Psalms 10 – Hope for the Oppressed; Justice for the Wicked
I’m sticking with taking the Psalms in order again this week, and the next one is Psalms 10. I found it interesting that the first verse seemed to fit so well with my Saturday post on waiting “When the Dice Are in the Air.” If I had worked on scheduling my Sunday Psalms first I might have quoted that verse.
I think that this Psalms is a wonderful one for the state of our world right now. When you watch the news and the economy, it seems that the wicked and greedy are getting away with a lot. The rich keep getting richer, the poor keep getting poorer, and the middle class are moving in with the poor. The other day I read an article about food stamps, and how so many people who are on food stamps also have jobs but their jobs don’t pay enough to keep food on the table for their families. One woman worked for Walmart 25 hours a week at $8.08 an hour trying to support herself and her daughter. I did the math; that’s only $808 per month before taxes are taken out. But I’ll bet the CEOs and stockholders of Walmart wouldn’t blink an eye at dropping that kind of money for fun on a weekend. It’s easy to become cynical and think perhaps God has forgotten or doesn’t see.
But this Psalms, and scripture as a whole, reminds us that this perception is an illusion. In the end, the wicked and the greedy, those who care not for the fatherless and the oppressed, will see justice. God will restore those who trust in Him.
Psalm 10
1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts of the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5 His ways are always prosperous;
he is haughty and your laws are far from him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “Nothing will shake me;
I’ll always be happy and never have trouble.”
7 His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent,
watching in secret for his victims.
9 He lies in wait like a lion in cover;
he lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
he covers his face and never sees.”
12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
14 But you, O God, do see trouble and grief;
you consider it to take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;
call him to account for his wickedness
that would not be found out.
16 The LORD is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.
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Thanks for sharing this Linda
It breaks my heart over and over again….
Thankful His promises are forever true. The present sufferings will one day cease but living in the now requires much.
Blessings,
ann
Thank you, Linda, for this encouragement that God does see and care and will help. I also appreciate what you are saying about CEO’s and big corporations who are harming others in a way that no one says anything to them about. Instead they are applauded for being so shrewd and knowing how to make a profit.
God bless you and your desire to see His justice done.
Deb, I know that I am blessed to work for an organization that does care about its employees and about justice. It just makes me sad that there are so many companies that really don’t. 🙁 But I was also encouraged by this Psalms that God’s justice will ultimately prevail. Peace, Linda
Yes, our economy is worse than ever. But the evening news is so full of moms throwing babies off of balconies to their death, and parents dismembering their kids and scattering their parts, that people who are quietly giving and supporting the needy rarely make headlines.
It’s the “wicked and the greedy” who give cheerful givers a bad name.
Linda, I seldom watch the evening news, though such terrible things don’t escape my notice. But you are right that those who are trying to help the needy seldom, if ever, make the news. The Scriptures warn of such days, but it is a comfort for me to know that ultimately God’s justice will prevail.
I guess the reason the greed and wickedness of those who run big corporations bothers me more than those you mentioned is that everyone can agree that parents who mistreat or kill their children are wicked, but the actions of CEOs, Wall street, and big corporations seems to be accepted as a normal part of capitalism. But if corporations like Walmart would care more about their employees, pay them better, and give them enough hours and benefits, it would hardly put a dent in the lifestyle of the shareholders but would make all the difference to the employees. Peace, Linda
I may have been overzealous in my comment. The night before I wrote that I was at a dinner with a corporate giant who recently finished building a hospital, a major supplier to big box stores who flies volunteers to Haiti to minister to the sick, and a third who took over a rehab… financially and hands on leadership… when funding dried up.
All wealthy Christian men, and all would be mortified if their generosity was exposed. (LaLa Land is a very small town, and word gets around!)
What a night it was!
Sorry if I was too bold before… : )
Linda, No need to apologize! I appreciate your zealous championing of the mistreated. There are all kinds of wickedness in the world and each of us is exposed to different aspects of it. I know that there are wealthy people who use their wealth to help the needy. But there are many who don’t. I know we can agree, though, that God’s justice will prevail in the end because He knows the hearts of us all. Peace, Linda