A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
Psalms 68:5-6 (NIV)
is God in his holy dwelling.
God sets the lonely in families,
he leads out the prisoners with singing
God gives special attention to the disadvantaged. He has a heart for orphans, widows, the lonely and those who are unfairly imprisoned. He does not fully restore them in this age, but he does comfort them and hear them. He watches over them and offers his presence to those who will trust him. In the next age he will restore the needy and the deprived, even to the point of giving them preference, for Jesus said, “But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first” (Matt. 19:30, NIV). Those who are the least in our society but follow Jesus will be first in the new age of God’s kingdom. Sometimes just following Jesus makes us one of the disadvantaged in society, but Jesus promises that everyone who suffers loss in this way “will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life” (Matt. 19:29, NIV).
