PSALM 75 Discern the voices of the wicked

Psalm 75 NASB v4 I said to the boastful "Do not boast"
                                 And to the wicked "Do not lift up your horn"
                            v5 " Do not lift up your horn on high
                                 Do not speak with insolent pride"

The boastful raise themselves up like rams with threatening horns.
It is noticeable,  we should beware.

Psalm 12 NASB v2 They speak falsehood to one another.
                                 With flattering lips and double heart they speak.

Psalm 62 NASB v4 .....They delight in falsehood;
                                 They bless with their mouth
                                 But inwardly curse
.
The wicked praise their ill gotten gains.

Psalm 49 NASB v6  Even those who trust in their wealth
                                  And boast in the abundance of their riches.

It is always necessary to review our own motives and behaviour
to know which voices we are listening to and acting upon.
Young people who practice discernment personally,
are able to make better choices and are less likely
to be taken in by the unscrupulous .  

PSALM 74:12-17 Proclaim the mighty works of God

When we read aloud or sing Psalm 74:12-17 , we are telling
( all who can hear ) and proclaiming the mighty works of God.

The psalmist instructs us to do this in Psalm 66:3 NASB
Say to God, " How awesome are Your works !

In Psalm 71  (Ps 70 in the SAAR translation)
The psalmist asks for time...
v18....until I proclaim Your arm to every coming generation
          Yes Your mighty deeds and Your righteousness.
v19    O God I proclaim the magnificent things You did
          Even to the highest heaven;

In Psalm 145:4-5-6 we find prophecy that this will happen;
4   One generation will commend your works to another,
            they will tell of your mighty acts.
5   They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,
            and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
6   They will tell of the power of your awesome works,
            and I will proclaim your great deeds.

Revelation 15:3 indicates that those who proclaim the mighty works of God
(in spirit and truth) are one in eternity with Moses, the Lamb
and the angels of God !!
Revelation 15:3 KJV.....on the sea of glass, having harps of God
3   And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God,
     and the song of the Lamb, saying
     Great and marvellous are your works,
     Lord God Almighty, just and true are thy ways.

Psalm 74:12-17 NASB
12   Yet God is my king from old,
       Who works deeds of deliverance in the midst of the earth
13   You divided the sea by Your strength;
       You  broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
14   You crushed the heads of the Leviathan;
       You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15   You broke open spring and torrents;
       You dried up ever flowing streams.
16   Yours is the day. Yours is the night;
       You have prepared the light and the sun.
17   You have established all the boundaries of the earth;
       You have made summer and winter.

We might produce our own 12 line proclamation of the mighty works of God.
Our personal list of God,s works might include what God has done for us
in New Testament times and in our own experience.
It is valuable to listen to what God has done for others, because
what He has done for others He can do for you.
What you share may reach people in distant places and distant times !

PSALM 74:8 The landscape in which Christians stand

Psalm 74:8  Their kindred said in their heart together
        "Come let us abolish all the feasts of God on earth"

In the U.K. the observance of the Sabbath day has been undermined.
Legislation has caused high retail activity on Sundays.
Relaxation of licencing laws has opened up the sale of alcohol,
sports meetings , betting shops and casinos .
Many people now have to work on Sundays.
Good Friday is now a busy day at shopping precincts in the U.K.

The media has played a major part in "Pushing back the boundaries"
"Norms" of social behaviour on T.V. now fall below standards which
used to be taken for granted. Scripture is contradicted in parliament,
in court and in schools ; and secularists claim that their values should
be accepted by everyone.

Christians are aware of these things and we understand that declining
standards and decadence do not arise out of innocent or wholesome
motives or worthwhile aspirations.
1st Peter 2:9 ESV   But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you.....
v10     .....now you are God's people.
Standing like rocks in a stream, individual Christians form a worldwide community;-
the body of Christ. 

PSALM 74:7 God's dwelling place

Psalm 74:7 SAAR
They burned down Your sanctuary
they defiled the tabernacle of Your name to the ground.

Ancient churches in Aleppo have been burned and bombed recently.

Psalm 74:4 ESV
Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place
they set up their own signs for signs.

All over the U.K. a noticeable proportion of church buildings have been
converted into bingo halls, night clubs, restaurants, and warehouses.
Some have been made into apartments and many have been demolished
 and redeveloped while others stand in disrepair.
But no one needs to be despondent about desecrated , delapsed or
destroyed buildings.

1 Peter 2:5 NLT
   now God is building you as living stones
          into his spiritual temple.
1st Corinthians 3:16 ESV
Do you not know that you are God's temple
and that God's Spirit dwells in You ?

PSALM 74 Engaged with the needy

Psalm 74 is a believers prayer for poor and afflicted people,
for all afflicted by persecution,
for those afflicted by poverty,
for all those afflicted by poor health,
and for the protection of those ministering to them in the love of God;-
the care workers, relief workers, missionaries involved in both
outreach and relief work.

Psalm 74:19 NASB
Do not deliver the soul of Your turtledove to the wild beast.
Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.
Psalm 74:19 KJV
O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove into the 
multitude of the wicked.
Forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.

The turtledove was the sacrifice of the poor.
If relief workers are sacrificing themselves for the poor and needy,
this prayer is for the deliverance of the relief workers
who are in effect "God's turtle doves".
By bringing good advice and understanding to those who need to be
delivered from debt, dependency and homelessness, "God's turtle  doves"
are easily discerned from those in society and politics who speak with
the voice of the anti-Christ. 

PSALM 74 Prophecy of understanding

We pray and sing psalm 74.
not to inform God about problems with the wicked.
Psalm 74 provides the reader and psalm singer
with information, inspiration and understanding.

Psalm 74 and 78 are prophetic
and speak to " Children yet unborn " (Psalm 78:6 ESV)
According to the footnotes to this psalm in the
Orthodox SAAS translation ;-
Psalm 74 is a prophecy of understanding and
psalm 78 concerns understanding.

Psalm 74 has some descriptive names for;-
               Who we are in God
v19  Your afflicted people        NIV and NLT
v1    Sheep of your pasture      NIV and NASB
v2    Your congregation            NASB
v19  your dove                          NIV
v19  your turtledove                 NASB and NKJV
v19  the congregation of thy poor              KJV

So it is quite scriptural to pray to God as His afflicted people, as sheep of His pasture
as His congregation , or as the congregation of His poor. 

PSALM 73:28 God's Love

Psalm 73:28  The Psalms of David  ( Church of Scotland )

28     But surely it is good for me

                that I draw near to God:

         In God I Trust, that all thy works

                I may declare abroad.

The trust mentioned here is more than a vague hope.

The trust is that the will of God for me

is the most wholesome thing possible

and that anything else falls short.

Being utterly convinced of this

we eagerly seek to know and to do the will of God.

Psalm 73:28 Good News Bible

28     But as for me, how wonderful to be near God,

              to find protection with the Sovereign Lord

         and to proclaim all that he has done !

But the psalmist has found a lot more than security

and protection: He has found faith and trust  in the Lord,

faith and trust in the will of God.

In fact he has found faith and trust in the love of God

and in all the actions of the God who is his counselor,

enough to say.....

                          surely goodness and mercy

will follow me all my days......and I will live

in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 73: 28 New Catholic Version

As for me, my happiness is to be near God,

      and I have made the Lord my refuge

I will proclaim all your works

      at the gates of the Daughters of Zion.

There is a prayer of thanksgiving -- for all God has done

and a proclamation of faith and oneness in God's purposes

a prayer of humility recognizing every other person 

to be God's creation---

a fellow creature in God's love.

1 John 4:15-16 New International Version

15    If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God,

        God lives in him and he in God.

16    And so we know and rely on the love of God for us.

        God is love

        Whoever lives in love lives in God

         and God in him.

Now we eagerly seek and to do the love of God.

PSALM 73:27 The Perishing

Psalm 73:27  The New Jerusalem Bible
Truly, those who abandon you will perish.

People who give their lives over to the wrong things
put themselves at risk. Verse 2 illustrates how it is possible
to stumble by focusing on the success of the wicked and
falling into envy.
The New Testament perspective is given in
2nd Corinthians 14-16 ESV
But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us
in triumphal procession, and through us spreads 
the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.
For we are the aroma of Christ to God
among those who are being saved
and among those who are perishing.

Those who never turn to him for guidance,
 are not among those who are being led by him. 

PSALM 73:26 INNER STRENGTH in your inner being.

Psalm 73:26  Good News Bible
My mind and my body may grow week,
     but God is my strength;
     he is all  ever need.

Psalm 73:26  English Standard Version
My flesh and my heart may fail,
       but God is the strength of my heart
       and my portion for ever.

In the New Testament, Paul is inspired
to give the same testimony as David.

2nd Corinthians 4
.......though our outer self is wasting away,
       our inner self is being renewed every day.
.......For the things that are seen are transient
       but the things that are unseen are eternal.

The Christian believer has an "inner self" and an  "inner life"
The inner self enjoys an ongoing relationship with the living God,
who is forever the source of his inner strength.
Note Pauls prayer for believers in Ephesians 3:16 KJV
      "That he would grant you according to the riches of his glory,
         to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man.
Ephesians 3:16 ESV
       "that according to the riches of his glory he might grant you
         to be strengthened with power through his Spirit
         in your inner being.......

PSALM 73:25 One Counsellor

The Psalms of David in Metre  ( Church of Scotland )
Ps 73:25
               Whom have I in heavens high
                 but thee, O LORD, alone ?

In the early 60s I thought that " living by the gun"was an expression
which described behaviour in black and white cowboy films.
Now so many live and die by the gun, not just in Somalia, Syria
and Sudan but in  South America and even in the USA.
Where do people put their trust ?...in money ? in guns?
in the media ?  in commentators and celebrities?

Psalm 73:24
while we who live in the counsel of the living God
are received into Glory.

PSALM 73:24 Divine Counsel

Psalm 73:24a   New Catholic Version
   You guide me with your counsel,......

God gives his servant wisdom and insight ( counsel ).

The person who dynamically lives his love for God
who chooses to be led by the Spirit of Christ
whose speech and action exudes the love of Christ
will enjoy Christian awareness, Christian perceptions,
Christian emotions, Christian desires, Christian energies,
Christian commitments, Christian actions and Christian habits.

Psalm 73:23b  New Catholic Version
.....and afterward you will receive me into glory.

Psalm 16:11 New Catholic version
You will show me the path to life
you will fill me with joy in your presence
and everlasting delights at your right hand.

The psalmist could not have known that God so loved the world
that he would give his only son that everyone who believes in him
may not perish but may have eternal life.
However the self revelation of God to the psalmist led him to long
never to be separated from the LORD our God.

PSALM 73:22-23 Walking with the King

Psalm 73:22-23 NCV

22   I was stupid and unable to comprehend-

       like a brute beast in your presence'

A dangerous animal has to be violently controlled.

i.e. not sensitive to being lead by the hand.

23   Yet I am always with you, you grasp me by the right hand.

The experience of the presence of God changes the 

whole context of our existence and of our daily living .

The experience of anguish is transformed into

the joy of God's presence .

see psalm 63:8-9

8    For you are my help......

9    My soul clings tightly to you;

      your right hand holds me fast.

The person who chooses to live in the presence of God....
  who chooses to live in the present moment with Jesus as Lord and Saviour,

  who chooses to live with Master Jesus as constant companion and spiritual director,

  is walking with the King.

PSALM 73:21 Pray

Psalm 73:21 Good News Bible
When my thoughts were bitter
and my feelings were hurt.
Not a good time to make decisions !
Bitter thoughts and hurt feelings do not arise out of love.
We always need to ask ;-
Am I moved by the spirit of the lie ?
Am I moved by the spirit of fallen flesh ?
Am I moved by a humanist spirit ?
OR, Am I moved by the Spirit of Christ ?

PSALM 73:20 In Perspective

Psalm 73:20 New Revised Standard Version
They are like a dream when one awakes;
on awaking you despise their phantoms.
Most commercial advertisements invite you,
one way or the other, to live the dream;-
     by spending a lot of money on a dream holiday,
     by spending a lot of money on your dream home,
 or by spending a lot of money on a dream car.
Few advertisements invite you to live in the wholesome truth
      of the love and will of our Lord Jesus.
When one awakes to the truth, the "fairground prizes"
which the world offers,are seen in perspective.
It is a matter of choice for which one requires discernment. 

PSALM 73:19 Informed Choice

The wicked are on a course to self destruction.
Where did they make the wrong choices ?.
Let,s look at John 6:27 ESV;-
    Do not labour for food that perishes, but for food that endures
    to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.
    For on him God the Father has set his seal.

The wicked have chosen a course to destruction.
Let's look at John 14:15-17 ESV
      ....If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
16  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper
      to be with you forever,
17  even the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive ,
      because it neither sees him nor knows him.
      You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 

The wicked have chosen self destruction
How could they have chosen life ?

John 3:16 ESV
    For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son
    that whoever believes in him should not perish
    but have eternal life.

Psalm 73:19 The Book of Common Prayer
    Oh how suddenly they do consume;
    perish, and come to a fearful end.

Psalm 73:19 The Grail Psalms
    How suddenly they come to their ruin
    wiped out, destroyed by terrors.

Psalm 73:19 Good News Bible
    They are instantly destroyed;
    they go down to a horrible end.

Having spent much of their lives putting their trust in their own wits,
mocking the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Holiness
ignoring the word of God and the will of God,
the people they have become....are going down to a horrible end.

Their only hope is to choose to accept personally the Deity of Christ
                     and to accept His saving grace
                            to be born again
                            to have New Life in Jesus Christ.

PSALM 73:18 Rescue

Psalm 73:18 Good News Bible
You will put them in slippery places
and make them fall to their destruction !

There is a sea of people who, daily, choose to cheat more,
steal more, gamble more and indulge themselves more at the
expense of others. How many evil choices did Hitler make
to bring himself and so many others to destruction ?

Can the individual believer play a beneficial role?
The psalmist promises to do so.

Psalm 51:13 NJB
I shall teach the wicked your paths
and sinners will return to you.

To-day the Christian believer is not powerless.
and has greater communication opportunities than ever.
We can share the gospel with every potential Hitler
on the internet.  

PSALM 73: 16-17 in God's perspective

If  someone brags to you that they successfully made a false claim on
their insurance ; Then you know that person is a cheat and a liar and
a thief. They have told you so. So discernment is common sense.
If in prayer you ask the Lord to reveal to you where your own words
or attitude fell short of the full glory of the LORD--this morning-- there
is a good chance that He will bring to mind a conversation or event in
which your action was not informed by the word of God and did not
fully display the love of Christ for all the people involved.
On the other hand he might show you where you didn't make the same
mistake as yesterday--One tiny step away from immaturity towards
Christian maturity  !

Psalm 73:16-17 NCV
16      When I tried to understand all this
          I found it too difficult for me.
17      until I entered the sanctuary of God
          and realized what their final end would be.

In prayer, in the presence of the living God
psalmist receives revelation.
A prayerful personal relationship with the LORD
allows the believer to receive the counsel of the LORD
and the LORD starts to put things in perspective for him.
And the believer begins to see things in God's perspective. 

PSALM 73:15 Responsability

Psalm 73:15 English Standard Version
If I had said "I will speak thus"
I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

We have to be true to what we believe ourselves.
We also have some responsibility to the world wide church.
As a member of the body of Christ we serve Jesus the head of the body.
The psalmist would refrain from going along with worldly actions and attitudes
which he feels would betray and bring disgrace on the body of believers
and be detrimental to future generations of believers.
Every Christian needs to be able to practice Christian discernment
reguarding social and moral issues which are embraced by society.
The practice of less than Christian values with reguard to adultery
and divorce have betrayed a generation.
There are many other issues. In the U.K. deregulation of gambling
and deregulation of restrictions on the sale of alcohol have had
detremental  and harmful effects.
Members of the public who do not have a mental sense of what is right
and wrong , are vulnerable members of society.

PSALM 73:13-14 Personal Integrity

Psalm 73:13-14 English Standard Version
13 All in vain I have kept my heart clean
     and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all day long I have been stricken
     and rebuked every morning.
In contrast to the arrogant who
5  are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

To-day the psalmist might have said
"While others cheated in their exams ...I was honest"
"While others cheated on the Tax .......I was honest"
"While others made false claims ....I kept my integrity"

PSALM 73:12 Moral Choices

Psalm 73:12 NCV
Such are the wicked
as they pile up wealth , without any concerns.

The New Jerusalem Bible puts verse  12 like this;-
12  that is what the wicked are like
      piling up wealth without any concerns.

It has always been so. The oppressor chooses his priorities
year after year. Profit increases at the expense
of third world communities.
Christians make moral choices day by day.

PSALM 73:10-11 Need for Discernment

Psalm 73: 10-11 New Catholic Version
10  So people blindly follow them
      and find nothing offensive in their words.
11  They say "How does God know?"
    "  Does the Most High notice anything ?"

From the point of view of ordinary people,
the wicked often seem to enjoy power, status,
wealth and prosperity without restriction.
But people who have the advantage of Christian discernment
can see that adultery is adultery whatever you call it.,
Deception,  fraud,  and misappropriation is recognized as stealing.
It is better to be able to distinguish  people of good repute,
people of no repute and people of ill repute.
Young people need to be aware.
Every young Christian leaving home for college or work
needs to be discerning, to be able to practice Christian discernment
in everyday life in order to make the best choices and decisions. 

PSALM 73:9 Discerning Reality

Psalm 73:9 New Jerusalem Bible
   Their mouth claims heaven for themselves
   and their tongue is never still on earth.

Matthew 15:11 English Standard Version
Hear and understand 11  it is not what goes into the mouth
that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth;
this defiles a person.

The social reality of "Original Sin" is obvious when you
look at the worldly world with eyes of faith.
Battered infants, abandoned spouses, governmental deception
official lying and such things do not arise out of  "goodness"

Psalm 73:9 Good News Bible
   They speak evil of God in heaven
   and give arrogant orders to men on earth.

Exodus 20:7 Good News Bible
   Do not use my name for evil purposes,For I the LORD your God,
 will punish anyone who misuses my name.

Blasphemy and blasphemous attitudes expressed in the media
particularly on T.V., point people (without discernment)
in the wrong direction.                                                                                                                                

PSALM 73:8 Spiritual Darkness

Psalm 73:8 New Jerusalem Bible
   Cynically they advocate evil.

The desires, the habits and the attitudes of these folk
have developed from being plain worldly
to being deceptive, manipulative, deceitful,
potentially aggressive and violent.
Callously exploiting others,
they make others subservient to themselves.

Psalm 73:8  Good News Bible
They laugh at other people and speak of evil things
they are proud and make plans to oppress others.

You see it on television and it is more obvious in real life.
People who give their lives to darkness and destruction
deliberately exploit others to ruin them.
They murder in cold blood
They make others subservient to themselves
and take away others freedom.
Such people are living in spiritual darkness.
It does not just happen.
They choose to live in that dynamic.

PSALM 73:7 Poured Out

Psalm 73:7 Good News Bible
   their hearts pour out evil
   and their minds are busy with wicked schemes.

Discernment involves a lot of common sense .
You become aware of people acting without conscience,
taking unfair advantage of people, politically, financially,
socially, as oppressive employers, or money lenders,
holding people to ransom.

People in that state are not reliable or trustworthy.
It is dangerous to join them socially or politically
or in the way of business.

Matthew 26:28 New American Standard Bible
...this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out 
for many for the forgiveness of sins.

What a contrast between the self centered heart
and the Christ centered heart.
You can tell the difference between people
animated by the Spirit of Love
and those animated by a base selfish spirit.

PSALM 73:6 Discernment

Reflecting on some of his contemporaries the psalmist can discern the spiritual reality.
 Psalm 76:6 Good News Bible
And so they wear pride like a necklace
        and violence like a robe
It is possible to be aware when people are not motivated by care for others,
when there is nothing even humanistic about their desires and attitudes.
Pride is often worldly and selfish;
But when the drive to achieve self satisfaction
becomes aggressive and potentially violent,.....beware.
So pride is like a necklace for them
violence the garment they wear.
Thirst for power, for fierce exhilaration
gambling in their greed,
one step at a time becoming more aggressively
avaricious , and having less integrity. 

PSALM 73:5 Discernment

The psalmist reflects on some of his contemporaries with discernment.

Psalm 73:5 New Jerusalem Bible
     exempt from the cares which are the human lot
     they have no part in Adam's afflictions.

The psalmist can see that their perspectives on life have settled.
The way they perceive and value things and people
has become part of the people they are;
Their own greed and covetousness--all rationalized
and justified by social convention.

The theme of contemporary advertisements adds it up.
Have it all . Have it now. Get more. Indulge yourself.
Have the best. Be one up.

PSALM 73:4 Discernment

The psalmist practices discernment
Psalm 73:4 NEW JERUSALEM BIBLE
4   For them no such thing as pain
     untroubled their comfortable portliness
     exempt from the cares which are the human lot
     they have no part in Adam's afflictions.

The psalmist can see that those people were living for their own pleasure,
eagerly following fashion and absorbed in money and fine things.
They were living the dynamic of sin-prone flesh which we can refer to
with St Paul,s Greek word for fallen human nature "sarx"

PSALM 73:2-3 God's Way

Psalm 73:2-3 NCV
2        But as for me, I nearly lost my balance;
          I was almost at the point of stumbling.
3        For I was filled with envy of the arrogant
          when I perceived how the wicked prosper.

The fact that a believer can come to a point of stumbling
shows the need for that discernment which comes only
from "Your counsel" i.e. God given wisdom and counsel.

Psalm 73:24 NCV
           You guide me with Your counsel,
           and afterward you will receive me into glory.

Like the psalmist we chose not to give our lives over to darkness and destruction.
With the psalmist we choose God's way because we are utterly convinced that
God's will for us is the most wholesome and the very best. He loves us so much
that He gave His only begotten Son , that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish , but have eternal life.
     everyone who does evil hates the light.......
but he who practices the truth comes to the Light.
                                                                        from John 3  NASB

PSALM 73:1 Pure in heart

Psalm 73:1  NCV  God is truly good to the upright 
                               to those who are pure in heart.

Psalm 24:4 NCV   Speaks of
                               "One who has clean hands and a pure heart"

Jesus said  "Happy are the pure in heart, they will see God!"
                                                                   Matthew 5:8 GNB

If in prayer before El Roi ( God who sees me ),
we examine our own intentions, our own motivations
and our own attitudes:
 "A man must examine himself" 1st Corinthians 11:28
We need to be aware what direction our own actions are taking us.
Are we walking closer and more constantly with the Lord ?
If not we need to choose the better way,
and we need the grace to put our good intentions into practice.
Jesus Christ is God incarnate and the only saviour of mankind.

PSALM 72 the ideal king

Psalm 72 is a prayer for a Davidic king, so it is also a prayer for the ideal king.
In fact only Christ can fulfill all the hopes in this prayer.

v5,(NIV)  He will endure as long as the sun.
v17(NIV) His name will endure for ever.

When we read Psalm 72 in the light of Revelation 1:5-6  we realize that some
of this applies to us , partly because we desire to be Christlike, but principally
because our Lord Jesus has made us to be kings and priests to God.
So it is interesting to read Psalm 72 to see what applies to us
.
v1  A prayer for discernment so that judgement will be just and righteous.
v2 The poor to be treated in righteousness with justice.
v3 Peace to the people.
v4 Peace and justice for the poor,
     children saved from need,
     and oppressors confronted and stopped.
v5 Bringing about generations of God fearing people.
v6 Being so beneficial to the community and the environment
v7 that everything good flourishes
     bringing long term peace and stability in which health, education and
     the standard of living improves.
v12/13  The poor, the afflicted, the weak and their children get more than a handout.
     They are delivered and saved. They ere redeemed from oppression
      from deception and even from violence.
      All the saved and redeemed have new dignity before men and God!

Revelation 1:5-6 NKJV
5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,
the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over
the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins 
in His own blood 6 and has made us kings and piests to His God and Father,
to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever, AMEN.

Yes these verses are talking about us too!
John was writing to the 7 churches and everybody in them
so "us" includes all the Christian believers.
Psalm 72 is a prayer for us which spells out
our authority and responsibility as kings and priests to God.

As we read Psalm 72 we can see that the words apply to a Davidic king.
They apply prophetically to the Messiah,
and they apply to His redeemed believers to-day.
Of course we can't manage any of that on our own
but as members of the royal priesthood
and members of the body of Christ,

Psalm 72:12-14 New Living Translation second edition.
He will rescue the poor when they cry to him
He will help the oppressed who have no one to defend them.
He feels pity for the weak and the needy,
and he will rescue them.
He will redeem them from oppression and violence,
for their lives are precious to him.

Is there any doubt what it is like to be like the ideal king.