Open Outcry

In some trading pits of stock exchanges, trading is not done via an electronic means, but rather through voice and hand gestures, a system called "open outcry."

On a tour of Chicago, a retired United Methodist pastor named Benjamin Pratt made a discovery.

One that gave him a fresh insight into Scripture.

Passing the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Benjamin's guide surprised him by saying that trading in the exchange is not electronic, even in the 21st century. Instead, the communication of buy-and-sell information is accomplished by hand gestures. The system is known as "Open Outcry."

"Open Outcry," said Benjamin to himself. "I couldn't get the phrase out of my head. For more than a century, that phrase has captured the emotional, split-second, make-or-break trading system that fuels a major part of our economy. ... Yet, somehow, I hadn't heard that phrase until our tour of Chicago -- or had I?"


Psalm 5 is an Open Outcry: "Give ear to my words, O LORD; give heed to my sighing. Listen to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to you I pray" (vv. 1-2).

Open Outcry.

The writer of the psalm is crying to God, asking for help. Facing the threat of...