From Psalm 34 do we get the famous song, The Lord Hears the Cry if the Poor, by John Foley. My question to you is why does the Lord hear the cry of the poor? Is it because they are poor? Is poverty the bottomline here or is there more to this psalm than what people assume to be going on? And I would answer that THERE IS ANOTHER MEANING. You can look at it from another viewpoint-that this is not a psalm simply about social justice, but a song about where there is trust and the spirit of humility, only then can the soul experience the mercy of God.
Why does the Lord hear the cry of the poor? Because they are crying out to Him! People who have a need cry out to God. Actually, only people who know they have a need cry out to God. What kind of need? There are all kinds people can suffer from: a need for food, a need for shelter, a need for money, a need for family, a need for joy, and need for peace, a need to overcome drugs, a need to overcome alcoholism or other addictions, a need against depression, a need against suicide, a need for healing against an illness, injury or disease, or spiritual healing, a need for spiritual gifts, a need for spiritual growth.
People who have a need and recognize they have a need cry out to God. Why then the poor? Are the poor the only ones with needs? No! In the words of Fr. Stan Fortuna, “Everybody got to suffer, rich or poor, don’t matter, got to suffer.” Everyone has a need; it’s a matter of knowing to whom do we go in that need. Those who are poor show strength in humility because they have been crushed to the core of their human dignity their desperation. And these poor are the ones the Lord hears.
People who have too much pride that they feel they can take care of their own needs—they don’t need God—they’re not desperate for His reign over their need; they’re not seeking to surrender their needs to the Lord. People who have too much pride—-they don’t need God in their need(s) because they are in control.
The poor whom the Lord hears are humble because they have experienced a lack of dignity in their need and have come to God with total surrender: everything belongs to Him, He Who made heaven and earth, and through Him all things are possible, a total trust in the providence and mercy of God. All their trust is in Him because to them, HE IS IN CONTROL.
This is the key—-the Lord hears the cry of the poor because the poor cry out to Him like a child to his father. Jesus teaches us to cry out to God as “Abba! Father! All things are possible for You.” Mark 14:36