April 19
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WHY DO YOU HIDE YOURSELF?
10 Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
Let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
And the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD.
4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
All his thoughts are, “There is no God.”5 His ways prosper at all times;
Your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
Throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
8 He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
He lurks that he may seize the poor; he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
– Psalm 10:1-9
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We hear the psalmist’s lament as to how God hasn’t shown himself in his current situation. There is almost a sound of desperation as he enumerates how the poor have been pursued by the arrogant and wicked people. He clearly states how the greedy and evil people have boasted about their defiance of a God and how they blindly think that they are immovable. He also emphasizes how these wicked people murder the innocent and helpless individuals. He can’t understand why God isn’t doing anything about it.
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ADORATION: Praise the Lord for his steadfast love that endures forever.
CONFESSION: Forgive me Lord for being so impatient and angry when violence prevails.
THANKSGIVING: Thank you for giving me an opportunity to witness these suffering.
SUPPLICATION: May all those who witness the needy and poor being discriminated act on God’s command to free the oppress.
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REFLECTION
• Why do you think God allows the poor and vulnerable to suffer?