with no party or politician named.
The psalms say a great deal about kings, judges and nations, and little of it is flattering. Psalm 72 prays for a king to be given justice and measures him by how he treats the poor. Psalm 82 pictures God presiding among the gods and asking how long they will judge unjustly. Psalm 146 warns against putting trust in princes at all. None of them names a modern country or takes a side.
The verses are grouped by what you want to pray: for the country, for its leaders, for justice in government, and for a steady head when politics is loud. Each one is shown in full with a short note. Tick the ones you want and print them as a single sheet.
Verses that speak about a whole nation and the God it answers to. None of them names a modern country, so they can be prayed for any.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.
The blessing rests on whose God the nation has, not on its wealth or its armies. Verse 16 of the same psalm says no king is saved by the size of his army.
Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy,for you will judge the peoples with equity,and govern the nations on earth. Selah.
O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
A prayer for all the nations at once, not for one. It asks that they be glad because they are governed with equity.
Unless the LORD builds the house,they who build it labor in vain.Unless the LORD watches over the city,the watchman guards it in vain.
Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
The watchman is still on the wall. The verse does not send him home. It says his watching is in vain unless the LORD also watches over the city.
For the kingdom is the LORD’s.He is the ruler over the nations.
For the kingdom is the LORD’s: and he is the governor among the nations.
A plain statement of who holds the kingdom. The KJV words it as the governor among the nations.
Prayers for rulers, and verses spoken to rulers. Psalm 72 and Psalm 20 are both prayers for a king.
God, give the king your justice;your righteousness to the royal son.
Give the king thy judgments, O God, and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.
The prayer asks for justice for the ruler, not victory or popularity. It asks the same for the royal son, the next generation of leadership.
He will live; and Sheba’s gold will be given to him.Men will pray for him continually.They will bless him all day long.
And he shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba: prayer also shall be made for him continually; and daily shall he be praised.
Men will pray for him continually. The psalm itself pictures a people praying for their ruler every day.
May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble.May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high,
The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
A prayer spoken over someone about to face a day of trouble. Verse 6 calls him the LORD's anointed, so this is a people praying for their king.
Now therefore be wise, you kings.Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
Be wise now therefore, O ye kings: be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Spoken to rulers directly. Kings and judges are told to be wise and to be instructed, which assumes they need to be.
I will be careful to live a blameless life.When will you come to me?I will walk within my house with a blameless heart.
I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. O when wilt thou come unto me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.
A ruler's own resolution, and the heading attributes the psalm to David. He starts with how he will live in his own house before he speaks about the land.
The psalms judge rulers by what happens to the weak. These verses set out that standard.
“Defend the weak, the poor, and the fatherless.Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed.
Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Psalm 82 pictures God judging the judges. This verse is the charge given to them: defend the weak, the poor and the fatherless.
He will judge the poor of the people.He will save the children of the needy,and will break the oppressor in pieces.
He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
The king is measured by what happens to the poor and the children of the needy. Breaking the oppressor is named as part of the job.
Shall the throne of wickedness have fellowship with you,which brings about mischief by statute?
Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
The psalm knows that harm can be done by statute, through the law itself. It asks whether such a throne can have fellowship with God.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.Loving kindness and truth go before your face.
Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.
Righteousness and justice are named as the foundation of God's own throne. Loving kindness and truth go before it.
For an election season or a divided country. These verses put rulers in proportion without taking a side.
Don’t put your trust in princes,in a son of man in whom there is no help.
Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.
Do not put your trust in princes. Verse 4 gives the reason: a ruler dies, and on that day his plans perish.
But God is the judge.He puts down one, and lifts up another.
But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
God is the judge, who puts down one and lifts up another. Verse 6 says that rising does not come from east, west or south.
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses,but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses. The verse names where the writer's trust rests instead, and it is not in military strength.
The psalms speak of kings, not of a democracy, and their politics is simple: rulers answer to God and are judged by how they treat the weak. That standard presses on every side at once. This page does not name parties or leaders, and the notes describe what each verse says rather than applying it to current events. Readers are left to draw their own lines.
Psalm 67 is the clearest. It asks God to be merciful and to bless, and verse 4 prays that the nations be glad because God will judge the peoples with equity. Psalm 33:12 is the single verse that names a nation most directly.
Psalm 72 opens by asking God to give the king justice, and verse 15 says people will pray for him continually. Psalm 20 is a prayer for a king on a day of trouble.
They hold rulers to a standard of justice for the poor, the fatherless and the oppressed. Psalm 82:3 states it as a charge to judges, and Psalm 94:20 recognises that harm can be done by statute.
The psalms do not name any modern country. Psalm 33:12 speaks of a nation in general terms, and Psalm 67 prays for all nations to be governed with equity, so both can be prayed for any country, including the United States.
Psalm 146:3. Psalm 118:9 says something close: it is better to take refuge in the LORD than to put confidence in princes.
Psalm 101 is written in the voice of a ruler setting out how he will govern, starting in verse 2 with his own house. Psalm 78:72 describes David leading his people with integrity of heart and skilful hands.
Psalms for JusticePsalms for Peace of Mind and ComfortPsalms for Guidance and DirectionPsalms about WisdomPsalms about Humility and PridePsalms for the Church, Pastors and Revival