WHO THE LORD PROTECTS AND CARES FOR
The psalmist observed that the Lord protected the foreigner and cared for the orphan and the widow. These are the least of the inhabitants, not only in Israel, but in any nation. They have little in the way of possessions, power or prestige. So, they are often overlooked, or worse, they are used and abused. Yet, the Lord is their unseen protector.
However, the wicked in Israel, who apparently had all that the former lacked, did not have the Lord’s protection. In fact, they had attracted His enmity. The Lord worked against them to frustrate their plans.
I was raised in the house of a widow, the firstborn of four children. My father died of cancer when I was eight. We had little in the way of worldly things, yet we knew the Lord’s protection. I and my siblings are a testimony to this psalm. My mother often prayed the psalms to the Lord, especially that God would be a “Father to the fatherless and a defender of widows” (Psa. 68:5) as He promised.
I wonder what stand the Body of Christ should take concerning foreigners, orphans and widows? Aren’t we called to join our Lord in protecting and caring for the least of these? As the apostle James wrote, “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress” (James 1:27).
If we find our plans being frustrated, perhaps we should reconsider our stance. Let us stand with the Lord in this.