Psalm 10
Yesterday, we had our gathering of leaders from churches in Boulder County partnering together with iEmpathize to serve those helping to end human trafficking in Mexico. It’s been a while since we met with summer and all. It’s always good to each together with these folks who I have come to become friends with and I’m excited about what we are trustign the LORD to do together. Quite frankly, I am always humbled by the time.
I wanted to start us off by sharing a passage about justice. I felt we needed to just pause and remember why we do what we do. You know there is easy to get our motives twisted because there are a lot of payoffs for a church in Boulder to be involved – its fun to do it with other churches, it makes Christianity look cool & hip, this issue touches people’s hearts and pocketbooks if you know what I mean, it provides opportunities for people to get involved... But the real reason we should want to be involved is because its the right thing to do. It is loving our neighbor in need. it is a God-thing because He loves justice and mercy. And there are little kids all over the world who are being abused and need to be rescued & restored.
I hadn’t decided to which verse to pick on God’s heart for justice. Just that morning thought of a few and decided that the last two verses of Psalm 10 might be appropriate. As I got ready to read it, felt I should just read the whole Psalm for context. You know its like reading one line of a poem and not getting the full meaning of the author. I hadn’t read the whole chapter in a while and was amazed at how appropriate it fit the context.
I encourage you to read it with me and think of a little girl – imagine a sweet innocent face – being tricked by a predator perhaps by a promise of a better life. A little girl – maybe orphaned, certainly vulnerable – being taken captive. Maybe she’s in mexico. Maybe she’s in Thailand. She could be Russian, Chinese or even a little American girl in your own town. Now she is being used an instrument of vile, gain counted not even as a life by her traffickers. Her little body being abused over and over again. She is tramped, helpless. Innocence is shattered. Imagine her calling out in despiration for help. Maybe she doesn’t even know there is a powerful God who hears, who cares – the one who is a helper of the fatherless. As we read it, let’s join in the call for God to arise and make things right… to see His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Psalm 10
Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies. He says to himself, “Nothing will shake me; I’ll always be happy and never have trouble.” His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.
He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent, watching in secret for his victims. 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. His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength. He says to himself, “God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees.”
Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, ”He won’t call me to account”? 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.
Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out.
The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.
