Born With A Wooden Spoon

Psalm 10: 1 – 18

Born with a wooden spoon

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. 3 For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire; He blesses the greedy and renounces the LORD. 4 The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his 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.” 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. 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.” 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. 15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man; Seek out his wickedness until You find none. 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, 18 To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more.

Why is it that some people skate through life? In case you do not know what, I am talking about, it is about those who are born with a ‘silver spoon. ‘I mean the minute they come out of the womb they enjoy the good life. They are never in need of anything. They receive all favor from God and man. Do you know of anyone who fits this picture? I know a lot of people who are in this category.

Then there are us. We are the ones who are born with a wooden spoon and the splinters hurt. No matter what you do you never get ahead. You take two steps forward and are thrown five steps back. So, can we play a little sympathy music? Do we get any condolences? No, the answer we receive is ‘mind your own business. Stop looking around at others and focus on those things which you do have.’

In this psalm the writer is puzzled why The Loving and Holy Yahweh will not intervene in difficult times. His cry can be echoed through all ages. He is asking why the unrighteous seem to triumph while the people of God suffer. He describes the unrighteous in detail, drawing God’s attention to what they are.

It does not make sense. It is like a father who blesses other kids on his block while not doing the same for his own children.

From Whom God has revealed Himself to be, the writer knows that God is All Loving, Kind, and Merciful. Our Holy Master hates evil. So, why is He blessing these evil folks?

He cries to Father God to rise and deal with the evil humans.

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.

Have you ever thought this way? The psalmist is puzzled and concerned. Almighty God Is in charge of everything. He rules completely no matter what fallen angels or sinful men do. Then why is God standing back in the day of trouble, why He seems to be hiding Himself while the lowly believers are suffering, being caught in the schemes of the unrighteous.

You see the problem here is that we do not think correctly. Our Holy Master and Ruler Is Pure and Perfect. Therefore, He does not think or act like us sinful people do. The writer did not at this stage see the lowly as themselves sinful and that in reality they are just as bad in their sins.