Psalms 10
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Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
2 The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.
4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
5 His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
6 He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.
7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
8 He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.
9 He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.
10 He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
11 He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.
12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.
13 Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
14 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.
17 Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
18 To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.
Public Domain KJV text from Wordproject.org
Psalm 10:1-18
Why Do You Hide Yourself?
1Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.
4In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5His ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
6He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
7His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
8He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
he lurks that he may seize the poor;
he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
10The helpless are crushed, sink down,
and fall by his might.
11He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
12Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
forget not the afflicted.
13Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
14But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
you have been the helper of the fatherless.
15Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you find none.
16The Lord is king forever and ever;
the nations perish from his land.
17O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
18to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
ESV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Psalm 10:1-18
Psalm 10
1Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
4In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”
7His mouth is full of lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11He says to himself, “God will never notice;
he covers his face and never sees.”
12Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
13Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
14But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
16The Lord is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
17You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
NIV Bible text displayed through the American Bible Society's Global Bible Widget
Commentary
The commandment that gets the least press is the tenth one against covetousness. And so it is fitting that the tenth Psalm talks about the tenth commandment.
Psalm 10:3: "For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire, and blesses the covetous, whom the LORD abhors."
The worldly man has, at the apex of his motives, self-indulgence. And so he and the covetous man understand each other perfectly. They are driven by the same forces.
They think well of each other for covetousness is not known intuitively to be evil. (“I had not known lust except the Law had said 'Do not covet.'” Romans 7:7). Even in church the covetous strike us as good citizens and, if they give a tad bit of their assets, as benefactors of society.
But God doesn’t see things that way at all. He abhors covetousness. And our text even says he abhors the covetous person. What God abhors most about the self-seeking person is that he will not respond to divine appeals.
Psalm 10:4: "The wicked . . . will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts."
Then let us seek after God, thinking of Him, and not of more ways to gratify our acquisitiveness.
Eugene Prewitt
As of this writing, church planter in Dutch Flat, California before heading back to East Asia as a missionary to Muslims
