The Lord and the Wicked Psalm 10:1-18NKJ
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.
Just as Psalm 9, begins with praise, Psalm 10, begins in despair. Psalm 9, the psalmist was confident of the sure coming of Divine justice; Psalm 10 injustice is rampart and God seems disinterested; however, the psalmist’s walking more by sight than by faith will slowly turn around as he shifts his focus from observation to theological facts.
Psalm 10:1NLT O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I am in trouble?
Notice, the two “why’s”. “God why do You remain aloof?”
A small storeowner was being pressured to sell his store to the owners of a large department store who had bought every building on the block, except his. Frustrated by the man’s refusal to sell, they eventually opened their huge store on either side of the small one, with a big banner running from one side to the other, proclaiming in huge letters "GRAND OPENING."
Feeling equally frustrated, the small storeowner did finally outsmart the large department store. Below the grand opening sign, across the front of his small store, the man put up a small banner over his door: "MAIN ENTRANCE."
That’s one creative way to deal with frustration.
There’s an art, you know, in bugging, annoying and frustrating people.
David’s question seem very logical unto David, because all he could sense was the ungodly.
Psalm 10:2-3NLT The wicked arrogantly hunt down the poor. Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others. 3 For they brag about their evil desires; they praise the greedy and curse the Lord.
Remember who God is, All powerful, All knowing, Forever present.
People can hurt us, they can maim us, even kill us, but they cannot take our soul, only we can give that away.
Psalm 10:4NLT The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead.
“Self seeking, self-gratification, pride, and selfishness, all seem to overtake any idea that there is a God.” P.H.
Psalm 10:5-6NLT Yet they succeed in everything they do. They do not see your punishment awaiting them. They sneer at all their enemies. 6.They think, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us! We will be free of trouble forever!”
Succeeding and prospering in the temporary, isn’t being prosperous. Jeremiah 12:1-3 Tells the reader, they prosper with their lips but not through their deeds.
Psalm 10:7-11NLT Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats. Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues. 8 They lurk in ambush in the villages, waiting to murder innocent people. They are always searching for helpless victims. 9 Like lions crouched in hiding, they wait to pounce on the helpless. Like hunters they capture the helpless and drag them away in nets. 10 Their helpless victims are crushed; they fall beneath the strength of the wicked. 11 The wicked think, “God isn’t watching us! He has closed his eyes and won’t even see what we do!”
General Description of evil conduct
1. “Cursing”
2. “Deceit”
3. “Oppression”
4. “Mischief”
5. “Wickedness”
This is real evidence of hoof and mouth disease! (They walk and talk.)
Proverbs 23:7NKJ For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.
Psalm 10:12NLT Arise, O Lord! Punish the wicked, O God! Do not ignore the helpless!
Again, this is the battle of cry of Numbers 10:35NKJ So it was, whenever the ark set out, that Moses said: “Rise up, O Lord! Let Your enemies be scattered, And let those who hate You flee before You.”
Psalm 10:13NLT Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, “God will never call us to account.”
“Life, moreover, any wisdom or human thoughts without God’s true perspective is dung!” P.H.
Psalm 10:14NLT But you see the trouble and grief they cause. You take note of it and punish them.The helpless put their trust in you. You defend the orphans.
God is alway the defender of the helpless. Ezekiel 22, speaks of Israel being worthless, and how God defends the weak.
Psalm 10:15NLT Break the arms of these wicked, evil people! Go after them until the last one is destroyed.
God’s might and strength is more than enough to handle any wicked deed.
Psalm 10:16-18NLT The Lord is king forever and ever! The godless nations will vanish from the land. 17 Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them. 18 You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed, so mere people can no longer terrify them.
Our great Lord, listens and acts, He will prevail over every situation.
Acts 1:3-6NLT During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.
4 Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Benediction.
