Psalm Meditation 856
Proper 28
November 13, 2016

Psalm 10
1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.
3 For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart, those greedy for gain curse and renounce the LORD.
4 In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, “God will not seek it out”; all their thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5 Their ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of their sight; as for their foes, they scoff at them.
6 They think in their heart, “We shall not be moved; throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.”
7 Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.
8 They sit in ambush in the villages; in hiding places they murder the innocent. Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9 they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert; they lurk that they may seize the poor; they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.
10 They stoop, they crouch, and the helpless fall by their might.
11 They think in their heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
12 Rise up, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; do not forget the oppressed.
13 Why do the wicked renounce God, and say in their hearts, “You will not call us to account”?
14 But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief, that you may take it into your hands; the helpless commit themselves to you; you have been the helper of the orphan.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers; seek out their wickedness until you find none.
16 The LORD is king forever and ever; the nations shall perish from his land.
17 O LORD, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear
18 to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more.
(NRSV)

It is tempting to say that rich people have no need of God, however I know some wealthy people who are faithful in a number of ways. There must be a more subtle distinction than rich and poor in the matter of who needs God. Those who depend on their wealth and resources to keep them away from trouble, whose purpose is to protect their riches from any claim other than their own are the ones the psalmist is addressing here. Those who have no other rule in their lives than to get more of what is out there with as little cost as possible to themselves are the evil ones.

The psalmist is not so concerned about the money as the way the wicked treat the people of God’s particular concern, those who have little to nothing. Those who prey on the poor in order to fill their own coffers are wicked and evil as far as the psalmist is concerned. These folks have no thought of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Sarah. The god of these wicked folks is the very riches they seek. Their lives are given over to the pursuit of riches at the expense of all else. They do not care for the poor, they do not even see them except as sources for more and more.

The important part of the psalm is that God sees what we do; God pays attention to how we behave and how we treat each other. It isn’t about the money, it is about our attitude toward money and the people with whom we share our lives. When we treat people as brothers and sisters, God notices. When we treat people as objects, especially objects to help us achieve our selfish ends, God notices. In God’s good time we are rewarded for the ways we treat each other. “O LORD, you will hear the desire of the meek; you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed, so that those from earth may strike terror no more.”


November 7, 2016
LCM