Psalm 10

1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

David asks a common question in laments -- the “Why?” question. Why does it seem that God has abandoned? This is the dissonance that we feel when one the one hand we know God’s goodness and sovereignty but on the other hand we experience pain, loss, and fear. This anthropomorphic metaphor of God standing far away, hiding himself in times of trouble is striking. Can you imagine the God of the universe cowering in fear after retreating from the battlefield while the psalmist faces the enemy alone on the frontlines? In spite of all that he knows about God and has experienced regarding his faithfulness, David still has his doubts. It’s not that God suddenly became invisible, I don’t think David was expecting to see God by his side. Rather, it’s God’s inaction that David is questioning. It feels to David that God was right there with him, experiencing blessing and victory, and then he withdrew his presence and things started falling apart. The context suggests enemies foreign and domestic -- the nations and the wicked -- seem to have the upperhand. David’s prayer here is the refrain of a lament, but it is not the conclusion of the lament. It’s the starting place, not the end. It’s okay to pray such prayers and ask such questions. A man after God’s own heart asked them. It’s just not healthy to stay in such a place. Pray yourself through it as David does until you get to verse 16 -- “the Lord is king forever”. David almost always get there, and it seems to be the natural destination of prayer. 

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 curses [and he blesses the one greedy for gain] and renounces the Lord.

4 In the pride of his face [his anger] the wicked does not seek him; [the wicked says, “He will not call to account] all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

While God seems to be hiding, the wicked are loud and proud when it comes to proclaiming their lusts. They brazenly pursue the poor because they believe they will never be called to account. And yes, there are always victims of sin. In this case it is the poor who suffer from the greed of the wicked. This could be in the form of low wages or economic servitude. It is a willful attempt to use another person for oneself (as Psalm 14 says, consuming human beings as if they were bread, objectifying and using them). The psalmist prays that such a person would be caught in their own schemes, that justice would be done. At the heart of it all is the issue of theology, what you believe about God affects your actions. The wicked lives as if there were no God and so does not believe that there is anyone to hold him account, no ultimate standard or justice by which he will be measured. He believes in a world without justice, with moral absolutes, and this is what you get -- a world where people are consumed as commodities, not unique beloved creations of God. This text is similar to Psalm 14 and 53, the more famous texts about “atheists”, but notice the core here is not disbelief in God, but disbelief in his involvement in human affairs. Isn’t that the same question the psalmist asks in verse 1? Where is God? Why is he so distant? Why is he hiding? The wicked simply assume that God doesn’t care to get involved, so everything is fair game. The umpire is taking a break. The ref is a no show, so we can make our own rules. What you believe about God determines how you live. This text is the first statement of this truth but it will recur many times. The wicked person is characterized by pride, arrogance, boasting, and renouncing the Lord. All of these things come before a fall. You don’t have to look far to see these kind of people today. May I never be numbered among them. 

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.

In a style reminiscent of Psalm 73, the psalmist describes the attitude of the ungodly. His ways prosper at all times. He’s never had a bad day in his life. Everything goes his way. He never thinks about God and his law -- this is out of his sight. What God thinks or says about something is never under his consideration. He doesn’t give his enemies a second thought. If he thinks about them at all it is to dismiss them. His is absolutely confident of his position, promising that he will never be moved. He is always right, and he will never experience trouble. He speaks the language of cursing, deceit and oppression. Mischief and iniquity are under his tongue, suggesting secrecy and plotting the ruin of others. This description is a caricature, an exaggeration for the point of emphasis. (Although there have been men and women throughout history for whom this description is spot on). The underlying issue is an unwillingness to acknowledge a transcendent God and thus transcendent moral standards. Let to ourselves, we will degrade into arrogant abusive creatures. We fool ourselves into thinking that we are masters, that everything will go as we plan even as we disregard the laws of nature and nature’s God. It is folly to assume that we are the highest form of life in the universe. The beauty, order, and complexity of the world cannot be adequately explained by blind processes, yet this is what you will believe if you reject outright the proposition that there is a God. Without God, there is no absolute standard of morality and everyone does what it right in their own eyes (or in the eyes of the collective mob) and you get the person characterized here. Here we have the thoughts and words described, next will come the actions. 

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.”

There are additional lines in verses 8-9 and disrupt the rhythm a bit. The ungodly man is portrayed as an animal, a predator who is stalking the innocent. He sits in ambush, ready to pounce when least expected. He hides in places where he can surprise and murder the innocent (this is the stuff of horror movies). He targets his victims, just as a lion or pack of wolves will single out the young and the weak, the most vulnerable for the easy kill. There is a level of intentionality here that takes this crime to the first degree. In addition to taking life, he desires to seize the poor and draw them into his net, capturing and enslaving them. They are powerless before him and are crushed, sinking down and falling by his might. It’s not too difficult to see in this one who kills, steals, and destroys (literally who murders, seizes, and crushes -- as in the thief in John 10:10) a glimpse at our true enemy who prowls like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (I Peter 5:8). Life and human history are filled with examples of such men and women -- from individuals (serial killers) to entire societies (genocides) -- the will to power is the driving force in humanity (Nietzsche). When God is forgotten (dead) there is nothing to stop the progression of evil. This is where we find ourselves at the beginning of the 21st century. It has been 75 years since we’ve had a world war, but communist brutality in the east and moral decadence in the west continue to take their gruesome toll on humanity. At the core is the willingness to set God aside and say, “God is irrelevant -- he does remember, he doesn’t see, and he will never see.” The psalmist is speaking of an individual, but this person is a type of humanity in general disconnected from the reality of God. Consider where the psalmist began in verse 1 - “Where are you God? Why have you hidden your face?” Even the psalmist has doubts about the reality of God. The just and the unjust both have their doubts, but it is the wicked who make the assumption that because they have doubts, God is not there. Or perhaps they embrace unbelief because it gives them permission to do whatever they want. This is more likely the cause for atheism, the desire for unrestrained living. The libertine life is both self-destruction and culture-destroying. At its heart is one’s view of God. 

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”?

Just as people have forgotten God, it feels at times that God has forgotten the afflicted. Those that suffer under wicked leaders and degrading cultures, may be tempted to join the oppressors in their disbelief in God and his judgment. The psalmist will not. He calls upon God to rise up and lift up his hand, in other words, to do something about this state of affairs! At the heart of our understanding of God is his authority and ability to judge, and this is the one thing about God that offends some modern sensibilities. We’re happy to believe in a benevolent God who does “miracles” for us to enhance our lives. This is a God who places no demands on us other than to be nice and tolerant, and who will bless whatever act makes us feel good and feel good about ourselves. Ask a lot of people about the God they believe in and this is what you will get -- a God who does not call to account. We have politicians, entertainers, and academics all telling us that we just need to follow our hearts into whatever makes us happy. And if anyone should question the legitimacy of that behavior, they are decidedly judged by God and the collective society (which speaks authoritatively for God) as haters. Doublespeak is now in full force. But the psalmist asserts that this non-judgmental God that the wicked have created in their minds, will in fact call the wicked to account. Those who renounce God will find themselves before his throne. As much as we all want to be nice and say that everyone goes to heaven, even the most liberal person will draw the line on some people (oh, let’s say, Hitler -- the modern embodiment of evil). We need a God who judges. At some level everyone wants a God who judges, but we’re afraid of the God who judges so we believe him away. The godly person prays that God would rise up and do justice. May it be so with me. 

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.

Notice that verse 14 is double in length from the norm, and it happens to be a major theme of the psalm. Regardless of what anyone might believe about God’s lack of involvement in the world and his administration of justice, the fact is that God does see everything that happens, particularly the mischief and vexation (the injustice) and it takes it into his hands. He picks it up and does something with it. For this reason, the helpless can confidently commit themselves to God. YHWH has been the helper of the fatherless. The psalmist calls upon God to take up his cause and break the arm of the wicked and evildoer. In other words, render them powerless. Stop them from acting. Call his wickedness to account until you find none. The psalmist is simply asking for justice to be done completely, that the wrongs would all be made right. Here again we see both aspects of God’s justice. It is restorative (he is the helper of the fatherless) and it is punitive (break the arm of the wicked). Per our previous agreement, we are happy with God’s punitive justice as long as it is acted on others. We tend to think that these passages are only talking about serial killers, but what if the unjust things that we do are included? (And of course they are). In what ways do we participate in injustice in subtle ways? Show me today ways that I may be “causing mischief.” Show me ways that I can be a participant in God’s restorative justice (through my generosity, through a short-term trip, through service locally, through prayer). If God is a helper of the fatherless, so should I. Consider supporting foster children in some way or adoption. My knee-jerk reaction is to say that I’m already doing lots of things, but maybe God wants to expand my heart in this area. 

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.

The psalmist’s frustrations and questions are answered in this confident declaration. The Lord is king forever and ever (the eternal sovereign), and the nations perish from his land. “The earth is the LORD’s and everything in it, the world and all who inhabit it” (Psalm 24:1). It is his land and he is sovereign over the nations. The LORD hears the desire of the afflicted. He will lean in and listen to them, strengthening their hearts. Their prayer is for justice -- both punitive and restorative for the sake of the fatherless and the oppressed. The purpose of God’s justice is to eliminate the terror that man has been to other men. Animals hold some level of terror (lions, tigers, and bears, oh my), but nothing like a two footed animal. The harm that men have inflicted on one another far outweighs what animals have done to men, and they have done so without evil intent. Unmoored from his rightful place in the world (Psalm 8:5-8), mankind becomes a terror to the planet rather than a blessing. Rather than embodying the image of God in how he rules and stewards the earth and her inhabitants, the wicked man exalts himself, denies the reality of a God of justice, and exerts the will to power. We see the results throughout history and in our modern times. Find strength in this truth -- the LORD is king forever and ever. This is the truth that sustained and animated the early church (Acts 4:24-31). It was a truth they already knew from the prayers of the psalmist, but now they understood that this truth was embodied in Jesus Christ.