AP

Psalm 10:9-11  He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he 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 his strength.  He says to himself, “God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees.”

As I read  these verses, I thought of the victims of internet scamming and ‘stalking’.  The Palmist is talking about “the wicked man [who] hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises”.

When I hear about people whose lives are ruined by ruthless operators who use their technical skills to feed their own greed by robbing vulnerable people by luring them into disclosing personal details on the pretext of [falsely] representing the Federal Police (“we have information about some alleged offence”), a Telephone Company (“your email account lacks reliable security and has been compromised”), a Delivery Company (“your parcel is being held awaiting …”), the Taxation Office (“there is a substantial fine pending”), etc, etc, I feel exactly like the Psalmist: “Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?  Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (verse 1); “Arise, LORD!  Lift up your hand, O God.  Do not forget the helpless” (verse 12).

I am glad that the Psalmist reminds me: “The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land.  You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more” (verses 16-18).

And I am glad that the Psalmist reminds me that, although the perpetrator of these evil, merciless, crimes of greed thinks to himself: “God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees”, this, in fact, is  NOT the case – there WILL be a day of reckoning – “But you, O God, DO SEE trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand.  The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless” (verse 14).  In the meantime, may the Lord give me the strength, grace, wisdom and courage I need to stand with, support, comfort ,encourage and pray for any who are suffering, and find themselves under pressure as victims or potential victims.
– Bruce Christian