Psams 10

Psalm 10

1. Why, O 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 of the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
4. In his pride the wicked does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5. His ways are always prosperous;
he is haughty and your laws are far from him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6. He says to himself,
"Nothing will shake me;

 I'll always be happy and never have trouble."

 

7. His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8. He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent,
watching in secret for his victims.
9. He lies in wait like a lion in cover;
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 has forgotten;
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, O God, do see trouble and grief;
you consider it to take it in hand.
The victim commits himself to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.

15. Break the arm of the wicked and evil man;
call him to account for his wickedness
that would not be found out.

16. The LORD is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.

17. You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them,
and you listen to their cry,
18. defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
in order that man, who is of the earth,
may terrify no more.

EXPOSITION

Verse 1. To the tearful eye of the sufferer the Lord seemed to stand still, as if he calmly looked on, and did not sympathize with his afflicted one. Nay, more, the Lord appeared to be afar off, no longer "a very present help in trouble," but an inaccessible mountain, into which no man would be able to climb. The presence of God is the joy of his people, but any suspicion of his absence is distracting beyond measure. Let us, then, ever remember that the Lord is nigh us. The refiner is never far from the mouth of the furnace when his gold is in the fire, and the Son of God is always walking in the midst of the flames when his holy children are cast into them. Yet he that knows the frailty of man will little wonder that when we are sharply exercised, we find it hard to bear the apparent neglect of the Lord when he forbears to work our deliverance.  Charles Spuregon

Whole Psalm. There is not, in my judgment, a Psalm which describes the mind, the manners, the works, the words, the feelings, and the fate of the ungodly with so much propriety, fulness, and light, as this Psalm. So that, if in any respect there has not been enough said heretofore, or if there shall be anything wanting in the Psalms that shall follow, we may here find a perfect image and representation of iniquity. This Psalm, therefore, is a type, form, and description of that man, who, though he may be in the sight of himself and of men more excellent than Peter himself, is detestable in the eyes of God; and this it was that moved Augustine, and those who followed him, to understand the Psalm of ANTICHRIST

. But as the Psalm is without a title, let us embrace the most general and common understanding of it (as I said), and let us look at the picture of ungodliness which it sets before us. Not that we would deny the propriety of the acceptation in which others receive it, nay, we will, in our general acceptation of the Psalm, include also its reference to ANTICHRIST. And, indeed, it will not be at all absurd if we join this Psalm with the preceding, in its order thus. That David, in the preceding, spoke of the ungodly converted, and prayed for those who were to be converted. But that here he is speaking of the ungodly that are still left so, and in power prevailing over the weak ALMUTH, concerning whom he has no hope, or is in a great uncertainty of mind, whether they ever will be converted or not. Martin Luther.