PRÉCIS ON THE HEART OF THE FATHER: RESCUE OF THE POOR, THE NEEDY, THE WEAK, AND THE OPPRESSED

SCRIPTURE. “For He delivers the needy when he calls out, the poor also and him who has no helper. He will have pity on the poor and weak and needy and will save the lives of the needy He will redeem their lives from oppression and fraud and violence, and precious and costly shall their blood be in His sight.” – PSALM 72:12-14, AMPC

KEY TERM: “PRECIOUS.” ‘Yaqar’ [וְיֵיקַ֖ר]: “A primitive root, ‘To be heavy, valuable, to make rare; to be prized and therefore set by or withdrawn.’” NOTE: “The verb יָקַר (‘yaqar’) is used in the Hebrew Bible to convey the concepts of weightiness, value, and rarity. It often describes something that is precious or esteemed, whether in a literal or metaphorical sense.”

QUOTATION. ““It may not strike you as ‘loving’ to see Jesus flipping tables and driving people out of the Temple with a whip, but it was. How? He was loving the Oppressed and the Oppressor. The Oppressed were being defended. The Oppressor was being confronted. At the end of the day, to confront someone who is in sin is actually to love that person, not hurt him or her. ‘Allowing someone to persist in their sin is the opposite of love.’ All that Jesus did was a demonstration of the perfect grace and truth of God (John 1:17).” ― ALEX EARLY, The Reckless Love of God: Experiencing the Personal, Passionate Heart of the Gospel, 2015; edited

COMMENTARY. “‘For he shall deliver the needy,’ &c. — The fame of His Just and Merciful Government shall induce multitudes either to put themselves under His rule and protection, or to show great respect and reverence for Him. ‘He shall spare the poor and needy’ — He shall take pity on them, and add no heavier burden unto that of their lamentable poverty. ‘And shall save the souls’ — That is, the ‘lives, of the needy.’ He shall not be prodigal of their lives, but as tenderly careful to spare and preserve them as those of His greatest subjects.

If applied to Christ it means, that He shall save their souls, properly so called, namely, from the guilt and power of sin, into the favour and image of God, and a State of Communion with Him here, and the Everlasting enjoyment of Him Hereafter, it being Christ’s proper work to save men’s souls. ‘He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence’ — The two ways whereby the lives and souls of men are usually destroyed. ‘And precious shall their blood be in His sight’ — 

He shall set so high a value upon their lives, and love them so dearly, as never to expose them to imminent danger, much less to cast them away, merely to gratify His own revenge, covetousness, or insatiable desire of enlarging His empire, as earthly kings commonly do; but, like a True Father of His people, will tenderly preserve them, and severely avenge their blood upon those that shall shed it.” – JOSEPH BENSON, Notes on the Holy Bible, 5 vols., 1811-1818; edited

DK’S TAKE. Somehow over the last several generations, “Conservative” American Christianity has moved away from preferring the Poor and the Weak and the Oppressed in a Seismic Shift toward the adoration of Power and Wealth. This massive Transfer from Orthodoxy to Heterodoxy has taken place most recently and radically under the Rise of Donald Trump’s Christian Nationalism Movement, turning both Jesus Christ, His Sacred Canon, the Church and Politics on their heads.

TRUMP CHRISTIANITY. Writing for the Religious News Service in a piece titled, “The Emperor’s Gospel: Donald Trump and the Power of Christianity” (RNS, May 2, 2025; edited), MICHAEL DELASHMUTT reported this telling Signature of that Historic Reversal from the Truth to the Lie.

At the funeral service for the late Pope Francis, he wrote:

“[As with Emperor Constantine before him], Trump has embraced Christian Symbolism in his use of the Bible, cultivated the support of religious leaders and invoked faith at political rallies. ‘But at each new turn it’s clear that Christianity is not something to be inhabited or challenged by, but a tool to be used [toward great wealth and raw political power].’”

And the primarily White Church has bought it, lock, stock, and barrel! Not once, mind you, or even twice, but three times in a row, placing a ‘Gold-loving American Führer into the most powerful office on the planet for his Second Advent.

CONSEQUENCES. “And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” – REVELATION 13:5-8, NKJV

‘Well done, Church.’ So may the poor and the oppressed and the widow and the orphan and the destitute and minorities and most especially the foreigner, become of no consequence to the Church or the State ever again. For his is the New Will of God for the Greatest Nation on Earth.

Just thought someone needed to tell you what you have done, Pastor. And what you shall yet reap for having done so. Selah.