Dwell in the Word: Psalm 10

Consider these questions as we dwell in Psalm 10:

1. How does the psalmist grapple with the apparent prosperity of the wicked and their rejection of God's authority in Psalm 10?

2. In Psalm 10, what are some of the specific actions and attitudes exhibited by the wicked that trouble the psalmist?

3. How does the psalmist express his confidence in God's ultimate justice and salvation for the oppressed, even in the face of the seeming success of evildoers? How does this perspective relate to the hope found in Jesus Christ?

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Transcript:

We come to Psalm 10 and we see a question that many of us have most likely asked. God, why do you seem so far away and why are you hiding yourself in the worst of times? You may have asked this question in time of personal difficulty or when someone you know was experiencing hardship. You may have also had this question come to mind when there was something going on in the world that you were deeply troubled about. This is something all of us have considered and it is a blessing that we see these things talked about openly in the pages of scripture because there is an answer to these thoughts that can plague our minds.

‌And we get an insight into why the psalmist is asking these questions. He looks out at the world and sees that those who are wicked seem to have things better than those who fear God. They pursue the poor. They boast of the desires of their soul. They are greedy for gain and curse and renounce the Lord. In fact, it says that all their thoughts are that there is no God. In other words, the way they live their life is dictated by the fact that there isn’t one who determines what is right and good but also they deny that there is any accounting for what they do.

‌And we see that the psalmist observes that despite this rejection of God the way of the wicked seems to prosper at all time. The psalmist doesn’t doubt that God judges but in verse five he says that those judgments are on high and out of his sight. Basically, there is a belief that judgment will come but it isn’t a judgment that will affect earthly prosperity.

‌The psalm continues with a continuing list of what the wicked do. This includes everything from cursing and deceit to waiting in ambush to murder the innocent. Verse 11 gives us an incite into what the wicked are thinking. The assumption is that God has forgotten and that he doesn’t see these vile acts.

‌As we’ve already seen the psalmist knows that God sees these things and so there is a prayer here for God to arise and to do so for the ones who are afflicted by the wicked. And verse 14 acknowledges that the thoughts of the wicked that God does not see what they have done are a fantasy and so there is a crying out for justice by the psalmist and it is a harsh request. Verse 15 asks God to break the arm of the wicked and to call their activities to account. The wicked have reached out in oppression and the psalmist wants God to make it so they can’t do harm to the helpless anymore.

‌And as the psalm closes up we see an acknowledgment of God’s power to save. It is rooted in the fact that the LORD is a greater king than the ones who do injustices to the helpless. He is eternal and after the other nations perish God will still be on his throne. The psalmist knows that when the helpless are oppressed that God hears their cries and so the psalmist trusts that in his goodness that God will do justice for the fatherless and the oppressed so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more. That final statement in this psalm shows us that the hope of this psalm is that while the ones who bring harm are evil men, they are but men and God is not only powerful to bring justice but his justice is eternal and that ultimately his good and perfect will is done.

‌As we consider this psalm for us today and how Jesus unlocks the psalms for us we know that God has secured salvation for the weak. We are incapable of saving ourselves. We need him to come and rescue us. By looking to Christ we trust that he is on his throne and that when we see injustice in the world we know that at the end of history, he will come to judge the living and the dead and justice will be done. The ascended Jesus on his throne helps us to have confidence that the evil we see in the world is temporary but a day is coming when all that will end. May we rest in this comfort and trust that in all these things God will work his perfect will for our good and his glory.