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But God will never forget the needy; the hope of the afflicted will never perish (18).

Our text comes from the harp of David the shepherd boy, not composed while he was tending sheep, but already a star in Israel. His success was growing. Returning from battle the women of Israel met him singing, "David has killed tens of thousands."

What does David do with his success? How does he respond when his enemies trip over their own feet in their haste to get away from him? Does David gloat or get a big head?

No! David attributes his success to God. His victories are God's doing. When David fights enemies, he sees them as God's enemies, as those who stand opposed to God's purposes. God accomplishes his purposes through David.

The establishment of David as king in Israel is a miniature foreshadowing of Jesus being established as King of Kings. In the gospels, Jesus is presented as the ultimate Son of David through whom God will fulfill all His promises. Like David, Jesus did not push himself towards kingship. He went about his ministry of humility, as Paul says in Philippians 2, until God raised him up.

One day, Jesus will be fully established as King of Kings; one day all will acknowledge him as such.

Until such a time, there will be conflict on this earth between those for and against Jesus. In this psalm, David focuses on those who are oppressed and those who do the oppressing. To put it differently, those who get ahead by walking over other people versus those who get walked on.

The hope for the oppressed is in God and his kingdom. This hope calls us to prayer. When we see people oppressed, whether close by or far away, our first response is to pray for God’s kingdom to come.

I think it also calls us to remind our governments that they have a duty to establish laws that promote a just society for all. As members of God’s kingdom, we cannot simply sit on the side lines and watch. We are called to fight for the oppressed, using the tools and weapons of the kingdom, not with swords like Peter once attempted. Remember that swords can come in many different forms. Yet, we do so, remembering that hope for this world is not in governments nor in laws by in Jesus Christ.

I think that this hope for the afflicted also calls us to examine our own hearts. As Paul regularly reminds us, our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against power and principalities. That battle is waged first in our own hearts. As Paul also wrote, “Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me” (Romans 7:21).

We can’t fight out there if we don’t first engage in the battle within our own hearts.

Finally, I think this hope for the afflicted invites us to examine who we are. Are we the kind of people who will walk over others to get ahead? How many have been left belittled because of us? Are we willing get involved with the afflicted and oppressed? Are we willing to get our hands dirty in the work of God’s kingdom?