Psalm 10:1 ¶ Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? 2 The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. 3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. 4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. 5 His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. 6 He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. 7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity. 8 He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor. 9 He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. 10 He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones. 11 He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.
Here David makes a lament that prophets in the Bible made and many
Christians even today might say. Where are you God? David, the man after God’s
own heart, had his moments of doubt and pain, feeling abandoned by God. I read
a suicide note once by someone I loved dearly that expressed that sentiment, as
the person declared they loved God but felt that He had abandoned them.
David’s cry speaks in verse 2 pleads for the intentions of the
evil to come back to bite them.
Psalm 7:16 His mischief shall return upon his own head,
and his violent dealing shall come down upon his own pate.
Psalm 9:15 The heathen are
sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own
foot taken. 16 The LORD is known by the
judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.
Higgaion. Selah.
Proverbs 5:22 His own
iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords
of his sins.
David, in verse 3, points out how the wicked are proud of their
wickedness and speak well of those like them, covetous and greedy, always
wanting what they don’t have. God detests this sort of people. See similar
thoughts in these verses.
Psalm 49:6 ¶ They that
trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;
Psalm 94:4 How long shall
they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast
themselves?
In verses 4 and 5 David declares that the wicked will not seek
after God because of their pride and that God’s judgments and thoughts are
beyond them.
This confidence the wicked has, as David says in verse 6, leads
them to do wicked and evil things to those weaker than them. David laments the
state of the wicked referenced here in their malicious behavior.
Verse 11 is expressed more fully in Psalm 73, a psalm of Asaph.
Psalm 73:1 ¶ «A Psalm of
Asaph.» Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.
2 But as for me, my feet were almost
gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. 3
For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the
wicked. 4 For there are no bands in
their death: but their strength is firm. 5
They are not in trouble as other men; neither are they plagued like
other men. 6 Therefore pride compasseth
them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment. 7 Their eyes stand out with fatness: they have
more than heart could wish. 8
They are corrupt, and speak wickedly concerning oppression: they
speak loftily. 9 They set their mouth
against the heavens, and their tongue walketh through the earth. 10 Therefore his people return hither: and
waters of a full cup are wrung out to them. 11
And they say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most
High? 12 Behold, these are the ungodly,
who prosper in the world; they increase in riches. 13 Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and
washed my hands in innocency. 14 For all
the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning.
For this passage from a prophetic point of view let’s look ahead. First,
let’s look at Ahab and the matter of the vineyard he coveted.
IKings 21:1 ¶ And it came
to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which
was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me
thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto
my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem
good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. 3 And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it
me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. 4 And Ahab came into his house heavy and
displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him:
for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he
laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
5 ¶ But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said
unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread? 6 And he said unto her, Because I spake unto
Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or
else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he
answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. 7
And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of
Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee
the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. 8
So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and
sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city,
dwelling with Naboth. 9 And she wrote in
the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
10 And set two men, sons of Belial,
before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and
the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die. 11 And the men of his city, even the elders and
the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto
them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
12 They proclaimed a fast, and set
Naboth on high among the people. 13 And
there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of
Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the
people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him
forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is
stoned, and is dead. 15 And it came to
pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel
said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite,
which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.
16 And it came to pass, when Ahab heard
that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth
the
Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
17 ¶ And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the
Tishbite, saying, 18 Arise, go down to
meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of
Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. 19 And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus
saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt
speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the
blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. 20 And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me,
O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold
thyself to work evil in the sight of the LORD.
Second, from Isaiah in a prophecy about how Babylon thought it was
invincible in a comparison with verse 6.
Isaiah 47: 5 Sit thou silent, and get thee into darkness, O
daughter of the Chaldeans: for thou shalt no more be called, The lady of
kingdoms. 6 I was wroth with my people,
I have polluted mine inheritance, and given them into thine hand: thou didst
shew them no mercy; upon the ancient hast thou very heavily laid thy yoke.7
¶ And thou saidst, I shall be a lady for
ever: so that thou didst not lay these things to thy heart, neither didst
remember the latter end of it.
Then, look at the future when Christ returns to settle accounts.
1Thessalonians 5:1 ¶ But of
the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. 2 For yourselves know perfectly that the day of
the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. 3
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction
cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not
escape.
On a personal note in today’s world we can compare verse 3 in
particular to;
Romans 1:32 Who knowing the
judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not
only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
The wicked today on every level of society have no shame and like
to not only boast about their own wickedness as in, “I’m a playa,” or, “I’m a
party animal,” or certain perverse lifestyles or greed and exploitation but
also applaud others who are wicked like themselves.
Whether it be corrupt and wicked individuals on a personal basis
or corporate actors on the international stage there are many people who are
not only oppressors and users of others but applaud such things as taking care
of themselves and seeking their own interests. And they have no regard for God.
Psalm 10:12 ¶ Arise, O
LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble. 13 Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he
hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it. 14 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest
mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth
himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless. 15 Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil
man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none. 16 The LORD is King for ever and ever:
the heathen are perished out of his land. 17
LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their
heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: 18
To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may
no more oppress.
This is a very interesting passage, with David, a king, pleading
for God’s hand to protect the humble which from the context of this chapter and
passage refers to the poor and politically powerless. Verse 13 goes on to ask
why the wicked contemn God, with contemn meaning to treat or regard with
contempt. God will not, the wicked think, require, seek after, demand, to call
into account, all older and current meanings of require, the matter of
the sin the wicked commits.
Ecclesiastes3:15 That which
hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth
that which is past.
But in verse 14 David says that God does see it and does call
these things into account and He does help the poor and those without a
protector or benefactor, being fatherless means you are politically powerless. The
immanence of God, that He is everywhere and can see every single thing, not
being constrained by the laws of physics, is a fundamental Bible doctrine.
Proverbs 15:3 ¶ The eyes of
the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.
Jeremiah 16:17 For mine
eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their
iniquity hid from mine eyes.
Jeremiah 23:24 Can any hide
himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I
fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.
Hebrews 4:13 Neither is
there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked
and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.
An important point to note here is not that this is a guarantee
for every one who is poor and/or fatherless. David is saying that the poor do
trust in God and He does help the fatherless although we know from our
experience that this is not in every case. It is important to note that
seemingly absolute statements in the Bible fall into two categories: one,
without exception as in every single one, and two, without distinction, as in a
class of possibilities. God does help the weak. Pointing out an exception to
this statement does not make it invalid any more than you jumping off your roof
and not breaking your legs makes gravity invalid.
Who is this man of the earth that David is talking about? This man
of the earth as opposed to heaven is an oppressor. The natural man does not
know God. Kings, princes, leaders of all stripes can fall into this category if
they do not honor God above themselves.
1Corinthians 2:14 But the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned.
And notice the requirement for a Godly leader.
2Samuel 23:3 The God of
Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be
just, ruling in the fear of God.
Keep in mind that the heathen are those that opposed God the Creator
as they bask in pagan religions based on nature and devil worship. Perhaps
this, in 16, is David’s desire and if only Israel had obeyed at the first it
might have been so.
This passage has some interesting prophetic possibilities with regard
to the Beast of Revelation, whoever he will be. Verse 15 contrasts with;
Zechariah 11:17 Woe to the
idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon
his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be
utterly darkened.
The Beast will not regard God the Creator. From Daniel we see what
his worship might be centered on much like a theoretical physicist today. For
verse 13 compare;
Daniel 11:38 But in his
estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not
shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant
things.
For verse 16 consider then this verse regarding the New Jerusalem;
Revelation 21:27 And there
shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever
worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s
book of life.
Also, consider these regarding events on the earth itself.
2Thesslonians 2:8 And then
shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of
his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
Revelation 20:9 And they
went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints
about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and
devoured them.10 And the devil that
deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and
the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The man of the earth in verse 18 has some interesting
prophetic possibilities. One consideration is that in modern terms earth
religions are also called nature worship where wind, fire, storms, and other
naturally occurring phenomenon are worshipped as well as the matriarchal
religious worship of goddesses like Ishtar, the goddess of prostitutes,
immigrants (some say), and of liberty, from Babylon to New York Harbor.
This also gives us an indication along with Daniel 11:38 of the religious
worship of the Beast, perhaps although ultimately, as many political leaders,
he is his own god. He also may be a homosexual or consider himself asexual like
an ascetic monk in that he cares not for women sexually.
Daniel 11:37 Neither shall
he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god:
for he shall magnify himself above all.
Personally, this passage, can mean many things for you and me. For
the Christian in a third world socialist or Muslim country it can be a plea for
God’s mercy and protection. For the working person in America it can be a
heartfelt cry for justice and protection against those who would manipulate and
control us under the guise, the lie that they are doing what is in our best
interest. Runaway inflation from government spending supposedly to help the
country. Heart issues and cancer from being forced to take a potentially
dangerous pseudo-vaccine into our bodies in order to work and travel. Attempts
to interfere with our rights and responsibilities as parents and our own rights
over our own bodies. All these things are tokens of oppression by a powerful
elite of wealthy men, many of whom made their wealth by stealing from us. This
passage is a powerful prayer.
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