“The Lord preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.”
The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but brings the way of the wicked to ruin. God's particular care for the vulnerable (strangers, orphans, widows) expresses divine justice and compassion. Those without familial protection or social power become objects of divine care and guardianship. The contrast with judgment upon the wicked establishes that divine justice includes both protection of the vulnerable and condemnation of oppressors. This verse reveals that God's righteousness expresses itself through care for the marginal.
Church Fathers on Psalms 146:9
1. ...Behold the Psalm sounds; it is the voice of some one (and that some one are you, if you will), of some one encouraging his soul to praise God, and saying to himself, “Praise the Lord, O my soul” Psalm 145:1. For sometimes in the tribulations and temptations of this present life, whether we will or no, our soul is troubled; of which troubling he speaks in another Psalm. But to remove this troubling, he suggests joy; not as yet in reality, but in hope; and says to it when…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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