... in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
Amen. Through the prayers of our
holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ our God, have mercy on us and save us. Amen. Glory
to You, our God, Glory to You.
O Heavenly King,
the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, You are everywhere and fill all things,
Treasury of blessings, and Giver of life: come and abide in us, and cleanse us
from every impurity, and save our souls, O Good One.
Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy
Immortal, have mercy on us (three times).
Glory be to the
Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, as it is now, was in the
beginning, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Why do You stand at a distance, Lord? Will You hide in times of
trouble?
The wicked in pride persecutes the poor. Let them be taken in the devices that they
have imagined: for the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire, and blesses the
covetous, [whom] the Lord abhors. The wicked, through
the pride of his countenance, will not seek…. God[2] is not in
all his thoughts. His ways are always
grievous. Your judgments [are] far above, out of his sight. He puffs at all his enemies. He has said in his heart, I shall not be
moved: for [I shall] never [be] in adversity. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and
fraud. Under his tongue [is] mischief and vanity. He sits in the lurking places of the
villages. In the secret places he murders
the innocent. His eyes are secretly set
against the poor. He lies in wait secretly
as a lion in his den. He lies in wait to
catch the poor. He catches the poor,
when he draws him to his net. He crouches,
[and] humbles himself, so that the
poor may fall by his strong ones. He has
said in his heart, “God has forgotten. He
hides His face. He will never see.”[3]
Arise, Lord. O God, lift up Your hand. Forget not the humble.
Why does the wicked scorn God? He has said in his heart, “You will not
require [it].”
You have seen: for You behold mischief and
spite, to retaliate with Your hand. The
poor commits himself to You. You are the
helper of the fatherless. Break the arm
of the wicked and the evil. Seek out his
wickedness [until] You find none.
The Lord [is] King forever and ever. The heathen are perished from His land. Lord, You have
heard the desire of the humble. You will
prepare their heart, You will cause Your ear to hear, to judge the fatherless
and the oppressed, that the man of the earth[4] may no
more oppress.[5]
[1] The
psalmist cries out in anguish. It seems
as if Yahweh is not paying attention to the cruelties on earth, cruelties that
persist in direct violation of Yahweh’s Law.
The psalmist continues with a summary of wicked behavior and
the reasons behind it. It is notable
that the idea of justice expressed here is that the wicked should “taken in their own imagined devices.” Let the usurer fall in usury. Let the slaver become a slave. Let the robber be robbed. Let the murderer be murdered. The psalmist also notes that the wicked are
usually prosperous in this life; they pursue evil because they don’t believe in
God.
The psalmist cries out for God to take
action.
As the first half of the psalm begins with the question, “Why do You stand at a distance;” now the psalmist asks “Why does the
wicked scorn God?” The answer is given
immediately, echoing the summary of thoughts about the wicked: in brief, God
will never judge.
In contrast the psalmist proclaims that God
does see and retaliate against wickedness.
The poor and fatherless are in good hands. These oppressed victims will not only be
vindicated, but wickedness will one day be eradicated from the earth, the arms
of evil doers will be broken.
Yahweh’s kingdom is entirely different than the kingdoms of
the earth, which are characterized by evil.
In Yahweh’s kingdom all heathen behavior is obliterated, because Yahweh,
does hear, he does judge, and in due time he will put a stop to all evil.
[2] In
many Psalms the terms Yahweh and God are virtually interchangeable, as in the
New Testament where Yahweh is not used at all.
In Psalm 10 this may highlight a subtle play on words: for God can also
be god or even judge, where it speaks of pagan idols or earthly judges. The heathen wicked are unafraid of Yahweh,
the living God: for none of their idols take action against their wrong
doing. As far as earthly judges are
concerned, these all look the other way, because they are profiting from the public
crimes as well. Yahweh, the living God
is not like either of these at all: earthly behavior is very important to Him,
and He will sit in judgment of it.
[3]
The wicked believe that they have the God given right to oppress: that God will
always look the other way. The wicked
believe that they have the upper hand because they have power to oppress, to
bind wo/men in slavery, to defy God's Law.
They redefine sin and excuse it; but they have no real love for the
sinner, and they don't know how to forgive.
They murder and think they have done God a favor; they pervert the
sacrament of marriage and call it love.
They are deceived. God hates
oppression, God loathes every form of slavery, and will blot it out.
[4]
The Psalms employ an incessant contrast between the man of God, and the man of
the earth. As we consider this contrast
we conclude that earth must be a reference to several motifs in Scripture. Part of Satan’s punishment is that he must
crawl on his belly on the earth and eat dust (Genesis 3:14): consequently, the
man of the earth refers to a slave of Satan.
Part of man’s punishment is that he must toil in the earth and return to
dust in death (Genesis 3:17-19): hence, the man of the earth refers to a slave
of his own toil, who never looks up or is lifted up to heavenly things. The man of God is one whom God has lifted up:
so that even after the body has fallen asleep still enjoys the gift of
fellowship with God. Having been lifted
up by God, the man of God incessantly cries out to the man of the earth to
repent and be lifted up, to accept the gift of God.
[5] If you have been blessed or helped by any of these meditations in
Psalms, please repost, share, or use any of them as you wish.
These meditations are not controlled by
Creative Commons or other licenses, such as: copyright, CC, BY, SA, NC, or ND. They are designed and intended for your free
participation. They were freely
received, and are freely given. No other
permission is required for their use.
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