Psalm 10[1]
Do you ever look around you and ask why the world is so unfair? Why do the rich get richer? Why do evil men oppress the weak? Why does God let it happen? King David asked the same questions. Verse 1 reads,
“Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”
King David knew that God is righteous and just and yet He still broached the subject. He said, “Where are you while all this stuff happens?” He looked at the world and the widespread pain and rampant sin he saw hurt him. He cried out to God. David was a man after God’s own heart. If it hurt David to see the evil flourish, how much more did it pain God?
Verses 2-4 read,
In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.
4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5 His ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
David describes the wicked who follow the prince of the power of the air, Satan. In his description of the lost, he gives us a look at the deceiver as well. The lost are arrogant, prideful and selfish. Satan wants them to look like him. Satan’s traits manifest in the lost and create the suffering. Galatians 5:19-21 read,
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Why do bad things happen? Why do evil men prosper? Because we live in a fallen and broken world and the lost are prisoners of war who manifest the works of Satan in their pursuit of self-satisfaction. Satan is devious, he’s the deceiver and the accuser. He presents himself as the messenger of light, doing good and righteous things. His ignorant followers think they too are doing good but they work against Righteous God. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). How do they fall for it? Satan is a clever manipulator. Verses 8-10 read,
“He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9 he 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.
10 The helpless are crushed, sink down,
and fall by his might.”
He takes them anyway he can, he takes away their hope and they blame God for evil and deny that the deceiver even exists. Verse 11 says,
“He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
They really believe God doesn’t care about them. That is a tragedy. He loves them so much. But who will tell them the truth? God is Love. God is Just. God is our Righteous Judge. In verses 12-15 David prays for them.
“Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
forget not the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
14 But 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.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you find none.”
And our Holy God does. One day they will pay for their sin if they have not accepted Jesus’ propitiation. And this end is already promised, already done even though on our human timeline it hasn’t come to be yet. God promised it. We can be sure it is finished. Verses 16-18 read,
“The Lord is king forever and ever;
the nations perish from his land.
17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.”
We either follow Christ, the King of kings or Satan, the prince of the power of the air. It is the devil who oppresses and tricks people into manifesting his traits and desires. But the Holy Spirit works in His children to manifest love and His traits. If you ask where Justice is, He is there waiting with open arms to embrace you and transform you so that you will join Him and fight for justice for the unknowing captives of Satan.
[1] In the Septuagint Psalms 9 and 10 form one Psalm. They follow an acrostic pattern, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. But perhaps because they appear to have such different subjects they were divided to two separate psalms in the Bible. It is clear they are both about God’s justice and righteousness.
Do you ever look around you and ask why the world is so unfair? Why do the rich get richer? Why do evil men oppress the weak? Why does God let it happen? King David asked the same questions. Verse 1 reads,
“Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?”
King David knew that God is righteous and just and yet He still broached the subject. He said, “Where are you while all this stuff happens?” He looked at the world and the widespread pain and rampant sin he saw hurt him. He cried out to God. David was a man after God’s own heart. If it hurt David to see the evil flourish, how much more did it pain God?
Verses 2-4 read,
In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.
4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5 His ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
David describes the wicked who follow the prince of the power of the air, Satan. In his description of the lost, he gives us a look at the deceiver as well. The lost are arrogant, prideful and selfish. Satan wants them to look like him. Satan’s traits manifest in the lost and create the suffering. Galatians 5:19-21 read,
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Why do bad things happen? Why do evil men prosper? Because we live in a fallen and broken world and the lost are prisoners of war who manifest the works of Satan in their pursuit of self-satisfaction. Satan is devious, he’s the deceiver and the accuser. He presents himself as the messenger of light, doing good and righteous things. His ignorant followers think they too are doing good but they work against Righteous God. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15). How do they fall for it? Satan is a clever manipulator. Verses 8-10 read,
“He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9 he 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.
10 The helpless are crushed, sink down,
and fall by his might.”
He takes them anyway he can, he takes away their hope and they blame God for evil and deny that the deceiver even exists. Verse 11 says,
“He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
They really believe God doesn’t care about them. That is a tragedy. He loves them so much. But who will tell them the truth? God is Love. God is Just. God is our Righteous Judge. In verses 12-15 David prays for them.
“Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
forget not the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
14 But 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.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you find none.”
And our Holy God does. One day they will pay for their sin if they have not accepted Jesus’ propitiation. And this end is already promised, already done even though on our human timeline it hasn’t come to be yet. God promised it. We can be sure it is finished. Verses 16-18 read,
“The Lord is king forever and ever;
the nations perish from his land.
17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.”
We either follow Christ, the King of kings or Satan, the prince of the power of the air. It is the devil who oppresses and tricks people into manifesting his traits and desires. But the Holy Spirit works in His children to manifest love and His traits. If you ask where Justice is, He is there waiting with open arms to embrace you and transform you so that you will join Him and fight for justice for the unknowing captives of Satan.
[1] In the Septuagint Psalms 9 and 10 form one Psalm. They follow an acrostic pattern, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. But perhaps because they appear to have such different subjects they were divided to two separate psalms in the Bible. It is clear they are both about God’s justice and righteousness.
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