Psalms 10:4

4 after the multitude of his wrath, he shall not seek (after God). God is not in his sight; (And because of the multitude of his pride, he shall not seek after God. Indeed God is not in any of his thoughts;)

Psalms 10:4 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 10:4

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not
seek [after God]
We supply it, "after God"; as do the Targum and Kimchi on the place: the sense is, he will not seek to God for counsel or assistance, he will not pray unto him; which is the character of every unregenerate man, ( Romans 3:11 ) ; or, he will not inquire into the will of God, to know what is right or what is wrong, but will do what seems best in his own eyes: and this arises from the pride of his heart, which shows itself in his countenance, in his proud and haughty look. It is said of the little horn, who is antichrist, that he has a look more stout than his fellows, ( Daniel 7:20 ) . The words may be rendered, "the wicked inquires not into the height of his anger"; so Ainsworth observes; that is, of God's anger; he is not concerned about it; he neither fears God nor regards men. Jarchi's sense of the words is,

``all his thoughts say unto him, God will not inquire into everything that I shall do, for there is no judgment.''

God [is] not in all his thoughts;
nor in any of them, for they are evil continually; and if he does at any time think of him, his thoughts of him are wrong; he thinks he is altogether such an one as himself: or, "all his thoughts [are, there is] no God" F26: though he does not choose to say so, he thinks so; at least, he wishes it may be so; and he works himself into such impiety and atheism as to deny the providence of God, and thinks that he does not govern the world, nor concern himself with what is done below; that he takes no notice of men's actions, nor will call them to an account for them; and that there will be no future state or judgment, in which secret as well as open things will be made manifest: or, as the Chaldee paraphrase glosses it, "that all his thoughts are not manifest before the Lord".


FOOTNOTES:

F26 (wytwmzm lk Myhla Nya) "non Deus, omnes cogitationes ejus", Montanus, Vatablus, Muis; "nullum esse Deum hae sunt omnes cogitationes ejus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Ainsworth.

Psalms 10:4 In-Context

2 While the wicked man waxeth proud, the poor man is burnt; they be taken in the wicked counsels, which they thinked. (While the wicked grow proud, the poor be persecuted; let the wicked be caught in the wicked plans, which they themselves have thought out.)
3 For why the sinner is praised in the desires of his soul; and the wicked is blessed. The sinner hath stirred the Lord to wrath; (For the sinner glorieth in the desires of his own soul; and he blesseth the wicked, who have stirred the Lord to anger.)
4 after the multitude of his wrath, he shall not seek (after God). God is not in his sight; (And because of the multitude of his pride, he shall not seek after God. Indeed God is not in any of his thoughts;)
5 his ways be defouled in all time. Thy dooms be taken away from his face; he shall be lord of all his enemies. (his ways be defiled forever. And though thy judgements be far away from him, that is, beyond his grasp; he shall still be lord, or he shall still rule, over all his enemies.)
6 For he said in his heart, I shall not be moved, from generation into generation without evil. (For he said in his heart, I shall never be shaken; yea, for all generations, I shall never have any trouble.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.