In October my family went camping at Fall Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee. One day we visited a stable and rode horses. We weren’t the only customers that day. There were a total seven of us ready to ride. One by one the owners paired each rider with a horse they believed best suited that rider. But they weren’t quite ready for a crowd of seven, because they didn’t have enough horses saddled. We had to wait for them to saddle one more. His name was Jim. And Jim was given to me.
“Jim’s 25 years old,” the guide said as she helped me get in the saddle.
“Oh,” I said. “Is that old?”
“Well,” she said, “most horses die by the they time they are 25. In fact, we had planned on retiring old Jim. He doesn’t like anyone riding him.”
I’m not sure what bothered me more–the fact that I was riding a horse that didn’t want to be ridden and might die at any moment, or the fact the stable owners saw something in me that convinced them I was exactly the kind of person best suited to ride a nearly-dead cantankerous horse.
Our little group headed out on the trail. Jim and I had two very different perspectives on that trail. To me, the trail it was beautiful. We had bright blue skies dotted with fluffy white clouds. It was about 70 degrees. The leaves in the trees had started turning colors. To me that trail it was a cause for praise.
Jim, however, felt differently. To Jim, that trail was a cause for protest. Jim started walking sideways to show how displeased he was. That is, rather than pointing his head and body straight down the trail, Jim would turn sideways and stumble down the trail. The guide told me later that was Jim’s way of lodging a complaint. In addition, in several places, Jim would just take off and leave the trail. I’d have to tug the reins forcefully to get him back. And finally, with about ten minutes left on the ride, Jim started making a noise that went like this: “Phfffffpppfffpppfffpp.” Again and again he did it. It was like some grumpy old man belching his disapproval.
To me, that trail in the woods prompted praise. To Jim, it prompted protest.
Psalm 146 highlights a similar dichotomy.
1 Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, O my soul! 2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3 Put not your trust in princes, in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation. 4 When his breath departs, he returns to the earth; on that very day his plans perish. 5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; 7 who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; 8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. 10 The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord! (Ps. 146 ESV)
There are five Psalms at the end of the book of Psalms which are called Hallelujah Psalms. Ps. 146 is one of those. Each begins and ends with the Hebrew word “Hallelujah!” Ps. 146 begins and ends with that word. “Hallelujah” is two Hebrew words: “Hallelu” and “jah”. It basically means “All of you, praise the Lord.” Here in the South we’d say, “Y’all praise the Lord.” Psalms 146-150 each begins and ends with this Hebrew word, with this call for everyone to “praise the Lord.”
But while Ps 146 begins with that call to praise, it also recognizes that there may be some of us who want to protest. Ps. 146 recognizes that the world is filled with things that may persuade us to protest rather than praise. Sometimes when we get out on the trail, we may feel like a 25 year old horse who just wants to be back in his stall. In fact, as we ride the trail of this psalm, we find all kinds of things that might prompt protest rather than praise.
For example, notice all of the social ills which the author points to:
7 who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; 8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. (Ps. 146:7-9 ESV)
This psalm is filled with references to many groups who are suffering: the oppressed, the hungry, prisoners, the blind, the bowed down, the sojourners, widows, the fatherless. And it even acknowledges that there are “wicked” people who may be behind all those those social ills. As we ride down the trail of the psalm we see oppressed people, hungry people, and orphans. And the author wants us to go out and praise God in the midst of all of that, to say “Hallelujah”?
Let’s just take one of those groups mentioned: the fatherless. The Christian Alliance for Orphans reports the following:[1]
- Globally, there are 150 million orphans.
- In the U.S., there are 400,000 children in foster care.
- 100,000 of them are awaiting adoption.
Last year, The Commerical Appeal reported the following:[2]
- 1 in 3 American children are living without a father.
- Nearly 1 in 2 children in Memphis are living without a father.
- 4 in 5 children in some Memphis neighborhoods are living without a father.
As we ride down the trail of this psalm, that’s what we see. We see 150 million orphans. We see 400,000 children in foster care. We see 100,000 children awaiting adoption. We see child after child living without a father.
And we’re supposed to go out and praise God in the midst of all that, to say “Hallelujah”? These are things that would lead us to protest not to praise.
Still, the psalm calls for praise. As we ride this trail, the psalm asks us to shout “Hallelujah!” How is that possible?
Look once again:
5 Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God, 6 who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; 7 who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets the prisoners free; 8 the Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the righteous. 9 The Lord watches over the sojourners; he upholds the widow and the fatherless, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. 10 The Lord will reign forever, your God, O Zion, to all generations. Praise the Lord! (Ps. 146:5-10 ESV)
What’s the author pointing to? He’s pointing to God. He’s pointing to the work that God is doing for all those listed in the psalm. God’s work on social issues can lead to praise rather than protest. The wonderful thing about our God is that he is working to resolve the toughest social issues of our time. He never has to sleep. He never needs a vacation. He never runs out of energy or resources. Day after day, month after month, year after year God is working on behalf of those suffering from the challenges raised in this psalm.
That’s why the author uses present-tense verbs to describe what God’s up to. He doesn’t use past tense verbs this is God used to do the savings but no longer does them. He doesn’t use future tense verbs as if God will do the savings but is not now doing these things. He uses present tense verbs. Those present tense verbs indicate that God’s always working on these issues.
God’s always…
- executing justice for the oppressed
- giving food to the hungry
- setting prisoners free
- opening the eyes of the blind
- lifting up those who are bowed down
- loving the righteous
- watching over the sojourners
- upholding the widow and the fatherless
- bringing the way of the wicked to ruin.
And if we’ll just pay attention, if we’ll really look, we can see those things happening even today. And it can lead us to praise.
For a few minutes, let’s just focus on one of those. One reason for choosing praise over protest is God’s work among orphans. Yes, it’s true that the plight of orphans and the fatherless is tragic. It’s enough to make us want to weep. But the good news, according to this psalm, is that God is at work on behalf of orphans. One of the reasons we can praise rather than protest is that God is doing amazing things for children around the world who need homes and parents. That’s what we see as we ride the trail of this psalm. We see God upholding all those orphans and the fatherless.
The word “upholding” means both “embracing” and “lifting up.” The image is of a child on the ground, in need, in pain, and a loving and caring adult reaching down, picking up that child and embracing him/her in a reassuring hug. The author is saying that we can praise, we can shout “Hallelujah!” because God is that loving and caring parent reaching down, picking up children and embracing them. God is constantly upholding the fatherless. As we ride down this trail, we see orphan after orphan, fatherless child after fatherless child. But we also see God upholding each and every one.
And more often than not, God’s using people to do that work. This is why Highland’s work among the fatherless is so important. It’s one of the ways God is upholding the fatherless. The more we look at that work, the more we see God’s ongoing care and compassion for the fatherless through Highlanders and Highland’s partners, the more reason we find to praise.
Here are Highland’s ministries to the fatherless. Each of these either directly or indirectly assists orphans and/or children who missing either a mother or a father. As we ride down the trail of this psalm, we see God using these ministries and many like them across the world to uphold the fatherless:
Highland’s Ministries to Orphans/Fatherless
(email us at iwanttoserve@highlandcc.org )
- Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch – Riverhead, NY – http://www.timothyhillranch.org/THCR/Home.html
- Established in 1980 Timothy Hill Children’s Ranch provides residential care for young men 10-18.
- In addition, THCR provides transitional housing for young men and women 18-21.
- Further, THCR provides services for young men exiting the Suffolk County Correctional Facility.
- THCR is currently attempting to start another Ranch here in the MidSouth.
- Children’s Home Inc. – Paragould, AR – http://www.childrenshomes.org/
- Established in 1955, Children’s Homes Inc., maintains nine family-style residential cottages on its main campus.
- In addition, they provide adoption services and foster care services.
- Tennessee Children’s Home – Spring Hill, TN – http://www.tennesseechildrenshome.org/
- Established in 1909, Tennessee Children’s Home has four campuses.
- The Spring Hill Campus, East Tennessee Campus, and West Tennessee Campus have residential care facilities for boys 13 to 18 years of age.
- The services include alcohol and drug treatment, education, counseling, foster care, and adoption.
- Sunnybrook Children’s Home – Ridgeland, MS – http://www.sunnych.net/childrensservices.html
- Established in 1963, Sunnybrook Children’s Home provides residential care for male and female children ages 6-20.
- Children come to Sunnybrook through the Department of Human Services, the courts, churches and private family placements.
- Memphis Orphan Care – Highland Church of Christ, Memphis, TN
- Memphis Orphan Care, led by Highlander Cindi Pitts, provides for children at the Department of Children Services through Packed in Love.
- It is also exploring additional ways for Highlanders to serve orphans in the Memphis area.
- Heart of Highland Adoption Fund – Highland Church of Christ, Memphis, TN
- The Heart of Highland Adoption Fund, led by Highlander Shawna Brigance, provides funds to assist Highlanders in adopting children.
- One Highland family has already been helped in their adoption process.
- Agape Child & Family Services – Memphis, TN – http://www.agapemeanslove.org/
- Achievement School District: Agape provides services to children and their families who are connected to five schools in the Memphis Achievement School District.
- Adoption: Agape has an adoption program which focuses on serving families through the pre and post-adoptive process.
- Counseling: Agape provides Christ-centered counseling services for individuals, couples, families, and groups who are experiencing relationship conflicts, life crises, or problems experienced in living.
- Families in Transition: Agape’s transitional housing program is dedicated to providing transitional housing and support to homeless, pregnant women and their children. It has 2 locations that serve up to 66 families.
- Foster Care: Agape supports foster parents and families with training, counseling and ongoing support.
- Powerlines Community Network: PCN helps create a more nurturing environment for children and families by connecting residents living in an under-resourced community or neighborhood with valuable resources and services.
- Macon Hall Elementary – Highland Church of Christ, Memphis, TN
- Highland is an official adopting organization for Macon Hall Elementary.
- Highlander Donna Henderson leads the ministry.
- Highlanders provide encouragement and resources for the teachers and children of this school.
- LaRose Elementary – Highland Church of Christ, Memphis, TN
- Highland is an official adopting organization for LaRose Elementary. Highlander Mendy Breeden leads the ministry. Highlanders provide encouragement and resources for the teachers and children of this school.
- Recently, Highland was asked to provide tutoring to 2nd graders at LaRose through Arise2Read Memphis (http://arise2read.org/). We are currently seeking 65 volunteers to work with 2nd graders at LaRose.
The point of all of this is that God is at work through these ministries and many more like them. God is upholding the fatherless. God is providing for orphans. God is taking care of those children in need. And our response to this is simply “Hallelujah!”.
But all of this gives us reason to do even more than just praise. It calls us to two things: become informed about God’s work among orphans, and become involved in God’s work among orphans. This psalm urges us to get informed about what God’s doing among orphans. Visit the websites of the ministries I’ve just described. Sign up to receive their newsletters and emails. Stay informed about what God’s up to among orphans. It’s exciting work! It will encourage you and give you a reason every day to praise God.
And, just as importantly, get involved in that work. Pray over the list of ministries I’ve reviewed and ask God how he wants you to get involved. Next Sunday is Orphan Sunday around the world, a day dedicated to focusing on the needs of orphans. Thus, this is an especially appropriate time to investigate opportunities like these and to get involved in God’s good work among orphans. Consider three things in particular:
1) I hope you’ll join us for our class today for those who want to learn more about adoption and foster care.
2) And, I hope you’ll consider becoming a tutor at LaRose Elementary. A door has been opened for us to provide tutoring to second graders at LaRose. Many of them are fatherless. And this is a very practical way to join God’s work among the fatherless. You can sign up at the Go Center.
3) Finally, I hope all of you will give generously to our November 22 Outreach Contribution. This fiscal year, July-June, we hope to raise about $400,000 for 30 of our outreach ministries. On Nov. 22, we’re asking you to give $235,000 of that total. A significant amount of that goes directly to these ministries I’ve reviewed today. That contribution is how we fund our ministry to the fatherless. By giving generously on Nov. 22, you’ll be part of God’s work of upholding the fatherless. That goal of $235,000 is about 6 times what we give on a normal Sunday. So it calls for sacrifice, prayer and planning. But it’s worth it. It some of the greatest work of God on this earth.
