Helper of the Forgotten – Psalm 68

A text – Psalm 68: 1-10, 32-35

¹ Let God rise up; let his enemies be scattered; let those who hate him flee before him.
² As smoke is driven away, so drive them away; as wax melts before the fire, let the wicked perish before God.
³ But let the righteous be joyful; let them exult before God; let them be jubilant with joy.

⁴ Sing to God; sing praises to his name; lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds—his name is the Lord— be exultant before him.

⁵ Father of orphans and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.
⁶ God gives the desolate a home to live in; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious live in a parched land.

⁷ O God, when you went out before your people, when you marched through the wilderness, Selah
⁸ the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain at the presence of God, the God of Sinai, at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
⁹ Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad; you restored your heritage when it languished;
¹⁰ your flock found a dwelling in it; in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

³² Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; sing praises to the Lord, Selah
³³ O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens; listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
³⁴ Ascribe power to God, whose majesty is over Israel and whose power is in the skies.
³⁵ Awesome is God in his sanctuary, the God of Israel; he gives power and strength to his people. Blessed be God!

A reflection:

This week’s psalm is a hymn of praise to the strongest god of all the gods, the one who triumphs over everything and everyone. The people who sing this praise song may be doing it to extol their One God over the many gods of the neighboring tribes. Yes, their One God melts away all the competition.

And who is this One God? The Father of orphans, The Protector of widows. The Home of the desolate. The Prosperity of prisoners. These names or attributes of the Lord are as surprising as Jesus’s teachings must have been to the Zealots and the Pharisees and to everyone who had been raised with a strong military Messiah in their imaginations. God, on earth, living with God’s chosen people, would surely use his superpowers to win competitions with other gods and vanquish enemies. Yes, but the enemies were poverty, vulnerability, desolation, forgottenness. And those lifted up were not kings but instead orphans.

The character of our Lord is always to do the right thing for those who have been “done wrong” or ignored by people who could have helped. If we, who have grown to love Jesus and the Heavenly Father he taught us about, if we do right for those have been victims of injustice or for those who have been pushed aside, then we are participating right now in the Kingdom of God, the everlasting new reign of the Lord. We are called to see those people and help where we can. When you see a second grader on the playground go to the aid of a first grader who has been muscled out by three of his peers, you are seeing a sign of the Kingdom of God coming near. So, when we are tempted to stare up into the sky, waiting for Jesus to come back and set things right, the men in white come among us and remind us to stop gaping at the heavens and get back to work. We have a mission and we have eyes to see.

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for giving us a mission in your Kingdom. Help us to not get distracted by ideas we might have about your superpower when you return, but instead help us be alert to chances to do what you would do for our neighbors who need help and hope and love. Amen.