The Wicked Harm the Weak

Two minutes of silence

Psalm 10:7-11

7 His mouth is full of lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;
he covers his face and never sees.”

I wish for one day I would open up the newspaper and there would be nothing to report. No violence. No shootings. No robberies. Just a blank page. But since Adam and Eve sinned, this world has been marked with violence. In fact, Adam and Eve’s firstborn son was Cain, the notorious murderer.

Being a Christian means that we want to see all the good in creation. We want to praise God for the flowers of the field and the taste of blueberry pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But it also means that we don’t have to ignore all of the wickedness and violence. The truth is we can talk to God about the violence in the world, and most importantly, the violence and abuse that has been done to us.

The Psalmist says, “(The wicked) lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under strength. He says, to himself, ‘God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees.’” He is saying, “Look at what the wicked are doing! He thinks he’s getting away with it. Do you see this Lord?”

We can say the same things to God. “Lord, violent people waited for me. They hurt me. And I was crushed. He thinks he got away with it. Do you see this Lord?”

Prayer

Lord, violent people seem to be all over the world. Violent people have been in my life and they have hurt me. Lord, did you see that? Lord, in your mercy, hear my prayer. Amen.

Two minutes of silence