Psalm 10

 ¹Why do You stand afar off, O Lord?

Why do You hide in times of trouble?

²The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor;

Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

³For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire;

He blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord.

⁴The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;

God is in none of his thoughts.

⁵His ways are always prospering;

Your judgments are far above, out of his sight;

As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.

⁶He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved;

I shall never be in adversity.”

⁷His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression;

Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.

⁸He sits in the lurking places of the villages;

In the secret places he murders the innocent;

His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.

⁹He 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.

¹⁰So he crouches, he lies low,

That the helpless may fall by his strength.

¹¹He has said in his heart, “God has forgotten; He hides His face;

He will never see.”

¹²Arise, O Lord! O God, lift up Your hand!

Do not forget the humble.

¹³Why do the wicked renounce God?

He has said in his heart, “You will not require an account.”

¹⁴But 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.

¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;

Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

¹⁶The Lord is King forever and ever;

The nations have perished out of His land.

¹⁷Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;

You will prepare their heart;

You will cause Your ear to hear,

¹⁸To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,

That the man of the earth may oppress no more.

Commentary 

Vs. 1 ¹Why do You stand afar off, O Lord?

Why do You hide in times of trouble? 

Psalm 10 begins with a question which every believer will ask at some point in their lives:

“Why do You stand afar off, O Lord?

Why do You hide in times of trouble?”

This question, which is a deep and valid question, is often asked when one is faced with persecution, or injustice, or outright evil or violence at the hands of the wicked. Now we know that the root of all of this is that we are living in a fallen and unjust world, that from the beginning has rejected God’s Reign and Rule for us all, and so we live in a world where God and His Word for us all is thought the enemy, and not the only true means to our reconciliation with God. For it is through His Word that His salvation (His reconciliation of us to Himself through His Son) is offered to us all, and freely comes to all who repent and believe in Him. And so down here sin and Satan reign and rule in peoples hearts and minds, not God. For everything and everyone born under the sun since the fall of Adam and Eve has been corrupted by the same, thus unregenerate mankind being swayed and moved by those same dark and evil influences, universally tries to live and reign by their own rule and power. And so down here man does not love his neighbor as himself as God would have us all do, instead when push comes to shove, man often only loves himself and no one else. And yet knowing that, the question still remains, a question which itself is only born out of our own short sighted and self-centered vision. For how much of God’s Love, Kindness, Goodness, Mercy, Justice, Judgment, Forgiveness and Truth, we soon forget when faced with our own troubles. God’s so-called silence, or His so called hiding, or standing a far off, then is never His indifference! For though He may not move immediately, or in the way or manner in which we desire Him to do so, He always acts in defense of righteousness, justice, and truth! Therefore, waiting on the Lord is one of the great challenges that every believer in this life will face.

Vs. 2 “The wicked in his pride persecutes the poor;

Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.”

The cause of the Psalmists complaint now comes to light, for seeing or experiencing troubles from the hands of the wicked, he decries that the wicked in their pride persecute the poor; for the most vulnerable or unprotected amongst us they always see as easy prey for themselves. And so, they set us up as their target, and they make their plots against us. They even recruit others in this, getting them to join them in it, or do their bidding for them, by making us out to be worthy of their contempt and abuse as well. Therefore, the Psalmist asks God to, “Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.” Yes, let them all fall by their own schemes! 

Vs. 3 “For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire;

He blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord.”

Such is the wicked person’s self-assured arrogance, that they brazenly and openly boast of their heart’s desires, even their darkest and vilest desires, for there is no fear of the Lord in their hearts and lives, (because in renouncing the Lord there is no more conviction of sin, no more moral restraints, and so their consciences having been seared with a hot iron, they are now given over to Satan and their sins). Therefore, in their self-assured arrogance they now feel invulnerable. And so, they bless the greedy; all the ones who like them will do and justify just about anything in their pursuits of wealth and money; while again renouncing the Lord, because to love one is to only hate the other (Matt. 6:24).

 Vs. 4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;

God is in none of his thoughts.

Therefore, the wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts. He never thinks of Him (for in his world he is his own god, and he lives by his own might and rule), thus he never considers that it is God Himself who not only holds his life and well-being in His hands, but it is also to Him we must all give an accounting of ourselves. God’s seemingly silence now while they live and do such things then just maybe so that they receive His full Judgment in the end!

 Vs. 5-6 ⁵His ways are always prospering;

Your judgments are far above, out of his sight;

As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.

⁶He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved;

I shall never be in adversity.”

These verses reveal a truth which Job himself discovered, but his friends could not accept, and that is that the wicked often prosper in this life. Indeed, sometimes people of low moral character or scruples, not only prosper, but temporarily abound in ease of life, and rule. Therefore, God’s judgments; His Ways and His warnings about sin and what is to come on those who deal unjustly and live unrighteous lives; are far above, (maybe even removed), from their sight. For in their prosperity they neither fear Him, nor their enemies, indeed they only sneer at them. For as the Scripture says: 

“He has said in his heart,

“I shall not be moved;

I shall never be in adversity.”

Thus, they always think themselves invincible before they are taken away, like all others who came before them (consider Job 24:1-25).

Vs. 7 “His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression;

Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.”

The wicked is also known by the words that they use. For their mouths are full of cursing, lying, and oppression. For when they speak there is nothing edifying or encouraging or truthful coming out of their mouths, for all their words only propagate sin, encourage others to do the same, and or are filled with intimidation, threats, and all manner of coercive speech, for they always openly and fearlessly declare their own vileness and violent desires towards others. Running people down then, belittling them, and or slandering them, comes as naturally to them as breathing. And so, when they speak brace yourself, for if you listen to them you will only get an earful of foulmouthed language and lies laced with their sickening pride filled boosting of all their wicked deeds and immoral desires.

Vs. 8-10 ⁸He sits in the lurking places of the villages;

In the secret places he murders the innocent;

His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.

⁹He 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.

¹⁰So he crouches, he lies low,

That the helpless may fall by his strength.

They are the ones who wait for and watch their victims, waiting in the lurking places of the towns, cities, and villages where they can watch their victims and not be seen, lurking about like predators waiting for an opportunity to strike, and so he sets up his trap for them, and in secret far off hidden places from the sight of men he murders the innocent. For his eyes are always fixed on the helpless, the ones that he perceives will be easy victims. And so, he lies in wait for them, like a lion ready to pounce on its prey, patiently waiting to take them. In particular he targets the poor (not just materially poor) but those who are societies weakest and most vulnerable, who live and walk alone, for in their eyes not only are they easy prey for him, but there will be no retribution coming to them afterwards, since they are not well associated or aligned with anyone who has might or power or authority by which harm could come to them. And so, he confidently devises his plot before laying out his trap to catch the poor in it. For to him, and those like him, the stock and “the kill” by their power, by their controlling others, are all pleasures to them. And so, to use and manipulate others in his evil deeds is all apart of his unquenchable desire for control. For in essence, he sees himself as far above everyone else, and everyone else (including those he “loves”, whether friends or family) to him are only objects to be manipulated and controlled by him. Pity the one then who who falls in love with him, or grows up in or is a member of his household!

Vs. 11 He has said in his heart, “God has forgotten; He hides His face;

He will never see.”

Afterwards then he is always so confident in himself, that he has once again gotten away with it. Nonetheless we know different, because God sees and knows everything, and He does not forget! 

 Vs. 12 “Arise, O Lord! O God, lift up Your hand!

Do not forget the humble.”

Because of this there is a cry for justice for the Lord to lift up His hand and strike the wicked man! To not forget the humble; to never forget anyone and everyone who seeks His face; who seeks truth and justice from Him.

Vs. 13 “Why do the wicked renounce God?

He has said in his heart, “You will not require an account.”

In moment of contemplation this question is asked, then answered, “Why do the wicked renounce God?” Is it born out of their self-assured arrogance? Maybe some of it is, but ultimately is comes down to their own unbelief that emboldens them to renounce God and say in their hearts, “You will not require an account.” And yet even demons believe and tremble in fear at the thought of having to be confronted by God. These people then will have overwhelming fear and terror when He confronts them! 

Vs. 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.”

Thankfully God’s Person, Power, and Might is not dependent upon what people believe or don’t believe about Him. Therefore, God not only observes trouble and grief, but He also fully repays it by His hand! Therefore, the helpless commits themselves to Him, because God is the helper of the fatherless!  

Vs. 15 “Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;

Seek out his wickedness until You find none.”

Therefore, a cry for justice goes out from the humble and afflicted, to “Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man; Seek out his wickedness until You find none.” God then will remove the wicked mans strength and confidence, He will seek out His wickedness and destroy it all until He finds none! We then can all be assured of this, for the Scripture always records what God Himself is going to do! 

Vs. 16 “The Lord is King forever and ever;

The nations have perished out of His land.”

From a personal cry for justice to now a triumphant declaration of the Future of the Lord’s Eternal Reign and Rule, when all of these things will be fully realized! For the Lord is King forever and ever; and all the nations that did not believe Him, who would not serve Him, but made war against Him and His people will perish out of His land! Not only will they not be found there, but their names and all memories of them will be forgotten forever! (Isaiah 41:11-13; Obadiah 16).

Vs. 17-18 ¹⁷Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;

You will prepare their heart;

You will cause Your ear to hear,

¹⁸To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,

That the man of the earth may oppress no more.

Confidently then this psalm closes with a declaration in full assurance that the Lord has heard the humbles hearts desire, that He will prepare our hearts for that Day, and everyday that we have to face injustice and evil during our sojourn down here. For He will cause His ear to hear, so that He Himself may do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that the man of the earth (who has neither faith, nor vision, nor understanding of anything beyond this life) may oppress no more.

Scripture Quotations

New King James (1982):Thomas Nelson.