Psalms 10 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Psalm 10

Why Do You Hide Yourself?

10:1   Why, O LORD, do you stand far away?
    Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2   In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
    let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3   For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
    and the one greedy for gain curses¹ and renounces the LORD.
4   In the pride of his face² the wicked does not seek him;³
    all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5   His ways prosper at all times;
    your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
    as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
6   He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
    throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
7   His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
    under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
8   He sits in ambush in the villages;
    in hiding places he murders the innocent.
  His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9     he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
  he lurks that he may seize the poor;
    he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
10   The helpless are crushed, sink down,
    and fall by his might.
11   He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
    he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
12   Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand;
    forget not the afflicted.
13   Why does the wicked renounce God
    and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
14   But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
    that you may take it into your hands;
  to you the helpless commits himself;
    you have been the helper of the fatherless.
15   Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
    call his wickedness to account till you find none.
16   The LORD is king forever and ever;
    the nations perish from his land.
17   O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
    you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
18   to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
    so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

Footnotes

[1] 10:3 Or and he blesses the one greedy for gain
[2] 10:4 Or of his anger
[3] 10:4 Or the wicked says, “He will not call to account”

Commentary

God's faithfulness to His own, and the fate of the wicked.

This psalm continues the acrostic of Psalm 9. Originally the two were a single psalm.

v1-7: The godly suffer at the hands of wicked men. Job 21.7-16 addresses the issue of the wicked enjoying prosperity. In such a situation, the psalmist cries out to God, who seems to be absent, or "far off."

For the psalmist these were real "times of trouble", from real people; no theoretical discussion here. He describes the wicked;

he hunts down the weak, devising schemes against them;
he boasts of his own desires, and encourages the greed of others;
he reviles the Lord God; he does not seek God; he does not think of God;
yet his ways prosper, he is proud, he is ignorant of the ways of God, he mocks at any who dare to attack him;
he claims to enjoy security (compare Ezek 28), and never to fear sorrow and trouble.

His words are full of curses and lies and threats, quoted in Rom 3.14, see also Ps 5.9. Wicked men speak wicked words.

v8-10: The wicked has made a deliberate choice of evil, scheming and planning, lying in secret to attack the weak.

v11-13: The wicked has no conscience of doing wrong, no comprehension of personal accountability. His opinion of God is that He is an impotent, disinterested, absent God. No wonder the Psalmist cries out for the Lord God to act, especially on behalf of those who have become victims.

v14-15: In contrast to the claims of the wicked, God does see, and will act; He is the helper of the fatherless.

v16-18: Verses in summary; declaring that the Lord God is king, for ever, and over all.

The godly trust in God the Judge. All authority is His, and therefore the right to judge and punish. The godly have total confidence in His character, for He will bless the righteous.

God will defend the fatherless and the oppressed; this character was seen in the Lord Jesus, who cared for those who were outcast.