1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.
4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
. . .
9 He lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
he lurks that he may seize the poor;
he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
10 The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
The Bible likes poor people and is often hard on rich people. It’s not just an Old Testament thing. Listen, for instance, to Jesus’s brother James and hear him, as we should, as an in-your-face preacher who names actual sins rather than hinting at them:
2 If a guy sporting a gold ring and fine clothes and a poor guy in raggedy clothes both come into your church 3 and you fawn over flashy-dressed guy and lead him to a good seat but say to the poor one, “Stand over there,” or, “Sit on the floor,” 4 haven’t you created divisions among yourselves, made yourself judges, and got hold of some bad ideas? 5 Listen, brethren, hasn’t God chosen the poor people of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised to those who love him? 6 But you’ve insulted the poor man! Aren’t the rich those who oppress you, drag you into court, and slander your good name? James 2:2–7
The rich person whose faith is shaky at best and downright God-denying in effect when it comes to questionable business practices, who is more than a reverse Robin Hood: “I steal from the poor and keep it”—that is one character in the scenario portrayed in Psalm 10. The other, the poor person, has the advantage of his or her complaints to God receiving the endorsement of inclusion in the Bible. Prayer is for that person “a place in which one could weep unashamed, laugh aloud, give way to emotions long pent-up.” We more restrained people do best to watch, learn from , and emulate the poor “rich in faith” rather than setting them in a corner so they can learn by imitating us whose wealth is more material.
Listen to their wealth of faith in God the judge and savior:
14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
you have been the helper of the fatherless.
. . .
17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
- Psalm 10 is quoted here from the English Standard Version (2011).
- The letter of James is quoted from the Simpson Nonstandard Version.
- “A place in which one could weep unashamed . . .” is about the theater, not about prayer or church, but I hope Edna Ferber wouldn’t mind. Show Boat (1926), chapter VI.
The One Story 