Today, we will work through Psalms 9 and 10. Originally, these two psalms were probably one single song, and they are treated as a single song in the Greek OT (LXX). So we are going to try to work through both, in one sitting. I have total confidence that this will work out.
This song divides up into four different sections. You can think about this as a pop song, with four verses. If you look at the outline, you can get a feel for the big picture (this is slightly changed from Goldingay, Psalms 1-41, 167):
Statement of faith and praise for Yhwh's past acts (9:1-12)
Plea (9:13-14)
Statement of faith and praise for Yhwh's past acts (9:15-18)
Plea (9:19-10:3) [Goldingay puts verse 3 with what follows; I'm changing it slightly]
Lament at the present (10:4-11)
Plea (10:12-15)
Statement of confidence: God has heard; rescue is coming (10:16-18).
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For the last section, Goldingay has instead: "Statement of faith and praise for Yhwh's past acts (10:16-18)."
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What this big picture should do, hopefully, is help you get a feel for the rhythm of this song. And actually, I'm building the application off of it, as well. So the outline is really the key to everything today.
Let's start by reading verses 1-12. The psalmist starts his song/prayer by reminding himself about who God has been for him in the past:
Of/for the director. According to Muth. Of/For the son. A psalm of/for David.
(1) I shall praise, Yahweh, with all my heart;
I shall recount all of your wonders;
(2) I shall rejoice,
and I shall exalt in you;
I shall sing praise to your name, Most High.
(3) When/As my enemies turn, they stumble and they perish/are destroyed from your presence.
(4) For you have made my judgment and my legal case;
You have sat on your throne, exercising righteous authority.
(5) You have rebuked the nations;
you have destroyed the wicked;
their name you have blotted out forever and ever.
(6) The enemy has come to ruins forever,
while [their] cities you have uprooted.
It has been destroyed, their memory-- they,
(7) while Yahweh forever dwells;
He establishes for authority/judgment his throne,
(8) while He rules/exercises authority over the world in righteousness;
He judges the peoples in/with uprightness/integrity,
(9) and Yahweh is a high refuge for the oppressed;
A high refuge for times of distress,
(10) and they trust in you-- the ones knowing your name--
because you have not abandoned the ones seeking you, Yahweh.
(11) Sing praises to Yahweh, the One Dwelling in Zion;
Tell/declare among the peoples his deeds,
(12) because He seeks/requires blood;
them He remembers.
He hasn't forgotten the cry of the needy/afflicted.
Let's pause, and think about what we've read so far. The focus has been on God. Yahweh is "Most High." He has reigned supreme over all. And what kind of king has He been, historically?
Yahweh is the kind of king who rebukes, and punishes, the wicked. Yahweh is the kind of king who fights on behalf of the weak, and needy. Yahweh is the kind of king, who is utterly reliable. Verse 11. Yahweh hasn't abandoned the ones who seek him. If you have sought him, in the past, He has helped. He hasn't forgotten the needy. And all of this is something God has proven over and over, in the past. You can look at his history, and the world's history, and you can know exactly what God is like.
Now, let's pause for a minute. Why does the psalmist sing/pray all of this about Yahweh, to Yahweh?
You could answer this at least three ways.
(1) In part, the psalmist does this, because this is how you praise God. When you sing about what God has done in the past, you are praising him. When we sing songs about Jesus, and the cross, and his resurrection, and ascension to God's right hand, we are praising God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ.
(2) In part, the psalmist does this, as a way to invite others to join him (verse 11, in particular). This song, is an invitation to corporate prayer/worship. Join me, as I sing, and pray, to my God in heaven.
(3) The other way to explain this, is when we sing songs like this, or pray like this, we are reminding God about what kind of God He is.
And this, I think, is an essential part of prayer. This is something many of us need to learn how to do.
When you approach your heavenly Father in prayer, needing his help, part of prayer can be reminding God, that He is a God who helps. He is a God who remembers the poor in Spirit. He is a God who doesn't let the wicked do their thing, oppressing the innocent, forever.
And once you've reminded God about who He is, the next step, is maybe our next verses. Now, you are ready to make your petition. Verse 13-14:
(13) Be gracious to me, Yahweh;
See my need/affliction from the ones hating me--
The One Lifting Me Up from the gates of death,
(14) so that I will declare all your praises in the gates of Daughter Zion.
I will rejoice in your salvation.
God, historically, has been faithful, and helpful. And now the psalmist needs God to be that kind of God for him. He asks for two things.
First, that God would be "gracious" to him-- that God would show him favor, in a very concrete, practical way.
And second, he asks God to "see" his need.
This, again, is probably not how most of us pray. We assume that God is in heaven, and He always sees everything.
But the psalmists would tell you, that this is a little off theologically. They would say, God isn't always focused on you. He doesn't always really look upon you. Because if He was-- if He was sitting on his throne, really studying you, thinking about you, seeing you-- He would help.
The psalmist knows that if God will look, that God will help. God is like the Good Samaritan-- if He sees you in need, He will stop, and do what He can for you (which is a lot).
So the psalmist knows, if he waves his hands above his head, and calls out, and gets God's attention, the rest will take care of itself. God will help, at that point. So a lot of what prayer is, biblically speaking, is getting God's attention.
And when God helps, verse 14, the next thing that will happen, is that the psalmist will declare God's praises at the city gates. He will publicly rejoice in God. He will publicly honor God, and exalt him. Because God has added to his history of rescue. And when God helps, He gets praised.
A great church leaves space within its Sunday morning worship for people to give testimony about what God has done for them (Gackle Baptist does a nice job with this). And a great Sunday morning service, is one where people have lots of things to praise God for, concretely, that week. Few things build faith among God's people, more than hearing what God has done for others.
On that note, let me tell you two interconnected stories.
My second born, Miah, and I went over to someone's house to get tickets for a Christian movie this past week. When they asked how we were doing, I made it an opportunity for Miah to talk about what God has done for her lately-- which is a lot. Miah and Maddy prayed for my leg, which had been hurting in a particular spot for two days, and God gave me instant healing. Miah talked about that a little, along with some other cool things God's been doing, and the lady said, "My head's been hurting for hours. Would you pray for me?" We prayed for her, and she received an immediate, total healing. Maybe the most amusing part of that story, is that my wife, once she realized I'd grabbed Miah (I'd brought her so we could talk about the Holy Spirit, amusingly), was pretty sure the two of us were going to pray for someone for healing.
God has proven his faithfulness to me, and my family, and those around me, again this week. And we have praised him to lots of people (including now, you), inside the "gates" of the church, and outside its "gates."
With this, we come to the second verse in our pop song. The psalmist restarts by reminding God, and himself, and the congregation, about what kind of God Yahweh has been in the past. Verses 16-18:
(16) They have fallen-- nations-- in the pit they have made.
In the net that they hid, their foot was captured.
(17) He makes known -- Yahweh-- judgment/verdict/decision;
He has done/acted;
by the work of his hands catching the wicked ones. Higgaion. Selah.
(18) They shall return-- the wicked-- to Sheol;
all the nations forgetting/ignoring [cf. Isaiah 65:11; Deuteronomy 26:13] God,
because not for forever, the needy will be forgotten/ignored;
the hope of the poor/needy shall not perish/be lost forever.
Yahweh is not the kind of God who forgets the needy forever. There are limits to his patience-- to how long He will be put with oppression. The psalmist knows, that this is who God is. A God who can be pushed too far, for too long. A God who won't forget his people forever.
And this leads him to his second petition. Verses 19-10:3:
(19) May you rise, Yahweh;
May human not triumph.
May the nations be judged in your presence.
May you put, Yahweh, fear to them.
May the nations know/acknowledge [that] human, they [are].
(10:1) Why, Yahweh, do you stand far off?;
[why] do you hide in times of distress?
(2) In arrogance the wicked chase the poor/needy.
May they be caught in the plans which they planned,
(3) for the wicked one brags about the desire of his inner being/throat/soul;
while the greedy one he blesses.
He has treated Yahweh with contempt.
Yahweh is seated on his throne. And from the psalmist's perspective, God is sitting there, actively doing nothing. The psalmist looks at the world, and the suffering of the poor, and he knows, God is keeping his distance from it. He's tolerating evil. God isn't helping the kind of people, that God normally helps.
And all of this is happening on a global scale. We aren't talking here about neighborhood gangs, or specific cities. We are talking about sin on a global scale. The vulnerable, across the nations, are being mistreated by the powerful.
Maybe, when you look at this happening, you want to ask "why." It's a legitimate question. Why is God hiding? Why is He standing far off?
And the psalmist asks why (Psalm 10:1). But why does he ask?
The psalmist isn't looking for a theological explanation of the problem of evil. He won't be satisfied with God coming to him, like God came to Job, and giving him a tough talk about how the world works.
He asks "why," but what matters, for the psalmist, is what God will do next.
Right now, Yahweh is seated on his throne, doing nothing. What the psalmist needs, is for God to rise up. When Yahweh acts with authority, He does so standing. The psalmist, looking around the world as a whole, needs God to stand. He needs the nations to be judged. To reach the place, where they fear God. Truly, to fear. And to reach the place, where they acknowledge their own limitations. Just because you're king of a country, or prime minister, or president, doesn't mean that you truly run the show.
Right now, I think we have just a little taste of this in Canada. The prime minister, Justin Trudeau, has arguably been the most evil leader in the history of the country. It's probably a low bar, admittedly. Lockdowns, forced business closures, heavily pressured vaccines, a puppet for the Great Reset. In some cities more than others (Toronto), people haven't been allowed to freely worship in I don't know how long.
And where is Trudeau now?
In hiding. Scared of truckers. Scared of the people. Is he afraid of God? Maybe. Maybe not. But what we are seeing in Canada, I think-- and I say this, not having a prophetic word on it-- is God rising up to fight for the needy and the oppressed. And my guess is that in churches across Canada, God is being praised loud, and big, because of what's happening. Millions of Canadians view this as an answer to their cries to God. They are tired of not being allowed to worship together. They're tired of not being allowed in grocery stores, or nearly anywhere, unless they're vaxxed. They're tired of being treated as subhuman.
And now that this movement is spreading across the globe-- Australia, Europe, the U.S.-- maybe what we are seeing, is God's rising up in judgment. God has said "yes" to our prayers. And God is the driving force behind all of these movements.
Something that like, is what the psalmist needs. A day of global reckoning. A day, when the world's leaders are forced to hide in their doomsday bunkers. A day when God rises, and fights for his people, in response to their cries.
With this, we come to Psalm 10:4-11. Here, the situation is talked about much differently. We move from thinking on a global scale, to something much more local. To something much more like a gang, or mafia don.
In these verses, the psalmist is going to tell God what these people are like. Again: The best way to make sure God knows what's going on, is to tell him about it.
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A book I was reading recently says that this is not how we should pray to God. But lots of psalms do exactly this-- they point out to God what their enemies/foes are doing, and then ask God to do something about it. You get God's attention, you point out the problem, and then you ask him to help.
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(4) The wicked one, in accordance with the height of his nose, he doesn't seek;
There is no God in his plans.
(5) His road endures at all times.
In a higher position, your judgments [are] opposite/across from him;
all his foes-- he sneers at them.
(6) He has said in his heart, "I shall not be moved;
For all generations/times, I who am not in trouble."
(7) With cursing, his mouth is filled, with trickery and threats.
Under his tongue, trouble and deceit [are].
(8) He sits in ambush of villages;
in hiding places he kills the innocent;
his eyes, for the helpless/victims, they ambush.
(9) He lies in wait in the hiding place like a lion in his thicket;
He lies in wait to seize the needy/poor.
He seizes the needy/poor by dragging him away in his net.
(10) He stoops; he crouches. [See NET Bible; this whole verse is really hard],
and he falls into his strong ones/[probably nets?] [his] victims.
(11) He has said in his heart, "He has forgotten-- God/El";
He has hidden his face.
He won't ever see.
Let's pause here. The wicked ones have three main qualities. (1) They are violent, (2) They prey on the vulnerable, and (3) they are proud. They look at the world, and they think, "No one can touch me. No one can stop me." And then they look up, and they say the same thing.
Picture a young thief, still developing his craft. He learns how to pick pockets. He learns how to shoplift. He learns how to rob banks. He learns how to crack safes. Maybe, when he's at the top of his game, he goes to work for a big Wall Street bank, where stealing becomes a legal art form.
At first, maybe, when people go down this dark road, they worry about the consequences. If they were raised to revere God, they might wonder what God thinks about them. They might worry a little about lightning bolts.
But as you grow in wickedness, you grow in confidence. You start to think, there is no one watching you upstairs. It's like the Divine Security Camera is turned off. There is no one, who will do anything to you.
And at that point, when you're planning your evil schemes, the only limiting factor, is that line of what you can safely get away with. And if you've worked your way up the wicked food chain, and you're skilled, and rich, and powerful, and connected, you can get away with almost anything. You become the apex predator.
And at that point, you probably even brag about it. [You're like Tom Brady, openly talking about how you can say whatever you want to the refs, and you get away it (until you don't).]
So the psalmist tells God about these wicked people. He points out what they've done. He calls attention to their boastful words, knowing that God is really bothered by proud speech. God will tolerate all kinds of evil, for long periods of time. But boastful words drive him crazy. They are a direct challenge to God, and God doesn't usually let that go (Isaiah 37:17).
Now, in verse 12-15, he calls on God to deal with them. This is plea #3 in the outline:
(12) Rise up, O Yahweh.
God/El, lift up your hand.
May you not forget the needy/poor.
(13) Why do the wicked treat God with contempt?
He has said in his heart, "You [=God] will not seek."
(14) You have seen,
because trouble and sorrow you regard/think about,
taking in your hand to you.
He frees the victim/helpless one.
[To the] orphan you have been a helper.
(15) Break the arm of the wicked,
while the evil one-- you must seek out his wickedness.
You shall not find.
Here the psalmist expresses confidence in Yahweh. God does think about people when they are in trouble. God does lift his hand, and fight for this people. And out of this confidence, he calls on God to act. "Use your strength. Fight for the needy. Break the arm of the wicked." And this might be literal. But it someone's "arm" is their strength. And so this prayer, more likely, is a call to break the source of someone's strength. What is it, that gives them power and authority? That's the thing that the psalmist wants God to take.
He then closes in verses 16-18 with an expression of confidence in God. God has heard his prayer, and the prayer of the needy. And God will fight:
(16) Yahweh [is] a king forever and ever.
The nations are destroyed from his land.
(17) The desire of the needy/poor you have heard, O Yahweh;
You make firm their heart.
You pay attention/listen-- your ear--
(18) by exercising authority for the orphan and the oppressed;
He will no longer terrorize/torment humans on the earth.
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This is a big song. And we could probably spend two weeks unpacking it.
But I think I just want to leave you, with an encouragement to rethink how you pray.
When you need God's help, you will hopefully look up. You'll remember what kind of God you serve-- Yahweh is enthroned in the heavens, with authority over heaven and earth. Yahweh is a God who listens to his people, who sees them in their suffering, and who will rescue them.
But what the psalm teaches, is that this isn't necessarily automatic.
God is not a Divine Security Camera. He's not a robotic, automated defender.
If you need God's help, the psalms give you multiple options, to help you come to God, and receive what you need from your Father in heaven. And this psalm is inspired by God, right? God is teaching you, here, how to view him, and the world, and how to come to him.
When you come to him, you can come first, remembering how God has been faithful to his people, and to you, in the past. God has a history, and this history matters for you. So you remember, and you praise him.
And you do this, in part, to remind God of who He truly is. God is the God who lifts up. God is the God who helps.
Your next step could be to get God's attention. Call on God to hear you, to really see you.
I tend to do all of this, the second time I pray to God for something.
Sometimes when I pray, the first time, God gives me nothing. When the psalmist talks about God actively doing nothing-- I get it. He's not wrong.
What should I do next, when that happens? I'll tell you what I will never do. I will never decide that God's inactivity, means this is his will. That's nonsense. I know what kind of God I serve. God is the God who hears, who sees, who lifts up. And I'm not going to let my experience, trump the truth about God. I may wonder why God is standing far off. I may wonder how long God will ignore me. But my wondering, drives me back to God.
So what I do, is become even more needy. I usually lose all of my sense of dominion in Christ, and my position in Christ. And I get real low, spiritually. I become super "poor in spirit." One time with my son recently, he was really sick. And God was seemingly, actively, doing nothing. We'd prayed, both of us, with faith. And if God said "yes," the help was slow in coming. He was no better, apparently.
And so I asked God to look at Will. See his suffering. See his misery. Really, see it. I asked God to hear our voice. To listen, when we call on him. And we asked, very nicely, very humbly, for God to be the kind of God he's always been.
And it was in that moment, when I felt the Holy Spirit surging through me. That was the decisive moment, when God rose from his throne, to fight for Will.
In all of that, I was actively using the psalms to help. God is teaching me, through the psalms, of a better way to approach him. And God helps.
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And I think there's a lesson in there for me. I don't think these are supposed to be two contradictory/paradoxical approaches to prayer. I think I'm supposed to hold both together, simultaneously.
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So if you find yourself in need, don't become like the wicked. Don't decide in your heart, "There is no help with God." Don't conclude, "God won't see."
Humble yourselves, and crawl to God again. Call out to him, out loud, to hear you, to see you, to be the kind of God He's always been.
And finish your prayer in confidence (Psalm 10:16-18), knowing that God reigns forever and ever. And God's throne, is not just for looks. There is power there.
Translation:
(These two psalms are quite difficult Hebrew. So I'm going to put my more detailed notes in with the text, as a help. I'll use brackets [ ] to separate out my notes.)
Of/for the director. According to Muth. Of/For the son. A psalm of/for David.
(1) I shall praise, Yahweh, with all my heart;
[Or, "I shall praise Yahweh with all my heart," taking out the commas. But I like this better-- and I guess I'm in agreement with NIV/KJV/etc. against ESV/NASB.]
I shall recount all of your wonders;
(2) I shall rejoice,
and I shall exalt in you;
I shall sing praise to your name, Most High.
[verse 2 verbs are all cohortative. A determination, that this is what "I" will do. Maybe put the verbal focus on "shall."]
(3) When/As my enemies turn, they stumble and they perish/are destroyed from your presence.
["when/as", "b" plus infinitive construct means the verb happens simultaneously with the main verb. BHRG 20.1.4.2. They turn, at the moment they are destroyed. They waited far too long, and didn't get a head start at all. Like a bear coming for you, and you turn a half second before he eats you].
(4) For you have made my judgment and my legal case;
You have sat on your throne, exercising righteous authority.
[on "exercising authority," this would one of the verses Goldingay points to, where "authority" is a better translation than "justice." Authority is a power word, for good or bad. Which is why it's modified by righteousness. "authority used rightly."]
(5) You have rebuked the nations;
you have destroyed the wicked;
their name you have blotted out forever and ever.
(6) The enemy has come to ruins forever,
while [their] cities you have uprooted. [like digging up weeds]
It has been destroyed, their memory-- they,
[English Bibles just delete "they" because it's awkward. What "they" does, I think, is set it up so that Yahweh's forever dwelling is heard differently. It makes a contrast with the waw-x-yiqtol that follows: ",while Yahweh." -- only one of these 'persons' will live forever.]
(7) while Yahweh forever dwells;
He establishes for authority/judgment his throne,
while He rules/exercises authority over the world in righteousness;
He judges the peoples in/with uprightness/integrity,
(10 ) and Yahweh is a high refuge for the oppressed;
A high refuge for times of distress,
(11) and they trust in you-- the ones knowing your name--
because you have not abandoned the ones seeking you, Yahweh.
(12) Sing praises to Yahweh, the One Dwelling in Zion;
Tell/declare among the peoples his deeds,
(13) because He seeks/requires blood;
them He remembers.
He hasn't forgotten the cry of the needy/afflicted.
(14) Be gracious to me, Yahweh;
See my need/affliction from the ones hating me--
The One Lifting Me Up from the gates of death,
(15) so that I shall declare all your praises in the gates of Daughter Zion.
I shall rejoice in your salvation.
(16) They have fallen-- nations-- in the pit they have made.
In the net that they hid, their foot was captured.
(17) He makes known -- Yahweh-- judgment/verdict/decision;
[on "makes known," here, probably DCH #4 is best-- "be made to know." Clines: Y. Ex 2:25 (if em.; see Prep.) 6:3; Is 19:21; Ezk 20:5, 9; 35:11; 38:23; Hb 3:2 (if em. hi. make known) Ps 9:17; 48:4; 76:2; 4QapPsb 487. Closest parallel I found, where it's subject--is made known-- an object, is Proverbs 12:16. A fool at once makes known his annoyance/vexation, while hiding shame, the clever [do].]
He has done/acted;
by the work of his hands catching the wicked ones. Higgaion. Selah.
[Verse 17 is quite tricky Hebrew. Goldingay breaks it up in three lines, which I think is the best solution]
(18) They shall return-- the wicked-- to Sheol;
all the nations forgetting/ignoring [cf. Isaiah 65:11; Deut. 26:13] God,
because not for forever, the needy will be forgotten/ignored;
the hope of the poor/needy shall not perish/be lost forever.
[The negation of line one, "not for forever," does double duty and covers the gapping of line 2.]
(19) May you rise, O Yahweh;
May human not triumph.
May the nations be judged in your presence.
May you put, O Yahweh, fear to them.
May the nations know/acknowledge [that] human, they [are].
(10:1) Why, O Yahweh, do you stand far off?;
[why] do you hide in times of distress?
(2) In arrogance the wicked chase the poor/needy.
May they be caught in the plans which they planned,
(3) for the wicked one brags about the desire of his inner being/throat/soul;
while the greedy one he blesses.
He has treated Yahweh with contempt.
(4) The wicked, in accordance with the height of his nose, he doesn't seek;
There is no God in his plans.
(5) His road endures at all times.
In a higher position, your judgments [are] opposite/across from him;
[Taking it as "opposite," DBL #2, see Gen. 21:16; Josh. 3:16. It's like God's judgments, and his ways, have this broad valley/space between them.]
all his foes-- he sneers/maligns at them.
(6) He has said in his heart, "I shall not be moved;"
For all generations/times, I who am not in trouble.
(7) With cursing, his mouth is filled, with trickery and threats.
Under his tongue, trouble and deceit [are].
(8) He sits in ambush of villages;
in hiding places he kills the innocent;
his eyes, for the helpless/victims, they ambush.
[Prov. 1:11, 18. Their eyes secretly plan this evil ambush. ver der Merwe says this an idiom, possibly.]
(9) He lies in wait in the hiding place like a lion in his thicket;
He lies in wait to seize the needy/poor.
He seizes the needy/poor by dragging him away in his net.
(10) He stoops; he crouches. [See NET Bible; this whole verse is really hard],
[on "stoops," The verb would mean "to crush," but it's not attested anywhere else in the Hebrew Bible. Van der Merwe glosses as "to stoop," which I think the idea would be, "to make something small." See NASB, NRSV.]
and he falls into his strong ones/[probably nets?] [his] victims.
(11) He has said in his heart, "He has forgotten-- God/El";
He has hidden his face.
He won't ever see.
(12) Rise up, O Yahweh.
God/El, lift up your hand.
May you not forget the needy/poor.
(13) Why do the wicked treat God with contempt?
He has said in his heart, "You [=God] will not seek."
(14) You have seen,
because trouble and sorrow you regard/think about,
taking in your hand to you. ["Meaning of Hebrew uncertain."]
He frees the victim/helpless one.
[on "frees," DBL #4 (didn't know it could mean this, normally it means "abandon, forsake"): 4. LN 87.76–87.86 (qal) release, i.e., free one from a prison or condition of servitude (2Ch 28:14), see also domain LN 37.127–37.138; (qal pass.) freed (Dt 32:36; 1Ki 14:10; 21:21; 2Ki 9:8; 14:26+), note: for another interp, see 6441; note: further study may yield more domains For a very different understanding, see NET BIble. Most translations have "He 'commits to' the victim." The idea of "committing" is based on Genesis 39:6, where the verb seems to mean, more literally, "leave in the hand of." Also, possibly Job 39:11, "or will you 'hand over' to him your labor?" I think the verb in these instances is more like, giving up control over something; "releasing," rather than "committing." Like when you "let" you wife do what she wants, you're releasing the decision-making process to her. Going back to Psalm 10, God isn't releasing the needy to something though. The idea is far more simple, with far fewer words. "To free" I think is probably right.]
[To the] orphan you have been a helper.
(15) Break the arm of the wicked,
while the evil one-- seek out his wickedness.
You shall not find.
(16) Yahweh [is] a king forever and ever.
The nations are destroyed from his land.
(17) The desire of the needy/poor you have heard, O Yahweh;
You make firm their heart.
You pay attention/listen-- your ear--
(18) by exercising authority for the orphan and the oppressed;
He will no longer terrorize/torment humans on the earth.
