It’s probably good to mention that Psalm 10 is really a carryover of Psalm 9. Not only is the theme of very much related, but Psalms 9 and 10 are an acrostic of the alphabet in the Hebrew. This allows us to connect to the two psalms and take a greater understanding from the two, as we have more to go on.
1 Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide in times of trouble? 2 The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor; Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.
This psalm starts much like the 9th Psalm ended. There is an expectation of judgement.
3 For the wicked boasts of his heart's desire; He blesses the greedy and renounces the LORD.
I highlighted the word ‘renounces’ here for a reason. When we see David talking about his enemies we often think of the Philistines, or some other army from another kingdom, but in order to renounce Yahweh you have to first know Him. The wicked that we’re talking about here are people who have been followers of the LORD but have turned away and renounced Him.
To try to relate this to our day and age, and to our salvation through our King Jesus, John 5:23 tells us the following, “that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” When someone renounces the Son they are also renouncing the Father. In Matthew 21:33-46 Jesus tells us relates to us that the vinedressers who kill the son of the owner they will be judged in the same way as if they had done the act to the owner. To some who read this it may seem detached from their way of life (and that is wonderful and I pray that you continue your fervor in your walk with Jesus) but there are many out there right now who are rejecting Yeshua was Messiah. They have let their thirst for knowledge become an idol. And it’s an idol which has no breath inside of it. We need to understand that, according to this verse, they are now regarded as “the wicked” according to God. I don’t want to belabor this point but I also feel that it’s important that this should be pointed out.
4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.
Even though they may feel that they’re doing God’s will, the true God of this world is not actually in their thoughts.
5 His ways are always prospering; Your judgments are far above, out of his sight; As for all his enemies, he sneers at them. 6 He has said in his heart, "I shall not be moved; I shall never be in adversity."
When we stand firm in our ‘knowledge’ and not let the Spirit move and speak into a situation, we may be prospering according to the world but we are not advancing the Kingdom of God.
7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression; Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity. 8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages; In the secret places he murders the innocent; His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.
I mean, let’s be real, does anyone really want to be this guy? He’s starting to sound like a troll that hides under a bridge.
9 He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den; He lies in wait to catch the poor; He catches the poor when he draws him into his net. 10 So he crouches, he lies low, That the helpless may fall by his strength. 11 He has said in his heart, "God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see."
Never place yourself in the position, knowingly or unknowingly, that you’re trying to sneak a pitch passed God. At first it doesn’t seem like this is something we would ever do, but I can admit to this. I don’t mean to do it but anytime you do something you know is wrong because you don’t think that anyone is around to see it, you’re trying to sneak a pitch passed God. The only problem is that this isn’t baseball and the rules of that game don’t apply. Thankfully God gives us more than three strikes, but that doesn’t mean we should take advantage of them (Romans 6:1-2).
12 Arise, O LORD! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble. 13 Why do the wicked renounce God? He has said in his heart, "You will not require an account." 14 But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief, To repay it by Your hand. The helpless commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.
We see in the apostolic writings of the first century that Jesus was found will the lowly. Read these last few verses and you may get a better understanding of why.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man; Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
There will come a time where all wickedness will be erased from the world. In the coming Kingdom, and whatever comes after it, we will eventually come to a place where wickedness is erased. But what can we do about it? There’s a fine line to walk here but our job as ambassadors of the King is to bring the Kingdom to the world. Now, I don’t believe that it’s our job to take dominion of positions of power and root out wickedness in the world. At least not as an official stance. We can do our best to walk out our lives as Jesus would. We can do our best to imitate the way our Messiah would act. If we do this, we can change the world!
16 The LORD is King forever and ever; The nations have perished out of His land. 17 LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear,
And this is one of the key factors that we miss in living out our Christian walk. Because we live in the now, and not in a monarchy, we have no real understanding of what it means to have a King. Our King is the one who grants us everything. A lot of Christians ‘believe’ that God is why we have everything, but I would argue that we very rarely understand what that actually means. Especially in the western world, because of our ‘freedom’, we see everything that’s ours as our possession. In a monarchy, the land you live on is the king’s and he’s granting you the ability to live there. My first reaction to that statement, as a good American, is to think that it’s my right to own my own land and anyone who tries to take that away from me is obviously my enemy. But God says that He wants to be our King, and we’ve accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
18 To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more.
And this is our calling that follows through all the way up until today. In James 1:27 we read, “A religion that is pure and stainless according to God the Father is this: to take care of orphans and widows who are suffering, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” We are here to be God’s representatives to the world, and if we’re busy letting the Kingdom shine out into the world through us, these are the things that we’ll be a part of.
Finally, I want to say that even when it feels like the Father is hiding himself from us, he’s still there. It may seem like He’s taken a backseat, but He still sees everything that’s going on and He still has your back. In Isaiah 42:16 we read, “I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, And crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, And not forsake them.” I think that it’s not only important that we take away that God will not forsake us. It’s also important that we see that God will take us down ways that we don’t know in order to get us where we need to be. That’s why we get uncomfortable. We’re always uncomfortable doing things we’re not familiar with, but that doesn’t mean that God’s not right there with us. Just move forward with allegiance to our King and He will make those crooked places straight.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed our walk through the past couple psalms. Post any questions in the comments.
I hope everyone is having a great day!
Shalom!
This was first posted on my personal blog at the following address:
http://thepoiema.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-psalms-10-why-do-you-hide-yourself.html