INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 10
Psalm 10 is a biblical lament which wrestles with the problem of injustice. The psalmist describes the arrogance and violence of the wicked while asking why God appears distant. He eventually concludes that God does see the suffering of the oppressed and the wrongdoing of the oppressor and will ultimately bring justice. Thus the psalm moves from complaint to confidence.
THE STRUCTURE OF PSALM 10
Psalm 10 has no superscription.
In our introduction to Psalm 9 we noticed that, taken together, Psalms 9 and 10 are thought to be an incomplete acrostic on the Hebrew alphabet. That blog post included a quotation from an article by O. Palmer Robertson (2015, p.233) that explained this for Psalm 9. The following is Robertson’s explanation relating to Psalm 10 from that same article (2015, p.234):
‘Psalm 10 completes the acrostic that was begun in Psalm 9. Ten of the first eleven letters of the Hebrew alphabet are represented in Psalm 9 (with the omission of one letter), leaving eleven letters for Psalm 10 to complete the acrostic. The first verse of Psalm 10 picks up where Psalm 9 left off, with its first word beginning with the twelfth letter of the Hebrew alphabet (lamed). But then search will be made in vain for the next six letters of the alphabet. All the missing letters (mem, nun, samek, ayin, pe, tsade) appear in random places and more than once in the next ten verses (vv. 2-11). But no detectable pattern emerges. Then at the end of Psalm 10, the last four letters of the Hebrew alphabet appear in proper sequential order as the initial letter in the first word of a subsequent (though not consecutive) verse (qoph, v. 12; resh, v. 14; shin, v. 15; tav, v. 17).’
DIVISION OF PSALM 10
- Verse 1 – Questions about God’s absence
- Verses 2–11 – Description of the wicked person
- Verses 12–15 – A plea for God to act
- Verses 16–18 – Confidence in God’s justice
Key Themes in Psalm 10
- The apparent silence of God – the psalm opens with questions about divine absence.
- The arrogance of the wicked – the oppressor believes he will never be judged.
- God’s concern for the oppressed – the psalm affirms that God sees suffering.
- Confidence in divine justice – the psalm concludes by affirming God’s rule.
EXPLANATION
VERSE 1– QUESTIONS ABOUT GOD’S ABSENCE
(1) Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
Psalm 10 opens with two rhetorical ‘Why?’ questions typical of lament. These reflect a feeling of abandonment, confusion, frustration and despair on the part of the psalmist at God’s perceived absence and indifference during periods of distress. The questions relate to Space and Time. Not only does God stand ‘afar of’ but he does so in ‘times of trouble’ when he is most needed.
Verse 1 is a cry to the Lord to do something about the psalmist’s personal circumstances in which he is suffering injustice and evil seems to prevail. Scroggie (1948, p.84) comments: ‘Here might appears to triumph over right. The psalmist remonstrates with Jehovah for His apparent indifference (1). The Lord is distant and hidden and the sufferer wants to know “why?”
VERSES 2–11 – DESCRIPTION OF THE WICKED PERSON
The psalmist proceeds with an extended complaint in which he describes the character and deeds of the wicked.
(2) THE WICKED PERSON’S BEHAVIOUR – The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
Thinking that he can do so with impunity, the wicked arrogantly hounds the afflicted. The psalmist cries out for God to act and administer talionic justice (i.e. the punishment directly corresponds to the crime, e.g. ‘an eye for an eye’).
Six Hebrew words are used for the vulnerable in this psalm:
v.2, v.9, v.9 poor – ‘āniy;
v.8 innocent – nāqiyv;
v.8, v.10, v.14 poor – ḥēleḵāh;
v.12, v.17 humble – ‘ānāw;
v.14, v.18 fatherless – yāṯôm
v.18 oppressed – dak
(3) THE WICKED PERSON’S BOASTINGS – For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
The word ‘For’ introduces the reason for the psalmist’s complaint. The wicked is characterised by grasping- he flaunts (praises) his heart’s desires and congratulates the greedy – whom the Lord detests.
(4) THE WICKED PERSON’S BIAS – The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
The wicked ‘has his nose in the air’ Lit. ‘the height of his nostril’ i.e. is disdainful of God. When devising his schemes he does not take God into his reckoning.
(5) THE WICKED PERSON’S BLINDNESS – His ways are always grievous; thy judgements are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
His course of life (the paths he treads) is strong (no wavering) and as far as he is concerned God, if there is one, is way above out of his sight; therefore any decisions God makes will not affect him – i.e. God is irrelevant. Not having God to worry about he can therefore snort in contempt (or, with hostility) at everyone who goes up against him.
(6) He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.
In his heart (see also v.11) he believes that he will always succeed and will never have to face misfortune.
(7) THE WICKED PERSON’S BLASPHEMIES – His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
How he speaks reveals the kind of person he is; morally corrupt. He will swear falsely and be deceitful and violently oppressive. His speech can only bring trouble and injustice. The words here translated deceit and fraud occur together again in Psa 55:11. The apostle Paul alludes to this verse in Rom 3:14, quoting it as part of his evidence that ‘there is none righteous, no, not one’ (Rom 3:10).
(8-10) THE WICKED PERSON’S BRUTALITIES – 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. 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. He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
He lurks in the courtyards of the villages and spies out victims. He murders the innocent and perpetrates violence against the unfortunate. A village is a group of houses not surrounded by a wall (Lev 25:31).
Like a lion in its den he hides ready to launch secret and sudden attacks upon the poor. The metaphor becomes mixed here and changes from that of a wild animal to a hunter. He catches the afflicted by drawing him in his net.
Then the metaphor changes back to that of a wild beast. He crouches down to conceal himself better before pouncing on the poor with ‘his strong ones.’ What are his strong ones – we are not told – perhaps his young, or his claws, or his teeth?
(11) He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.
The psalmist once again (see v.6) articulates the thoughts of the wicked. The wicked man views God as powerless. He reckons that either God does not see his evil activities or that he does see them but does not bother to intervene. The basis of the wicked man’s behaviour is his rejection of God (see v.13).
VERSES 12–15 – A PLEA FOR GOD TO ACT
(12-13) Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble. Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
At this stage there is an abrupt shift in tone as the psalmist implores the Lord to rise up and act with hostility against the wicked. The psalmist wants immediate intervention so he appeals to God’s honour which has been insulted by the wicked. Should the wicked not be held to account for what he says in his heart? God ought to rescue his own reputation.
(14-15) 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. Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
Still thinking of the wicked man’s words in v.11 that God does not see what is going on the psalmist expresses a strong declaration of faith: ‘but you do see!’ He affirms that God does take note of the trouble and vexation of the vulnerable and takes it in hand. He intervenes when sought by the afflicted. He is especially the ‘helper’ of the most vulnerable (such as orphans).
The psalmist continues his plea for action and asks God to ‘break the arm of the wicked’ – that is: put an end to his power and destroy his ability to prey on the vulnerable. He asks the Lord to seek out or avenge wickedness so that no more can be found, i.e. so that wickedness will be wiped out.
VERSES 16–18 – CONFIDENCE IN GOD’S JUSTICE
The psalm now moves from petition and ends with praise. He declares God’s universal kingship which is eternal in contrast to the temporal (and temporary) domination enjoyed by the wicked. Earthly (‘land’) powers will rise and fall but God’s sovereignty is unshakeable. The wicked may seem to be in control at present but God will triumph over evil.
The psalm concludes with a message of further assurance and hope for the believer that God, who according to v.14 is the helper of the oppressed, will give strength to their trembling heart. He will hear their prayers and will use his divine authority to act on behalf of (judge or defend) ‘the fatherless and oppressed.’ The wicked who are mere mortals (‘man of the earth’) will no longer oppress the needy.
SUMMATION
Psalm 10 addresses the struggles faced by believers in a world where evil often seems to triumph over good. The psalmist honestly expresses his feelings of despair and frustration but after complaining about the wicked and calling upon God to act he expresses his confidence in God’s commitment to justice. The psalmist understands that God will act decisively against those who oppress others. God does see the injustices of the world and will intervene to rectify them because he is sovereign. Since his rule is everlasting no injustice will go unnoticed or unaddressed.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
Clarke, A.G. (1949). Analytical Studies in the Psalms. John Ritchie Ltd., Kilmarnock
Scroggie, W.G. (1948). The Psalms , Volume 1, Psalms I-L, Introduction and Notes by W. Graham Scroggie. Pickering & Inglis Ltd., London
JOURNAL ARTICLES
Benun, R. (2009) “Evil and the Disruption of Order: A Structural Analysis of the Acrostics in the First Book of Psalms”, The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures, No.6.
Berlin, M. (1901). Psalms IX and X. The Jewish Quarterly Review, Vol. 13, No.4, pp.669–682.
Robertson, O. P. (2015). The Alphabetic Acrostic in Book I of the Psalms: An Overlooked Element of Psalter Structure. Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Vol. 40, No. 2. pp. 225-238
Slabbert, M.J. (2015). Coping in a Harsh Reality: The Concept of the ‘Enemy’ in the Composition of Psalms 9 and 10. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, Vol. 71, No. 3.
Sumpter, P. (2019). The Canonical Shape of Psalms 1-14. Old Testament Essays, Vol. 32, No. 2 pp. 514-543.
Written Exposition 