Psalms 10:14

14 Thou seest, for thou beholdest travail and sorrow; that thou take them into thine hands. The poor man is left to thee; thou shalt be an helper to the fatherless and motherless. (But thou do see it, for thou beholdest all trouble, or all tribulation, and sorrow; and thou hast taken the matter into thy own hands. And the poor commit themselves to thee; and thou art a helper to the fatherless and the motherless.)

Images for Psalms 10:14

Psalms 10:14 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 10:14

Thou hast seen [it]
Though the wicked say God will never see, ( Psalms 10:11 ) ; he sees all things in general, all men and all their actions; all are manifest and open to him, and everything in particular, especially the wickedness of men; even that which is said or thought in the heart;

for thou beholdest mischief and spite;
that mischief which arises from spite or malice in the heart; God beholds the inward principle from whence it proceeds, as well as that itself; the mischief devised in the heart, on the bed, and which lies under the tongue, designed against the people of God, either to the injury of their characters and estates, or to their bodies, and even to their souls, as much as in them lies, proceeding from implacable malice and enmity to them;

to requite [it] with thy hand:
of power, to retaliate it upon their own heads, to render tribulation to them that trouble the saints, which is but a righteous thing with God: or "to put [it] in thy hand" F11; and the sense is, that God looks upon all the injuries the wicked out of spite devise to do to his people, and puts them in his hand, that they may be ever before him, and always in his sight, and he will take a proper opportunity of avenging them. The Targum interprets it of God's rewarding good men, as well as punishing the wicked, paraphrasing the whole thus,

``it is manifest before thee that thou wilt send sorrow and wrath upon the wicked; thou lookest to render a good reward to the righteous with thy hand;''

the poor committeth himself unto thee:
his body, and the outward concerns of life, as to a faithful Creator; his soul, and the spiritual and eternal welfare of it, as to the only Saviour and Redeemer; he commits all his ways to him, as the God of providence and grace; and at last he commits his spirit to him at death, as to his covenant God and Father: the words may be rendered, "the poor leaveth upon thee" F12; that is, he leaves himself and his upon the Lord; he leaves his burden on him, he casts all his care upon him, as he is advised and encouraged to do; he leaves his cause with him to plead it for him, who will plead it thoroughly and maintain it: the phrase is expressive of the poor's faith and hope in God; hence the Chaldee paraphrase renders it, "on thee will thy poor ones hope"; for the supply of their wants, and for help and assistance against their enemies;

thou art the helper of the fatherless;
God is the Father of them, provides for them, supplies, supports, and defends them; nor will he in a spiritual sense leave his people orphans or comfortless, but will visit and help them; see ( Psalms 68:5 ) ( John 14:18 ) ;


FOOTNOTES:

F11 (Kdyb ttl) "ut ponas in manibus tuis", Vatablus, Cocceius.
F12 (hklx bwzy Kyle) "super te relinquit pauper", Montanus, Gejerus, Michaelis; so Cocceius.

Psalms 10:14 In-Context

12 Lord God, rise thou up, and thine hand be enhanced; forget thou not poor men. (Lord God, rise thou up, and let thy hand be lifted up; do not thou forget the poor.)
13 For what thing stirred the wicked man God to wrath? for he said in his heart, God shall not seek. (And why hath the wicked person made God angry? for he said in his heart, God shall not see this/God shall not care about this.)
14 Thou seest, for thou beholdest travail and sorrow; that thou take them into thine hands. The poor man is left to thee; thou shalt be an helper to the fatherless and motherless. (But thou do see it, for thou beholdest all trouble, or all tribulation, and sorrow; and thou hast taken the matter into thy own hands. And the poor commit themselves to thee; and thou art a helper to the fatherless and the motherless.)
15 All-break thou the arm of the sinner, and evil-willed; his sin shall be sought, and it shall not be found. (Break thou the arm, or the power, of the sinner, and those who be evil-willed; let their sins be sought out until no more be found.)
16 The Lord shall reign [into] without end, and into the world of world; folks, ye shall perish from the land of him. (The Lord shall reign forever and ever; and all the nations have vanished from his land/and all the peoples shall vanish from his land.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.