God who is helper of the fatherless
Psa
10:14
The victim commits
himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.
It
is believed that Psalms 9 and 10 were written as one with each stanza
starting with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. At the beginning
of Psalm 9 is the inscription: To the tune of, The Death of a Son.
In Psalm 9 David declares his praise, for God having dealt with his
enemy, yet in the beginning of Psalm 10 David, if it is still David
writing, asks why the Lord sometimes seems to stand off when there
is trouble. This we considered in the previous meditation. He then
goes on, seemingly in anguish, describing the awful activities of
the wicked who hunts down the weak (v.2), ambushes and murders the
innocent (v.8), catches the helpless (v.9), and crushes his victims
(v.10). The wicked then denies that God sees (v.11) and says He won't
hold him to account (v.13) but, David says, He will deal with them
(v.14 on). Yes, he says, God will defend those who are left fatherless
by the tyranny of murderers.
Israel
knew God as the defender of the weak of the fatherless and of widows
(Deut 10:18, 14:29 , 16:11 ,14, 24:17-21, 26:12,13, 27:19) as the
Law clearly showed them. God's heart is clearly for such people in
need, people who are weak and vulnerable. In this Psalm David seems
to envisage the havoc caused by the wicked and those who are left
in the wake of their work. It is a psalm that picks up on the worst
injustices of the world, where orphans are left in the wake of the
plundering of evil men. This psalm faces the most awful atrocities
of sinful mankind and the resulting anguish of being left fatherless
and vulnerable. The father is a picture of security, the head of the
home protecting his family and when he has been snatched away by evil,
the family is left weak and vulnerable, especially the children who
are physically weak, emotionally immature and socially unwise. It
is a terrible picture!
There
it is, utter blackness in the face of gross evil. There seems no hope
in the face of the strength of evil and then comes God. Previously
we have seen God described as a shield, a refuge and a stronghold.
We have seen Him as the One who is enthroned, the King who is ruling,
so why do these awful things happen, why are there the fatherless?
The answer must be that God has given us free will and that includes
free will and free action for those who are evil. If, in the
sinfulness of mankind, other strong men do not stand up to evil then
it will reign. Yes, sometimes God allows it to reign as judgement
against godlessness and unrighteousness. It is as if he steps
back and lifts off His hand of restraint (see Romans 1:24 ,26,28)
so that evil men are free to do what they want and death ensues.
But
then there is the next generation who are left fatherless and vulnerable,
and it is to them that God comes. He is there for the weak and the
vulnerable; He reaches out His hand to them in an offer of restoration
but he will not force Himself on them. See what David says, The
victim commits himself to you. When those who are left turn
to God and put themselves in His hands, He is immediately there for
them. Watching the history of Israel and the way God dealt with them,
it never has to come to this if there is righteousness and godliness.
However, if there is this evil and judgement ensues, it is never judgement
that excludes the next generation from the knowledge of God; they
can still seek and find Him. While we are still alive, it doesn't
matter what awful things have gone before; we can still reach out
to God and He will be there for us, because He is the God of the fatherless,
the One who comes to the survivors with outstretched arms. He is there!
Response:
Whatever I have been through, the Lord was there. I may feel
bereft of family or friends, but the Lord is waiting in the wings
to be my Father. I turn to Him as a child in need of a Father.