Psalm 10
Why, Lord,
do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In his arrogance the wicked
man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5 His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”
7 His mouth is full of lies
and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;
he covers his face and never sees.”
12 Arise, Lord! Lift up your
hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
16 The Lord is King for ever
and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
Three Perspectives
This psalm starts with the question, “Why, Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” When has God felt the most distant to you? When have you felt trouble connecting with God?
You might feel like God is distant when…
- You’re not focusing on Him
- You’re not obeying Him
- You’re not in His will
- You’re in His will but He’s testing your obedience
- You want Him to act but He’s waiting to do so
This last reason seems to be what David is dealing with in this psalm. Let’s keep that in mind as we continue.
In a couple of words, how would you describe the wicked man in this psalm?
I would say he’s prideful and selfish. He cares only about himself, not God, not other people.
Do you ever feel selfish? Do you ever care more about yourself and what you want more than what God wants or what you might do for other people? Does it ever feel like an inconvenience to obey the Lord or honor Him by serving someone else? That’s selfishness. God can help you with that selfishness and pride, but you have to repent of it.
How does this psalm describe God?
12 Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. - God gets angry, and He punishes. He lifts up His hand to strike the wicked.
Do not forget the helpless. - He doesn’t forget anyone.
13Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; - The wicked man may think God doesn’t see the evil he’s doing, but God sees what it does to other people. He sees the trouble of the afflicted.
you consider their grief and take it in hand. - God considers - He thinks about - the grief of people who have been hurt by others. He takes their grief in His hand. It’s precious to Him.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless. - God is the protector, provider, teacher, mentor of those who don’t have anyone else to help them.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out. - God sees everything.
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever; - God is sovereign, in control, even when it seems as if He’s not.
the nations will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, - God encourages us.
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed, - God defends us.
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
How does this psalm describe the people God helps?
- Weak (verse 2)
- Innocent (v. 8)
- Victims (v. 8)
- Helpless (v. 9)
- Afflicted (v. 14)
- Fatherless (v. 14)
- Oppressed (v. 18)
Notice David doesn’t ask for the strength to go out and fight his enemies. He relies on God to help him and eventually put things right.
Who are you in this psalm?
I hope you’re not the wicked person. You’re certainly not God. That means you’re the weak, helpless, victim, who needs Someone to come to your defense! The good news is that you can be weak with God. It’s actually not a weakness but a strength to be able to humble yourself and say, “God, I need You. I can’t fight life’s battles on my own.”
Will you trust God today to be who this psalm reveals Him to be? He is Your helper. He is in control. He is not distant. He holds your grief in His hand and remembers you in every situation.
Where Is God?
It seems like the Lord is far off sometimes, like He doesn’t see all the evil that’s happening in this world. If He does see it, why doesn’t He do something about it?
There are two things to consider here: God’s timing and God’s holy justice.
God is not limited by our lifetimes. He doesn’t have to help us or punish us before we die. He can do both after we’ve passed from this world. He is eternal, and He has made it so that your soul will continue after you die. He will even bring your body back from the dead.
Yes, some people may need to suffer and even be killed by evil people. But that’s not the final word. God will still comfort them and bring justice.
Which brings us to our second point: Who would you like God to punish? This psalm describes the wicked person for us:
- Arrogant
- Hunts down the weak
- Schemes against other people
- Boasts about the cravings of his heart
- Blesses the greedy
- Reviles the Lord
- Doesn’t seek God or think about Him
- Rejects God’s laws
- Sneers at his enemies
- Thinks he can’t be stopped
- Tells lies
- Threatens others
- Plans how to hurt others
- Doesn’t think God will punish him
Does any of that describe you? Have you ever taken advantage of other people? Have you ever lied? Have you ever ignored or outright rejected one of God’s commands? Have you ever lived as if you didn’t stand in holy fear of the judgment of God?
Maybe it’s a good thing God waits to punish us. God is holy. He can’t overlook sin. Even if our sins aren’t as heinous as others’, we would still deserve God’s wrath for the sins we have committed. If He didn’t show forbearance but punished people as soon as we would like Him to, we would all have been wiped out a long time ago.
2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Romans 2:4 - Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
God is waiting to punish because He wants as many people as possible to repent and come to Him. He wants to spare as many people as possible, including us.
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