Free the Prisoners

Psalm 146
He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
    the sea, and everything in them—
    he remains faithful forever.
⁷ He upholds the cause of the oppressed
    and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
⁸     the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
    the Lord loves the righteous.
⁹ The Lord watches over the foreigner
    and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
    but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

I've been thinking about this passage and those with similar sentiments since the passing of Nelson Mandela.  When many people consider prisoners being freed, Mandela is the archetype.  The murderers, drug dealers, or violent criminals that fill our prisons here in the U.S. do not get our consideration for God's salvation and with good reason.  These criminals who prey on the weak haven't earned any sympathy or good will from God or His people.  However, there are convicted criminals serving sentences who may be seen as victims: victims of abusive families, victims of a system that excessively punishes those without resources, victims of laws that offer more protection for the powerful than the weak.  I know that this is a somewhat political issue but I'm not interested in the politics of the discussion.   I'm only concerned with the theological implications of the passages.  What does this passage and others say about God and His concerns?  Psalm 146 reminds us that God frees prisoners.  Is it really only the Mandela's that God frees?  Is God concerned only with those who have been treated unjustly?

Consider Psalm 107:

¹⁰ Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
    prisoners suffering in iron chains,
¹¹ because they rebelled against God’s commands
    and despised the plans of the Most High.
¹² So he subjected them to bitter labor;
    they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
¹³ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he saved them from their distress.
¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
    and broke away their chains.
¹⁵ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
    and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
¹⁶ for he breaks down gates of bronze
    and cuts through bars of iron.

The prisoners are broken out by God.  But these people are clearly incarcerated because of their own doings.  They don't merit any sympathy from us because they have rightfully earned their prison sentences.  Yet God still frees them because of His faithfulness.  They call on Him for rescue, and He delivers.

If God shows concern for the prisoners whether they are justified or not, what does that mean for us?

Should we work to free prisoners who are remorseful over their guilt?

Should we show concern for the poor even if their poverty is by their own doing?

Too often we don't but clearly there at least some instances where followers of Jesus should be doing these very things.