Psalm 10:1 Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
Oh beautiful Friends in Christ, who’ve opened their sleepy eyes to greet another glorious sunrise, may the peace, mercy and blessings of the Most High God Jehovah fill our hearts, souls and minds so that we can perform His work in an excellent manner today. Before we get into the Bit though, let me say that I was guided by the Spirit to it. I had no idea what I was going to write on, so as I am wont to do in those cases, I just opened the Good Book. Today it opened to the Palms, and after scrutinizing those offered, Psalm 10 seemed to be the one preferred. But then I had trouble figuring out which verse to use, there were so many suitable ones. I eventually decided, when in doubt, begin at the beginning. So here we are, having noted the disgusting, sinful, violent, immoral state of our world, concernedly turning to the Lord to ask why? ‘Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?’ No doubt Bruh David’s world was also in a sad, sinful state when he penned Psalm 10: A Prayer for the overthrow of the wicked. I doubt he received an answer, since it’s basically not God’s policy to answer those argumentative questions of why, where, when and how. In fact He doesn’t really have to explain anything to us at all cause He’s the Creator and Supreme ruler of the universe. Remember too, His thoughts and plans are higher than we can comprehend or imagine, so even if He explained them, we’d possibly still be lost. Nevertheless, He expects His followers to be concerned about evil and sin, especially when rampant in their surroundings. And there’s no doubt that’s the case in today’s world. But He’s also a kind, merciful and ever-LOVING God, who wants to be personally involved in our lives. He therefore expects us to walk and talk to Him, even to cry out in anguish when times are exceedingly rough, like now. And my people, I believe we have very good grounds to cry out to our Heavenly Father, for we are undergoing the very same situation that Bruh David so vividly described back then. ‘The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor.’ (Ps.10:2) Of that there’s no doubt my Friends! The poor have always suffered at the hands of the wicked and wealthy, but never at this escalated level, and in the midst of so much wealth and plenty. And please note mih breddren, the poor are no longer only the destitute and poverty stricken, but that designation is now also assignable to what we term the lower middle class, because in relative terms, they are now poor. They too are having trouble to make ends meet, though many are working at more than one job, and that includes both husband and wife. Imagine two people working at four jobs and still can’t take care of the basic necessities of a modern day family. That certainly doesn’t give those coming behind us much hope for the future. Then the education system is turning out more graduates than ever before, with less jobs available. So in many cases they either take jobs for which they are over qualified, or simply have no job at all. Homelessness is also on the increase, thanks in part to the job situation. No wonder food banks, soup kitchens and shelters are now very prevalent in such an affluent society. Institutions set up during the war years and Great Depression to temporarily help the less fortunate, are today, unfortunately back in vogue. And to make matters worse, everyday they’re crying out for more donations, because so many people are being forced to use their services. I remember when using a food bank or a shelter was a source of great shame. Hn! Now it’s a matter of necessity. You’ve got to throw that foolish pride out the window cause pride won’t fill your children’s empty stomachs or put a roof over their heads. Oh Friends, I didn’t mean to go on like this, but you know when the Spirit convicts me, I’m helpless to do otherwise. And when I see the amount of injustice and oppression that’s currently overwhelming our world, it just breaks my heart, because most of it is unnecessary. If the haves can just give up a little of their mostly ill-gotten gains, it would go a long way to alleviate the tenuous situation. But that seems like a pipe dream. And sadly, in all this ‘sufferation’… yes Friends, suffering is too mild a term… in all this ‘sufferation’ the wicked are still taking home oodles of dollars from failed or downsized businesses. Everybody’s concerned with cutting costs, not increasing productivity, and the easiest way to cut costs is to lay off workers. Yet, without jobs, the greedy merchants still expect them to buy their shoddy, over priced goods. You can never explain to me why the C.E.O. takes home three to four hundred times more than the floor worker. Or why he’s paid millions of dollars to leave after running the company into the ground, but then the laid off worker, through no fault of his own, has to fight tooth and nail to get a pittance of severance pay. Ah Lord eh! But like the old people would say; ‘Advantage never done nuh!’ Now there’s this Russian oligarch abut to take possession of a one billion dollar yacht that apparently has laser technology to prevent pictures being taken of the floating palace from up close. Hn! And the bankers are still plotting and clamouring for their illicit bonuses! Don’t they have a conscience? It surely wouldn’t seem so. No wonder Bruh David beseeched the Lord to ‘let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.’ (Ps.10:2) Yes Friends, he was asking, and so are we today, that the evildoers be caught up in the very plots, snares and other evil devices that they have concocted to ensnare the righteous. Let them eat dirt, like they’re forcing the righteous to do. I’d like to say that this occurred with the recent economic misfortune, but again, it’s the poor that are suffering, for the rich are still rich and still living an extravagant lifestyle, while the poor are sure poorer, and now can’t even afford the poor lifestyle they knew. Ah my Friends, I don’t know when it will end, if ever, for Jesus said the poor are always with us. But my people, the Lord has faithfully promised to help us, His faithful followers, so all we can do is our best; stay true to the faith and surrender ourselves to Him, while crying out for justice and mercy. It’s certainly not an easy row we hoe, but never doubt that if we persevere in faith, eventually, we’ll find the hands of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ resting on ours, helping us to lift our heavy hoe, then smoothly bringing it down to make the next mark perfectly. Much LOVE!…when we cry out for the wicked to face justice…make sure we’re not numbered amongst them…
Oh beautiful Friends in Christ, who’ve opened their sleepy eyes to greet another glorious sunrise, may the peace, mercy and blessings of the Most High God Jehovah fill our hearts, souls and minds so that we can perform His work in an excellent manner today. Before we get into the Bit though, let me say that I was guided by the Spirit to it. I had no idea what I was going to write on, so as I am wont to do in those cases, I just opened the Good Book. Today it opened to the Palms, and after scrutinizing those offered, Psalm 10 seemed to be the one preferred. But then I had trouble figuring out which verse to use, there were so many suitable ones. I eventually decided, when in doubt, begin at the beginning. So here we are, having noted the disgusting, sinful, violent, immoral state of our world, concernedly turning to the Lord to ask why? ‘Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?’ No doubt Bruh David’s world was also in a sad, sinful state when he penned Psalm 10: A Prayer for the overthrow of the wicked. I doubt he received an answer, since it’s basically not God’s policy to answer those argumentative questions of why, where, when and how. In fact He doesn’t really have to explain anything to us at all cause He’s the Creator and Supreme ruler of the universe. Remember too, His thoughts and plans are higher than we can comprehend or imagine, so even if He explained them, we’d possibly still be lost. Nevertheless, He expects His followers to be concerned about evil and sin, especially when rampant in their surroundings. And there’s no doubt that’s the case in today’s world. But He’s also a kind, merciful and ever-LOVING God, who wants to be personally involved in our lives. He therefore expects us to walk and talk to Him, even to cry out in anguish when times are exceedingly rough, like now. And my people, I believe we have very good grounds to cry out to our Heavenly Father, for we are undergoing the very same situation that Bruh David so vividly described back then. ‘The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor.’ (Ps.10:2) Of that there’s no doubt my Friends! The poor have always suffered at the hands of the wicked and wealthy, but never at this escalated level, and in the midst of so much wealth and plenty. And please note mih breddren, the poor are no longer only the destitute and poverty stricken, but that designation is now also assignable to what we term the lower middle class, because in relative terms, they are now poor. They too are having trouble to make ends meet, though many are working at more than one job, and that includes both husband and wife. Imagine two people working at four jobs and still can’t take care of the basic necessities of a modern day family. That certainly doesn’t give those coming behind us much hope for the future. Then the education system is turning out more graduates than ever before, with less jobs available. So in many cases they either take jobs for which they are over qualified, or simply have no job at all. Homelessness is also on the increase, thanks in part to the job situation. No wonder food banks, soup kitchens and shelters are now very prevalent in such an affluent society. Institutions set up during the war years and Great Depression to temporarily help the less fortunate, are today, unfortunately back in vogue. And to make matters worse, everyday they’re crying out for more donations, because so many people are being forced to use their services. I remember when using a food bank or a shelter was a source of great shame. Hn! Now it’s a matter of necessity. You’ve got to throw that foolish pride out the window cause pride won’t fill your children’s empty stomachs or put a roof over their heads. Oh Friends, I didn’t mean to go on like this, but you know when the Spirit convicts me, I’m helpless to do otherwise. And when I see the amount of injustice and oppression that’s currently overwhelming our world, it just breaks my heart, because most of it is unnecessary. If the haves can just give up a little of their mostly ill-gotten gains, it would go a long way to alleviate the tenuous situation. But that seems like a pipe dream. And sadly, in all this ‘sufferation’… yes Friends, suffering is too mild a term… in all this ‘sufferation’ the wicked are still taking home oodles of dollars from failed or downsized businesses. Everybody’s concerned with cutting costs, not increasing productivity, and the easiest way to cut costs is to lay off workers. Yet, without jobs, the greedy merchants still expect them to buy their shoddy, over priced goods. You can never explain to me why the C.E.O. takes home three to four hundred times more than the floor worker. Or why he’s paid millions of dollars to leave after running the company into the ground, but then the laid off worker, through no fault of his own, has to fight tooth and nail to get a pittance of severance pay. Ah Lord eh! But like the old people would say; ‘Advantage never done nuh!’ Now there’s this Russian oligarch abut to take possession of a one billion dollar yacht that apparently has laser technology to prevent pictures being taken of the floating palace from up close. Hn! And the bankers are still plotting and clamouring for their illicit bonuses! Don’t they have a conscience? It surely wouldn’t seem so. No wonder Bruh David beseeched the Lord to ‘let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.’ (Ps.10:2) Yes Friends, he was asking, and so are we today, that the evildoers be caught up in the very plots, snares and other evil devices that they have concocted to ensnare the righteous. Let them eat dirt, like they’re forcing the righteous to do. I’d like to say that this occurred with the recent economic misfortune, but again, it’s the poor that are suffering, for the rich are still rich and still living an extravagant lifestyle, while the poor are sure poorer, and now can’t even afford the poor lifestyle they knew. Ah my Friends, I don’t know when it will end, if ever, for Jesus said the poor are always with us. But my people, the Lord has faithfully promised to help us, His faithful followers, so all we can do is our best; stay true to the faith and surrender ourselves to Him, while crying out for justice and mercy. It’s certainly not an easy row we hoe, but never doubt that if we persevere in faith, eventually, we’ll find the hands of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ resting on ours, helping us to lift our heavy hoe, then smoothly bringing it down to make the next mark perfectly. Much LOVE!…when we cry out for the wicked to face justice…make sure we’re not numbered amongst them…
SCRIP-BITS 