Psalm 10:1-18

Psalm 10:1-18 (NLT)

    O LORD, why do you stand so far away?
    Why do you hide when I need you the most?
    Proud and wicked people viciously oppress the poor.
    Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others.
    For they brag about their evil desires;
    they praise the greedy and curse the LORD.
    These wicked people are too proud to seek God.
    They seem to think that God is dead.
    Yet they succeed in everything they do.
    They do not see your punishment awaiting them.
    They pour scorn on all their enemies.
    They say to themselves, “Nothing bad will ever happen to us!
    We will be free of trouble forever!”
    Their mouths are full of cursing, lies, and threats.
    Trouble and evil are on the tips of their tongues.
    They lurk in dark alleys,
    murdering the innocent who pass by.
    They are always searching
    for some helpless victim.
    Like lions they crouch silently,
    waiting to pounce on the helpless.
    Like hunters they capture their victims
    and drag them away in nets.
    The helpless are overwhelmed and collapse;
    they fall beneath the strength of the wicked.
    The wicked say to themselves, “God isn’t watching!
    He will never notice!”
    Arise, O LORD!
    Punish the wicked, O God!
    Do not forget the helpless!
    Why do the wicked get away with cursing God?
    How can they think, “God will never call us to account”?
    But you do see the trouble and grief they cause.
    You take note of it and punish them.
    The helpless put their trust in you.
    You are the defender of orphans.
    Break the arms of these wicked, evil people!
    Go after them until the last one is destroyed!
    The LORD is king forever and ever!
    Let those who worship other gods be swept from the land.
    LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless.
    Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them.
    You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed,
    so people can no longer terrify them.

In our own hearts we have echoed the words, “Lord where are you?” That feeling of being so far away from hope when everything else is pounding us down, is very real. When the wicked seem to be doing so well and gaining so much, we ask ourselves why. Where is God in times of trouble? Why does it feel like the wicked are ruling? What is the answer? This Psalm speaks to those questions with heart and emotion, not religious phrases. It comes to us and meets us where are at, in open humility before God.

The downfall of the wicked, is being blind to the Lord’s presence. Closing your eyes does not make everything alright. We cannot lose sight of this even in our own weak moments, for without the Holy Spirit, we are the wicked. Only by God’s grace we have been saved from ourselves. But have you ever thought you could hide something from God. Maybe He wont notice, or maybe He will think it wasn’t us. I suppose trying to hide from God is like a fish trying to hide from a cat in a glass bowl. There really is no way to get away from this God who is everywhere always. Sadly it does not always feel as though God is really paying attention. 

There are many scholars would could probably lay down reason after reason for why God is the way He is and why it feels like He does not always care. But I have to throw my simple answer in there. God is God because He is and if he was not God then we have no reason to serve and love Him. Afterall, a God defined by human reason is a god created by human thought rather then a God who creates human brains!

In the end of this Psalm we receive our hope. It does not say “maybe you will come to our aid!” It does not say “God might do it” Rather it is a sure feeling that He will listen to us and bring justice. He is King forever and ever. I suppose there is no easy answer to the hard times. The hardest answer in the world is to say just trust Him! Even if we do not like the answer He gives us here, it is still what we are to do. We do it because He loves us. Because He knows us intensely more intimate than anyone ever could. Remember that God is there with you.