Psalm 10:1-18 rA

... 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.

Psalm 10:1-18[1]

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]

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[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.

Psalm 73:1-28 rA

... 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.

Psalm 73:1-28[1]

A Psalm of Asaph.

Truly God [is] good to Israel, to such as are of a clean heart.

But as for me, my feet were almost gone.  My steps had well near slipped: for I was envious at the foolish, [when] I saw the prosperity of the wicked.[2]

[There are] no pangs in their death.  Their strength [is] firm.  They [are] not in trouble [as other] men.  Nor are they plagued like [other] men.  Therefore pride circles about them as a chain.  Violence covers them [as] a garment.  Their eyes bulge out with fatness.  They have more than heart could wish.  They are corrupt, and speak wickedly [of] oppression.  They speak loftily.  They set their mouth against the heavens.  Their tongue walks through the earth.  Therefore his people return here.  Waters of a full [cup] are wrung out to them.  They say, “How does God know?  Is there knowledge in the most High?”  Behold, these [are] the wicked, who prosper in the world.  They increase [in] riches.

Certainly I have cleansed my heart [in] vain, and washed my hands in innocence: for all the day have I been plagued, and punished every morning.  If I say, “I will speak thus.”  Behold, I should offend the generation of Your children.  When I thought to grasp this, it [was] too painful for me: until I went to the sanctuary of God.  [Then] I understood their end.[3]

Surely You set them in slippery places.  You cast them down to destruction.  How are they [brought] to desolation, as in a moment!  They are utterly consumed with terrors, as a dream when [one] awakes.  Lord, when You awake, You shall despise their image.

Thus my heart was grieved.  I was pricked in my reins.  So foolish [was] I, and ignorant.  I was [as] a beast before You.  Nevertheless I [am] continually with You.  You have held [me] by my right hand.  You shall guide me with Your advice, and afterward receive me [in] Glory.

Whom have I in heaven [but You]?  [There is] no one on earth I desire beside You.  My flesh and my heart fails.  God [is] the strength of my heart, and my portion forever: for, lo, those who are far from You shall perish.  You have destroyed all those who go a whoring from You.  But [it is] good for me to draw near to God.  I have put my trust in the Lord God, so that I may declare all Your works.[4]

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[1] The Psalms of Asaph are filled with lamentation, so much so that we believe their subject matter to be the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC at the hands of the Babylonians.  Indeed, we believe that Psalms Book III is devoted to the subject of the Babylonian Captivity from its causes to its termination.  As with Jeremiah, Asaph could be a first hand eyewitness (or eyewitnesses) of these historic events; but we cannot overlook the possibility that they could be prophetic in nature, written in the time of David.  Before we set aside this latter idea as being too fanciful, we hasten to point out that The Church has had a firmly established conviction about the Second Coming of Jesus for roughly two thousand years, so such prophetic clarity is not at all impossible or even unlikely.  Whether historically or prophetically, the content of Psalms Book III is almost certainly about the Babylonian Captivity.  Psalm 73 is an apt description of the Israelite arrogance obtaining immediately before the conquest of 586, and serves as an appropriate introduction to the subject matter.

Asaph begins with the declaration, painfully learned, that purity of heart matters in spite of the cruelty of the circumstances.

Asaph laments the dominant, overwhelming success of the wicked.  He notes how tempting it is to envy them.  Such envy is violently self-destructive: for his “feet … gone, steps … slipped.”  This describes being on the brink of death; which, ironically is exactly where prosperous Jerusalem is, on the brink of death.

Asaph describes in glowing detail the behavior of the corrupt wicked.  “Their tongue walks,” a curious and vividly descriptive figure of speech, indicating that the prosperous control the poor by clever oratory.  However, a cup is “wrung out” for them.  They erroneously think, to their error and shame, that the Crucifixion of Christ spells their victory; instead it spells their defeat.  God does know.  God will judge.  Even so today even our churches seem dominated by the wicked proud.  Shameless politicians lead in public prayer and boast of their conservative spirituality.  The poor are trampled underfoot.

Asaph mourns the seeming futility of his own worship.  He even experiences political correctness: for he couldn’t open his mouth without offending someone.  It was only in God’s house where he was able to visualize the bigger picture.

Asaph speaks of the downfall of Jerusalem with words that are catastrophic, sudden, swift, and thorough.  Nothing is left (utterly consumed).  It is like his worst, terrifying nightmare.

Asaph is as pained as if he had been struck in the kidneys, not because of the prosperous wicked, but because he failed to see the hand of God in all things, even in the wickedness of the wicked.  His vexation is turned to joy when he realizes that eternity holds all the answers.  Jerusalem is not the true City of God, it is a mere picture; yet even if the picture is grievously defaced, the reality stands secure.

Asaph concludes with a beautiful little hymn, a Psalm within a Psalm, a fleeting glimpse of hope in a sea of disaster.  Even so today, we find our hope in God alone, in spite of the fact that our world seems to be crumbling about us.  The poor and downtrodden will overcome at last.

[2] The wicked do prosper in this world.  1% of Americans control 40% of the wealth; while millions are without clothing, food, or shelter.  That statistic cannot be merely accidental.  There are days when the believers and lovers of God can’t get anything right; and envy of the wicked is an easy pit into which we fall.  Asaph’s advice is to go to church more, to pray more, to see the picture through God’s eyes.  It is not God Who needs to awake; it is we who are having this nightmare.  This is serious: as serious as a heart attack or a punch in the kidneys.  I’m told that a heart attack is like having an elephant sitting on the chest.  A punch in the kidneys buckles the knees, so that you fall to the ground with uncontrolled tears streaming from the eyes.  We need to be constantly reminded that God is with us, even in death.  We need to draw near to God, because He is never far away, and because He is supremely good.

[3] With the impending destruction of Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple at the hands of the Babylonians in 586, Asaph’s heart is shredded over the situation.  His own efforts to maintain faithful in worship seem futile.  All around him, Jewish youth are returning to pagan behavior and idolatry.  So much so, that Asaph cannot even speak of Yahweh worship without offending Jewish people: many have “unfriended” him, or simply ignore him.  Asaph is in pain trying to get his head around this kind of anger, hatred and malice.  He gets some comfort in worship.  Yet, still there must be pain: for how can he consider the deaths of other Jews without feeling grief?  How can he know that wrath is coming, and not be in turmoil?

[4] 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.