Psalms 11-12
Dear RTB’ers,
I have seen over and over again in Scripture, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, that God has a special place in His heart for the poor and needy. I had a lot to say yesterday about other stuff and did not focus on David’s comments in Psalm 10 about the poor, the needy, the afflicted. But take a look: …He does not forget the cry of the afflicted. (Ps. 10:12b); and For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever. (Ps. 9:18); and O LORD, You hear the desire of the afflicted; You will strengthen their heart; You will incline Your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. (Ps. 10:17-18) Today we see that focus again, with action on the Lord’s part, “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the LORD; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.” (Ps. 12:5)
I agree with the psalmist that the Lord remembers the poor, the needy, the afflicted. But my difficulty is with His people, with us – His church – and our remembering (or not remembering) the poor, the needy, the afflicted. There is huge income inequality among people in the industrial nations and between the industrial nations and the lesser developed peoples; wealth inequality is even more dramatic! We have a poverty rate in the United States of 13.4 percent, one in every 7.5 people living in poverty. Almost one-third of those living in poverty are children under the age of 18 – and they can’t do anything about it! Global poverty is even worse; I’ll not trouble you with those statistics. I’m encouraged that the Lord remembers the poor, the needy, the afflicted. I’m troubled that the wealthy (us!) don’t do more. But I don’t have any reasonable answers short of wholesale national and global changes.
My apologies for such a sobering post.
Blessings!