Psalm Meditation 1135 ¶Third Sunday in Lent ¶March 20, 2022 ¶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) ¶The who are poor are generally seen as an easy mark for those who want to find someone to exploit. They have enough to survive while not having enough to defend themselves from those for whom too much is not enough. They can’t hire anyone to defend them so they are ripe for exploitation. Governments, corporations, and wealthy individuals make promises and programs that look good on paper while they use bait and switch tactics to keep folks oppressed and needy. ¶Many who are poor have something that those who have more money do not have. They have a supportive community that lives with the assurance that being exploited is not the final outcome. Those who live in poverty are more likely to have faith in one who will deliver them from exploitation and oppression. The psalmist calls on YHWH to bring divine deliverance to those who are most in need, and to break the power of those who have taken advantage of them in so many ways. ¶One of my instructors in seminary told our group, “In all my years, I have never met anyone who made too much money by their own accounting.” While we are tempted to call ourselves poor so that we can more easily ask God to make us rich, we do better to look for any of the ways we exploit others directly and indirectly. “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.” ¶March 14, 2022 ¶LCM