Of Whom the World was not Worthy – Psalm 10

“Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide in times of trouble? The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor. Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised. For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire. He blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord. The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God. God is in none of his thoughts. His ways are always prospering; Your judgments are far above, out of his sight; as for all his enemies, he sneers at them. He has said in his heart, ‘I shall not be moved. I shall never be in adversity.’” Psalm 10:1-6

The Lord revealed His concern for the poor in the Gospels.

In Luke 4:18, Jesus announced at the beginning of His earthly ministry, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”

In Matthew 11:2-5, when asked if He were the expected Messiah, Jesus replied, “The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the Gospel preached to them.”

In Acts 10:38, Peter said of Jesus, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”

The Lord ministers to many poor people daily, but even when one poor person feels abandoned by the Lord, that is one too many. David wanted the Lord to show up on behalf of the poor.

The problem is not with the Lord. The problem is with the wicked. The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor. He plots against them. He boasts of his heart’s desire or lusts. He blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord. He is a part of criminal network that seems invincible. He does not seek God. God is in none of his thoughts. He is prospering but only because he is stealing, cheating and exploiting people. He sneers at those who think to take him down. He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved. I shall never be in adversity.”

Those that have power ought to protect the innocent and provide for the poor, but wicked people prefer to turn them into slaves laborers or sex slaves. Some sell those who are depressed or disillusioned harmful drugs, and/or hard liquor. Others with riches, loan money to the poor and charge them exorbitant interest rates. Still, others take extreme advantage of those who need medical, mechanical, electrical or plumbing help. Still, others take advantage of those who want to purchase land, home and/or car, or perhaps, charge high rent for poor housing! In some places, gangs make people pay “protection money” to avoid being hurt by them. Some run gambling rackets that urge the poor to bet their paychecks on get-rich-quick possibilities that favor the racketeers and robs the poor gambler and his/her dependents..

Poor people bear God’s image. Yet, the proud pursue them like a ferocious lion.

David had been hunted like an animal by King Saul. He was a king who understood what it was like to be one of the poor. In a similar way, 2 Corinthians 8:9 says of Jesus, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” Jesus literally gave the shirt off His back and the blood in His veins to redeem us from the power of the devil.

1 John 3:8 says, “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” One of the works of the devil is to deride poor people.

Luke 16:14 says that the Pharisees were lovers of money, and that they derided Jesus.

Proverbs 6:16-17 say, “These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him: a proud look...” A proud look is at the top of the list. A proud look comes from a person with an inflated view of his or herself and a deflated view of others.

James 4:4 says, “Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”

In Luke 12:20-21, Jesus prophesied of the man who laid up treasure for himself, and was not rich toward God, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you. Then whose will those things be which you have provided?”

The proud fool imagines God will never call him to an account.

In Luke 16:23-26, a rich man being in torments in Hades, lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. He cried and said, “Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” But Abraham said, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.”

Tyranny by state and church begins with pride. While speaking of the evil deeds of the wicked, David inserts a short prayer, “Let them be caught in the plots they have devised.”

In singing this psalm and praying it over, our hearts should be stirred with a holy indignation at the wickedness of oppressors and filled with a tender compassion for the oppressed.

In Matthew 25:31-46, when Jesus spoke of His return to earth, He depicted Himself as a king sitting on His throne in glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him. He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. The sheep will inherit the kingdom prepared for them before the world was founded. The presence of the Lord in the sheep was revealed by how they treated the “least” of Jesus’ brothers.

Who is the least of Jesus’ brothers?

The apostles came to my mind. In 1 Corinthians 4:9-10, Paul wrote, “For I think that God has displayed us, the apostles, last, as men condemned to death; for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are distinguished, but we are dishonored!”

The modern day equivalent of the apostles would be Christian missionaries, pastors, evangelists and teachers who humbly serve the Lord for little pay and quite often for negative recognition.

In some cases, such laborers for Christ serve others who cannot repay them. They end up, hungry and thirsty at times. Due to the fact that they chose the Lord and not worldly wealth and recognition, they are treated as strangers at popular social gatherings. They are turned away by those who could have showed them hospitality. They cannot afford decent clothes and shoes for themselves, their spouses and their children. When they suffer sickness or imprisonment due to their zeal for Christ, those who think them crazy, believe they deserved it.

In Matthew 25:40, The King will say to those who cared for the least of His brothers, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.” In Matthew 25:45-46, the King will say to those who had nothing to do with the least of His brothers, “’Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

David had been hunted like an animal due to his earthly king’s misguided perspective of him. By God’s grace and power, David killed Goliath. By faith in God, he conquered enemies of his nation. Yet, his earthly king treated him as an enemy that needed to be destroyed. If were not for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, King Saul would have captured and killed David. I believe this is the kind of poor that David was most concerned for... those suffering due to their faith in God.

Hebrews 11 highlights the acts of faith that pleased God. Hebrews 11:35-38 says, “...Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.”

These believers presented the teachings of God’s Kingdom in places where there were severe consequences for doing so. The Prophets, Apostles and Jesus Christ did this. They knew heaven was for real, and they wanted all people to have the opportunity to be there.