“Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation.”
– Psalm 68:5
What a powerful verse. Right in the middle, actually near the beginning of this Psalm. That is just a powerful picture from the very beginning. So verse one of Psalm 68 says, “God shall arise. And his enemies shall be scattered. Those who hate him shall flee before him.” It’s basically that picture of God on the move. Picture in the Old Testament, God would call his people to rise up from camp and move to another place. And he would promise to provide for them along the way. Picture them going into the promised land in the power of God. God on the move and all throughout the Psalm, we see a picture of God’s power and God’s sovereignty. God’s leadership of his people. One of the most beautiful verses in Psalm 68:19 says “Blessed be the Lord who daily bears us up.
God, help us to care for orphans and widows amidst their many needs.
Psalm 68:5 Teaches Us that God Takes Particular Care of Orphans and Widows
What a picture. God daily bears up all who trust in him. He delivers them from death. The next verse… But the picture in verse five of God and his word, making sure we know that he is father to the fatherless, that all of his power, he marshals on behalf of those who are fatherless, on behalf of orphans and he is protector of widows. Those who are alone in this way, this is who God is in his holy habitation. Isn’t this awesome news, that the God who has sovereign power and authority over all things takes particular care for orphans and widows? And he calls his church to be a reflection of that care, right?
James Chapter One, religion, that God, our father, looks at us pure and faultless is what? Is to look after, to care for, to take responsibility, to provide for orphans and widows and their distress.
We Ask God to Help Us Care for Orphans and Widows
So God, we praise you for being father to the fatherless and protector of widows. This is who you are in your holy habitation. And so we pray that you would do it, that you would carry out Psalm 68:5 today. And that you would use us as your church to reflect your character in this way. God help us to look after, care for, take responsibility, to provide for orphans and widows, amidst their many needs. God, we pray for that right around us. We pray for that in the communities where we live and in places far from us. God, we pray that you would continually raise up men and women across your church to care for orphans in different ways. Whether it’s through foster care, through adoption, through helping families who are fostering children or adopting, through serving in many different ways.
And God, we pray the same for widows around us who are in need. God, we pray that you would help us to care well for widows, to be a picture of your love wrapped around them. God, we pray that you’d help us to be faithful in this way. Even as I pray for this, I pray for a child. I’m waiting. My family’s waiting, has been waiting for over a year to go bring into our home. God, we pray for your provision for him. And for many other waiting children who are in need of a family right now.
God Continues to Provide
God, Please provide for them in every way they need. Please show yourself on their behalf. On behalf of this child that we’re adopting, on behalf of every child in need of a family and every widow in need of a family. Show yourself as father to the fatherless and protector of widows in your holy habitation. We love your God. We praise you, God. And we pray that you would help us to be a clear reflection of you in this world, to practice true religion in this world. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
