November 12
Reading: Psalm 10
1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD.
4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5 His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high,
out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
8 He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
he lurks that he may seize the poor;
he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
10 The helpless are crushed, sink down, and fall by his might.
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
12 Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand;
forget not the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
you have been the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you find none.
16 The LORD is king forever and ever;
the nations perish from his land.
17 O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
The Psalms are examples for us in how to pray. This Psalm is an example of a pattern that we see over and over in these prayers. It begins with a struggle and then the prayer moves. It moves from a question to a request to a confidence in God.
Do you ever talk to God this way?
First there is the struggle which is a question brought to God about a problem. You can see the question in verse 1 and the problem that has brought it about in verses 2-11. Can you see what the problem is? It is a problem that we all have in knowing that God is just and righteous and in complete control over all, but then we look at the world and it seems that things have gone wrong.
It is worth reading these verses and reflecting on who these wicked people are who seem to be prospering. They are scammers who call older people on the phone to swindle them out of their money. They are bankers and businessmen who seek to leverage and cheat others so that they can get rich. They are politicians who use others to advance themselves. They are media moguls who produce all kinds of filth and godless entertainment aimed at young impressionable teens. They are musicians and athletes and celebrities who use their fame for self-promotion and sin-promotion. They may be family or so-called friends who take advantage of you or mistreat you because they can.
They do not care about you or me or anyone except those who agree with them or follow them. They think that they are smarter, and bigger, and more important than people who simply seek God and love God. They renounce God and insist that He does not exist and will not hold them accountable.
Then comes the prayer in verse 12, “Arise O Yahweh, O Elohim, lift up your hand.” And then comes the assurance of the truth through faith, because it is a truth that, at the moment, we often cannot see.
It is quite a picture, asking God to get up and lift His hand. That is all he needs to do, just lift a hand, and the wicked who seem so huge, so powerful, so fearsome, they will come crumbling down.
The truth we find in this psalm is deeply encouraging. God does see. He is King. He does hear. He will strengthen our hearts. He will do justice.
But sometimes He does take a while, therefore we have this psalm.
Are there injustices that you are agonizing over? Are there injustices in your past that still plague you? You need to pray this prayer and enjoy living by faith in God’s sovereign justice.