Psalms 10

A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.

1 Why ¹do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why ²do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?

2 In ³pride the wicked hotly pursue the afflicted; Let them be ⁴caught in the plots which they have devised.

3 For the wicked ⁵boasts of his ⁶heart's desire, And the greedy man curses and ⁷spurns the LORD.

4 The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, ⁸does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, "⁹There is no God."

5 His ways ¹⁰prosper at all times; Your judgments are on high, ¹¹out of his sight; As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.

6 He says to himself, "¹²I will not be moved; Throughout all generations ¹³I will not be in adversity."

7 His ¹⁴mouth is full of curses and deceit and ¹⁵oppression; ¹⁶Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.

8 He sits in the ¹⁷lurking places of the villages; In the hiding places he ¹⁸kills the innocent; His eyes stealthily watch for the ¹⁹unfortunate.

9 He lurks in a hiding place as ²⁰a lion in his lair; He ²¹lurks to catch ²²the afflicted; He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his ²³net.

10 He crouches, he bows down, And the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones.

11 He ²⁴says to himself, "God has forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never * see it."

12 Arise, O LORD; O God, ²⁵lift up Your hand. ²⁶Do not forget the afflicted.

13 Why * has the wicked ²⁷spurned God? He has said to himself, "You will not require it."

14 You have seen it, for You have beheld ²⁸mischief and vexation to take it into Your hand. The ²⁹unfortunate commits himself to You; You have been the ³⁰helper of the orphan.

15 ³¹Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer, ³²Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

16 The LORD is ³³King forever and ever; ³⁴Nations have perished from His land.

17 O LORD, You have heard the ³⁵desire of the humble; You will ³⁶strengthen their heart, ³⁷You will incline Your ear

18 To vindicate the ³⁸orphan and the ³⁹oppressed, So that man who is of the earth will no longer * cause ⁴⁰terror.

Psalms 10 Commentary

Chapter 10

The psalmist complains of the wickedness of the wicked. (1-11) He prays to God to appear for the relief of his people. (12-18)

Verses 1-11 God's withdrawings are very grievous to his people, especially in times of trouble. We stand afar off from God by our unbelief, and then complain that God stands afar off from us. Passionate words against bad men do more hurt than good; if we speak of their badness, let it be to the Lord in prayer; he can make them better. The sinner proudly glories in his power and success. Wicked people will not seek after God, that is, will not call upon him. They live without prayer, and that is living without God. They have many thoughts, many objects and devices, but think not of the Lord in any of them; they have no submission to his will, nor aim for his glory. The cause of this is pride. Men think it below them to be religious. They could not break all the laws of justice and goodness toward man, if they had not first shaken off all sense of religion.

Verses 12-18 The psalmist speaks with astonishment, at the wickedness of the wicked, and at the patience and forbearance of God. God prepares the heart for prayer, by kindling holy desires, and strengthening our most holy faith, fixing the thoughts, and raising the affections, and then he graciously accepts the prayer. The preparation of the heart is from the Lord, and we must seek unto him for it. Let the poor, afflicted, persecuted, or tempted believer recollect, that Satan is the prince of this world, and that he is the father of all the ungodly. The children of God cannot expect kindness, truth, or justice from such persons as crucified the Lord of glory. But this once suffering Jesus, now reigns as King over all the earth, and of his dominion there shall be no end. Let us commit ourselves unto him, humbly trusting in his mercy. He will rescue the believer from every temptation, and break the arm of every wicked oppressor, and bruise Satan under our feet shortly. But in heaven alone will all sin and temptation be shut out, though in this life the believer has a foretaste of deliverance.

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 22:1
• 2. Psalms 13:1; Psalms 55:1
• 3. Psalms 73:6, 8
• 4. Psalms 7:16; Psalms 9:16
• 5. Psalms 49:6; Psalms 94:3, 4
• 6. Psalms 112:10
• 7. Psalms 10:13
• 8. Psalms 10:13; Psalms 36:2
• 9. Psalms 14:1; Psalms 36:1
• 10. Psalms 52:7
• 11. Psalms 28:5
• 12. Psalms 49:11; Ecclesiastes 8:11
• 13. Revelation 18:7
• 14. Romans 3:14
• 15. Psalms 73:8
• 16. Job 20:12; Psalms 140:3
• 17. Psalms 11:2
• 18. Psalms 94:6
• 19. Psalms 72:12
• 20. Psalms 17:12
• 21. Psalms 59:3; Micah 7:2
• 22. Psalms 10:2
• 23. Psalms 140:5
• 24. Psalms 10:4
• 25. Psalms 17:7; Micah 5:9
• 26. Psalms 9:12
• 27. Psalms 10:3
• 28. Psalms 10:7
• 29. Psalms 22:11
• 30. Psalms 68:5
• 31. Psalms 37:17
• 32. Psalms 140:11
• 33. Psalms 29:10
• 34. Deuteronomy 8:20
• 35. Psalms 9:18
• 36. 1 Chronicles 29:18
• 37. Psalms 34:15
• 38. Psalms 146:9
• 39. Psalms 9:9; Psalms 74:21
• 40. Isaiah 29:20

Footnotes

• [a]. Or Your eyes
• [b]. Lit "burn"
• [c]. Or "They will be caught"
• [d]. Or "blesses the greedy man"
• [e]. Or "plots"
• [f]. Lit "are strong"
• [g]. Lit "To"
• [h]. Lit "lie in wait"
• [i]. Or "poor"
• [j]. Or "thicket"
• [k]. Or "is crushed"
• [l]. Or "is bowed down"
• [m]. Or "poor"
• [n]. Or "into his claws"
• [o]. Lit "put, give"
• [p]. Or "poor"
• [q]. Or "May You seek"
• [r]. Or "afflicted"
• [s]. Lit "judge"

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 10

This psalm in the Septuagint version, and those that follow it, is a part and continuation of the preceding psalm, and makes but one with it; hence in these versions the number of the following psalms differ from others, and what is the eleventh with others is the tenth with them, and so on to the hundred fourteenth and one hundred fifteenth, which also are put into one; but in order to make up the whole number of one hundred and fifty, the hundred sixteenth and the hundred forty seventh are both divided into two; and indeed the subject of this psalm is much the same with the former. Antichrist and antichristian times are very manifestly described; the impiety, blasphemy, and atheism of the man of sin; his pride, haughtiness, boasting of himself, and presumption of security; his persecution of the poor, and murder of innocents, are plainly pointed at; nor does the character of the man of the earth agree to well to any as to him: his times are times of trouble; but at the end of them the kingdom of Christ will appear in great glory, when the Gentiles, the antichristian nations, will perish out of his land, Ps 10:1-11,16,18.