Psalm 10
Man: Predator and Prey “We often suppose that unbelief is a modern problem. While atheism as an ideology is a product of the nineteenth century and is seen most clearly in Marxism, pragmatic atheism (acting like God can’t touch you) is as old as the garden. The serpent’s suggestion that we can be ‘like God’ has always been alluring (Genesis 3:5). The vague notion that God is ‘somewhere’, out of reach, frees us to live as if He does not exist” (Williams pp. 90-91). This psalm gives us a moving picture of the development of evil, even among God’s professed people. First, we find the hypocrite abandoning God, testing Him in his evil exploits, and then becomes increasingly brazen. When God doesn’t immediately respond, evil grows more bold; the wicked curse, lie, threaten, and deal perversely, convinced that either God doesn’t see or that God doesn’t care.
Why? 10:1 God isn’t threatened by such questions and the Bible faces them head on. “God, of course, may be distant for several reasons. On the one hand, our sin may make Him seem distant when the real distance is our own doing (Isaiah 59:1-2). The same goes for doubt (Mark 6:5; James 1:5-8). On the other hand, God, for His own reasons, may choose not to act…..in Psalm 9, He may be exercising His passive wrath by letting sin run its course. Often the matter is one of timing, and the eternal God is not accountable to our schedule” (Williams pp. 91-92). “It is the function of the Psalms to touch the nerve of this problem and keep its pain alive, against the comfort of our familiarity, or indeed complicity, with a corrupt world” (Kidner p. 71). Note, the writer believes in God and believes that God can do something about the problem at hand (10:1,12). In addition, the writer doesn’t accuse God of forsaking him. “Rather it seems to him as if ‘the times of trouble’ (10:1) are too much a burden to carry. His prayers for deliverance are unheard. He needs God’s help, but it is as if God keeps His distance by keeping himself well-hidden” (Gaebelein p. 125). “The fact that God does not do what we think He ought to do, when we think He ought to do it, does not mean that He does not know or does not care. The skeptic was arguing with the preacher that there is no real practical value in 1
one’s being a Christian. In trying to prove his point he referred to his own farming and to his own crops. He declared arrogantly: ‘Now, my neighbor down the road here is a Christian. We both farm. We plant the same crops. We plant at abut the same time. We work our land about the same way. But, come next October, I will probably have better crops than he has’. With a smile of complete satisfaction the skeptic said, ‘Now, preacher, how do you explain that?’ The preacher said: ‘Sir, the Lord does not settle His accounts in October’” 1
The Tyrant’s Boast 10:2 “In their pride the wicked acts as ‘gods’ in this world” (Gaebelein p. 126). Note one of those facts of life: Evil (which often argues for tolerance), cannot and will not tolerate the righteous. Evil men and women will pursue godly people with an unholy zeal. And the godly man, who might have very little in terms of material resources or friends, often becomes the victim. In real recent times, look at the unholy zeal with which abortion advocates have gone after abortion protesters, or how the wicked have tried to destroy those who have questioned the ethics of our President. “Domition, the Roman Emperor, assumed divine honors and heated the furnace seven times hotter against Christians because they refused to worship his image” 2 10:2 The wish of the Psalmist is that such people would be caught in the very traps which they are laying for godly people. “This picks up the common theme that God exercises His judgment through the moral order of life itself. Thus the evil people, in planning the doom of others, really plan their own doom (see Psalm 5:10; 7:14-16; 9:15; 35:8; 141:10; Proverbs 5:22; 26:27; Ecc. 10:8; 1 Corinthians 3:19)” (Williams p. 92). “It is true that our sins will find us out. In a recent move against the Mafia’s control of the Fulton Fish Market in New York City, the case was broken open when investigators discovered that the mob boss had transferred $168,000 from a high interest fund to a low interest bank account so that he could get free bonus TV’s. Why would a man who was squeezing millions in cash payoffs from the fish market bother with free TV’s? The answer is greed—and his greed trapped him” (p. 92). 10:3 Such people are full of themselves. They boast that whatever they desire, they can accomplish by their cleverness. Much like a modern movie script, the wicked man says, “Greed is good”. “Manward, he has only himself to consider, virtually worshipping his desires and therefore treating the defenseless as his natural prey (2a, 8-10)” (Kidner p. 71). “The wicked sings the praises of his own desires” (AAT); “For the wicked man glories in his covetous desires” (Har); “The wicked man is obsessed with his own desires” (NEB). Commentary on the Book of Psalms, Volume 1, Chapters 1-89, Roy C. Deaver, p. 34 The Book Of Psalms, Volume 1, Chapters 1-73, Eighth Annual Southwest Lectures, Bill Jackson, Editor, p. 65 1 2
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10:3 He is either a greedy man or he praises the greedy man. His or her attitude towards God is one of complete contempt. He has no regard for God or His commandments 10:4 “He thinks, in his insolence, God never punishes; his thoughts amount to this, ‘There is no God at all’” (Mof). Pride and arrogance are the foundation of practical atheism. Don’t be fooled, often such people try to justify their unbelief by saying, “I don’t believe in God, because there isn’t enough evidence”. Compare these verses to Romans 1:20ff. “His goal in life is a purposeful avoidance of God. He is not an atheist (in ideology), but instead he has conveniently chosen to live without God…Worship of the Creator-Covenant God has been exchanged for the worship of himself, the creature (Romans 1:23)” (Gaebelein pp. 126-127). We cannot seek God at the same time that we are seeking ourselves. “This is why, as Bonhoeffer says, ‘When Jesus calls a man, He bids him come and die.’ Only with the death of the ego will we truly seek God…..In these opening verses has David painted a portrait of the wicked man. He is controlled by his passions. Greed is the motive of his heart. In renouncing God he enthrones his own ego. Thus he is free to persecute the poor and press them for his own gain. The passions of man are set free in an empty universe. The result? Pure chaos” (Williams pp. 92-93). 10:5 Temporary success may come to the wicked person (Psalm 73:4ff; Luke 12:16-21). And this success may continue for some time. “The verb ‘prospering’ means literally, ‘to be strong, firm, stable’. The wicked are on top, they are in charge, they are steadfast” (Williams p. 93). Many arrogant people are king of the hill, they are on top and at the top of their game. “His affairs progress smoothly” (Har); “Yet there is success in everything they do” (Tay). The wicked man also considers God’s judgments too far removed from him. “One gains the impression that this sinner and God’s judgments will never come together” (Leupold p. 120). Note, this person does have enemies, but thus far all his adversaries have been unable to harm or touch him. “’Thy judgments’ in that verse have a dual sense, as God’s rulings or standards, and also His action to enforce them” (Kidner p. 71). If you would remain such a man that sin doesn’t pay, he would respond, “ Score-board, baby, score-board”, i.e., look at my bankaccount, “I am doing just fine without God and you don’t seem to be doing very good with Him”. 10:6 He thinks that he can continue undisturbed in his prosperity and happiness. In other words, he believes, “Nothing can touch me”. “Here is functional atheism, the ego eclipsing God. Contrast the claim, ‘I shall not be moved’, with Isaiah 40:6-7” (Williams p. 94). In addition, compare this man’s overconfidence with Luke 12:20. Up to this point we might be tempted to envy the person who just succeeds in everything they do. But such prosperity and ease can be a curse, i.e., it can blind a person to God’s coming judgment. 3
10:7 “One of his chief weapons is the tongue, whose varied techniques of intimidation and confusion are suggested in the long catalogue of verse 7” (Kidner p. 71). “He is so powerful and persuasive in his speech that he always seems to get his way” (Gaebelein p. 127). “When Paul appeals to the Old Testament in Romans 3:10 to prove that ‘there is none righteous, no, not one’, he quotes from verse 7” (Williams p. 94). The idea in the expression, “under his tongue”, appears to be that deception is stored there ready for utterance whenever he finds a fit occasion. 10:8 He targets the vulnerable. His victims receive no justice or mercy. To him, “might makes right”. Or, “if you are stupid enough or naïve enough to be swindled, then you deserve to be taken advantage of”. 10:9-10 The “mighty ones” in verse 10, might be the underlings and thugs who work for him. 10:11 “There is naught”, he says, “but destiny, and that is blind; an absolute, and that has no eyes; an idea, and that has no grasp” (P.P. Comm. p. 66). “He mistakes God’s patience with evil for God’s lack of interest in justice and innocent victims. His boldness grows as he no longer senses any accountability to God for his actions” (Gaebelein p. 127). Note, this man does believe in God, but he believes that either God doesn’t care, or “God” is simply some impersonal force, and so on. He may believe that God isn’t omniscient or omnipresent, therefore, God hasn’t seen his evil deeds. But carefully note, he still has enough conscience left to realize that what he is doing deserves to be punished, i.e., that the Scriptures do condemn his actions. The expression, “He will never see it”, suggests the idea that, “the future is mine—not God’s”.
The Prayer of The Oppressed 10:12 “The evil seems to be of the kind that men are powerless to correct (sound familiar?)” (Leupold p. 122). The expression, “Rise, O Lord; O God”, suggests that the writer believes that God can do something about this problem. The statement, “Lift up Thy hand”, is calling upon God to strike and bring down His judgment upon such an individual. The writer also mentions to God that this person is afflicted the vulnerable in society, and God has promised to be the guardian of such people. “He is a God who is known to have been wont to champion the case of the poor” (Leupold p. 122). 10:13 God’s patience has been abused by this man (Romans 2:1-5)! The writer reminds God of the things that such a man is boasting, i.e., 1. God has
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forgotten. 2. God can’t touch him. 3. No trouble will overtake him. Note, these are not the statements of a man criticizing God, for this man knows that God has indeed seen everything! (14). 10:14 In contrast to the boastful, David trusts the living God, even in times when it appears that God is silent. The word “vexation”, infers that injustice will vex the souls of the righteous (2 Peter 2:8). The “unfortunate” and “orphan” stand for innocent people who can’t defend themselves. The inference is that those who have fully committed their cause into the hands of God have not done so in vain. “Notice the while value system in this psalm. The wicked man pursues the poor, the innocent, the helpless, the humble….while Yahweh saves the poor and innocent” (Williams p. 97). But how many of us envy the bold and selfsufficient individual, without realizing that we cannot be saved unless we become like little, vulnerable, humble and defenseless children? (Mark 10:1415). 10:15 To “break the arm” in this passage is an appeal for God to break their power, i.e., render such a person powerless to inflict any more damage. In addition, David prays that God would “seek out his wickedness until Thou dost find none”: “Hunt out all wickedness until thou canst find no more” (NEB); i.e., to the last trace. The righteous want grace extended to sinners (2 Peter 3:9), but no grace will be extended to the person who defiantly keeps on sinning and hurting others. In the end, such a person will have gotten away with nothing, every single sin they have every committed will be held against them and appropriately recompensed.
Confidence In God 10:16 The psalm closes with an expression of confidence that the writer’s prayer has been heard. Once again, the Lord is in control (9:7), to such an extent, that even entire nations who oppose Him and threaten His people will perish. If we think that we face an enemy today who will bring an end of the faithful remnant, lest us remember the enemies of the past who tried to eliminate the faithful and ask ourselves, where are they now? Do we face a greater enemy or threat than Pharaoh, the Canaanites, the Philistines, Assyria, Babylon, Haman, Herod, the Roman Empire, and so on? 10:17 God has heard his prayer and also the prayers of all the godly. The “desire” of the humble of course is that such tyrants would be removed from the land in which they live. “Do we expect God to answer our prayers? Do we experience Him as the living God? Paul prays that we may know, ‘what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe…’ (Ephesians 1:19). May God deliver us from our practical atheism. He is not absent; He is present.
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‘Arise, O Lord!’” (Williams p. 98). “However distant may be the day of justice, one promise is no delayed: ‘Thou wilt strengthen their heart’. It is the kind of answer that Paul had to accept, and learned to value, in 2 Corinthians 12:8-10” (Kidner p. 72). 10:18 In Scripture God is often described as the defender of the innocent and the vulnerable. God will eventually stop the reign of terror by men who act as if they were gods. “The psalm closes with a reflection upon the evildoers who were so prominently in the foreground throughout the psalm: their doom is sealed. Proud though they were and seemingly successful, they were still only ‘man who is of the earth’” (Leupold p. 124). Even the most powerful and resourceful tyrant, is still a very fragile, puny, temporary, and weak man in the eyes of God.
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