Psalm 10: Pt. 1
Good Morning to each of you.
My hope and prayer for this new week before us is that we view it as a fresh start, a new beginning where we can pray, study the Word and serve God with renewed vigor. Please continue to pray for the present troubles that some of our readers are undoubtedly facing in various parts of the world.
Most of all, may our hearts be encouraged by knowing that God is still on His throne moving His kingdom purposes forward, oftentimes in ways and places completely unknown to us. We can trust God to always honor His Word and to keep His promises.
Psalm 10 is a prayer to Jehovah not to delay in rescuing the afflicted and oppressed. This Psalm describes the overwhelming power of the wicked and evil doers in great detail. It captures the spirit of rebellion against God's moral authority that rages in their hearts. It is a prayer for God to quickly intervene to help the helpless as the wicked unleash their evil plots against them.
Common ground between Psalms 9 & 10.
There are a few common threads between Psalm 9 which we just studied and Psalm 10.
For example, both Psalms speak of times of trouble (Psalm 10:1 & Psalm 9:9). Both Psalms ask that God cause the wicked to be taken (Psalm 10:2 & Psalm 9:15).
Both Psalms ask that God not forget the humble ones being afflicted (Psalm 9:12 & Psalm 10:12). Both Psalms declare that God will utterly destroy the wicked (Psalm 9:5 & Psalm 10:15).
Both Psalms indicate that God is never in the thoughts of the wicked (Psalm 9:17 & Psalm 10:4).
Divine Names are used directly or indirectly 25 times!
Finally, the Divine Names Jehovah or Elohim are used a total of 9 times and He is referred to as Israel's King once. In addition, there are 16 pronouns in the text that refer to God so Psalm 10 is a very God centered Psalm.
Isaiah 12:1-3 And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. 2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. 3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
Jehovah distinctly represents the God who makes atonement for sin while providing salvation for fallen mankind. He is the unchanging God of eternity who dwells with those who have humble hearts and contrite spirits. He will always do what He says He will do and He is the Supreme source of lovingkindness.
Genesis 1:1-5 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Elohim is distinctly the God of creation who spoke all things into existence with His mighty Word and who governs all things by the power of His Word and who sustains all things. He has the sole right to rule creation and to govern our lives. He commanded "Let there be light" and the light immediately existed!
Elohim is a Divine Name that is plural in form which clearly implies the trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit working in perfect unity while creating. It is a name that means God has unlimited power and authority over all things that He made.
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
The key reference point for all of human history is that man was created in the image of God and thus able to commune with God. Elohim assigned man certain functions that Adam and Eve would be responsible for.
Genesis 2:15-17 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
God in exercise of His sovereign authority assigned functions to all things that He created. In this text He gave Adam the specific task of being the caretaker of the garden of Eden. He also gave Adam a command regarding what he could eat and what was prohibited. Elohim told Adam what the consequences of disobedience would be.
A fundamentally important question.
Psalm 10:1 Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
This is a big question that comes up when we face adversity or trials in life. The Psalmist is about to communicate the seemingly overwhelming power of the wicked being unleashed against the covenant people of Jehovah.
He asks a question that could be phrased "Where are you God? I am in deep trouble and I need Your help but I can't find You."
I suspect that each one of us may feel overwhelmed by something unexpected that happens to us in life. Many may entertain this very question when facing personal attacks, unjust political pressures or the threat of imminent war. Some may ask the question when facing a health or financial crisis while others may ask this question when family troubles erupt.
This is a powerful question for all of us to think about. Is it right to say that God seems to have moved away from us leaving us stranded in the midst of trouble? Is it true that God is hiding Himself from us as we seemingly sink into deep distress?
Even the strong in faith can be weak.
The very nature of this question from the heart of the Psalmist shows us that even among the people of God who may have very strong faith in most circumstances, are revealed to be weak when subjected to great stress. It is a very human cry from the Psalmist and God does not rebuke him for it. Therefore, He has a purpose in placing the Psalmist in a situation where the question comes from his heart.
God's heart is to make His face shine on us.
Numbers 6:22-26 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, 24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: 25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
This is the blessing that God commanded the priests to say over all Israel. It communicates God's heart toward mankind and shows us that He wants to bless us and to keep us safe at all times. It shows us that God wants us to know that His face is shining on us for our benefit and that His countenance (Same word translated "face") is focused on us and grants us peace.
This blessing is what God wants to do but we know from reading through the Old Testament that there are many times where He did not cause His face to shine on the nation nor did He bless them. Why? Because there was sin that they were hiding.
Why is the Psalmist so distressed and questioning where God is in the midst of his troubles? This is due to the perfect wisdom of the All Wise God who truly does know what is best and good for us and who will always work those things out for our good (Romans 8:28).
God will not look on our sins.
Deuteronomy 31:16-18 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? 18 And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.
This text makes it very plain that God will hide His face from us when we are dabbling in sin, when our heart has gone lukewarm toward Him or when we stubbornly refuse to sit under the weight of His Word.
In the case of Israel, the people frequently fell into idolatry like the pagan nations around them and He allowed judgment to come so that they might repent and turn to Jehovah once more. When we repent and turn away from sin and return to God He will always turn toward us and make His face to shine upon us.
Our weakness leads to God's strength on display.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
The apostle Paul often seems like a larger than life character in the New Testament. He wrote 13 letters and did many miracles as He took the gospel to the ends of the earth. Yet, Paul recorded many of the troubles and persecutions that he endured. (2 Corinthians 4:8-10; 11:16-33; 2 Timothy 3:10-12).
In the text above Paul prayed that a physical illness of some sort might be removed from his body but the Lord Jesus Christ told Paul that His strength is made perfect in Paul's weakness. Therefore, Paul was content to suffer because the power of Christ was at work advancing His kingdom purposes.
Thoughts to Ponder..
As we bring the introduction to this Psalm to a close, I find my heart is gladdened because it is part of our human nature to ask a question like the one posed in Psalm 10:1. Certainly all believers know and can probably quote that God promised He will never leave us nor forsake His sheep. Yet, we seem prone to forget this when something bad happens or when the wicked seem destined to triumph over that which is good.
I think that the Psalmist helps is see several things. First, he asked an honest question out of the dire distress that he faced. There is nothing wrong with the question.
Second, he reminds us that we all can be weak in faith when we are getting crushed by circumstances.
Third, I think that he reminds us that God is still in control, that He is being worshipped in heaven right at this very moment in time. Therefore, we can implicitly trust Jehovah to always do the right thing, even if it brings some pain or trouble into our lives.
Fourth, He reminds us that we must repent, confess and forsake our sins in order to have Jehovah's face once again shine on us in blessing.
God truly does work out all things, including hardship, sorrow, turmoil and trouble that we encounter, for our good. God truly does pour His strength into weakened vessels like us. God always hears the prayer of a repentant believer who has turned away from sin and returned to his loving Father in heaven.
Can we rest in these truths today and fully trust our Great God to work out the details?
Bob
My hope and prayer for this new week before us is that we view it as a fresh start, a new beginning where we can pray, study the Word and serve God with renewed vigor. Please continue to pray for the present troubles that some of our readers are undoubtedly facing in various parts of the world.
Most of all, may our hearts be encouraged by knowing that God is still on His throne moving His kingdom purposes forward, oftentimes in ways and places completely unknown to us. We can trust God to always honor His Word and to keep His promises.
Psalm 10 is a prayer to Jehovah not to delay in rescuing the afflicted and oppressed. This Psalm describes the overwhelming power of the wicked and evil doers in great detail. It captures the spirit of rebellion against God's moral authority that rages in their hearts. It is a prayer for God to quickly intervene to help the helpless as the wicked unleash their evil plots against them.
Common ground between Psalms 9 & 10.
There are a few common threads between Psalm 9 which we just studied and Psalm 10.
For example, both Psalms speak of times of trouble (Psalm 10:1 & Psalm 9:9). Both Psalms ask that God cause the wicked to be taken (Psalm 10:2 & Psalm 9:15).
Both Psalms ask that God not forget the humble ones being afflicted (Psalm 9:12 & Psalm 10:12). Both Psalms declare that God will utterly destroy the wicked (Psalm 9:5 & Psalm 10:15).
Both Psalms indicate that God is never in the thoughts of the wicked (Psalm 9:17 & Psalm 10:4).
Divine Names are used directly or indirectly 25 times!
Finally, the Divine Names Jehovah or Elohim are used a total of 9 times and He is referred to as Israel's King once. In addition, there are 16 pronouns in the text that refer to God so Psalm 10 is a very God centered Psalm.
Isaiah 12:1-3 And in that day thou shalt say, O LORD, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me. 2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. 3 Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.
Jehovah distinctly represents the God who makes atonement for sin while providing salvation for fallen mankind. He is the unchanging God of eternity who dwells with those who have humble hearts and contrite spirits. He will always do what He says He will do and He is the Supreme source of lovingkindness.
Genesis 1:1-5 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Elohim is distinctly the God of creation who spoke all things into existence with His mighty Word and who governs all things by the power of His Word and who sustains all things. He has the sole right to rule creation and to govern our lives. He commanded "Let there be light" and the light immediately existed!
Elohim is a Divine Name that is plural in form which clearly implies the trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit working in perfect unity while creating. It is a name that means God has unlimited power and authority over all things that He made.
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
The key reference point for all of human history is that man was created in the image of God and thus able to commune with God. Elohim assigned man certain functions that Adam and Eve would be responsible for.
Genesis 2:15-17 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
God in exercise of His sovereign authority assigned functions to all things that He created. In this text He gave Adam the specific task of being the caretaker of the garden of Eden. He also gave Adam a command regarding what he could eat and what was prohibited. Elohim told Adam what the consequences of disobedience would be.
A fundamentally important question.
Psalm 10:1 Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
This is a big question that comes up when we face adversity or trials in life. The Psalmist is about to communicate the seemingly overwhelming power of the wicked being unleashed against the covenant people of Jehovah.
He asks a question that could be phrased "Where are you God? I am in deep trouble and I need Your help but I can't find You."
I suspect that each one of us may feel overwhelmed by something unexpected that happens to us in life. Many may entertain this very question when facing personal attacks, unjust political pressures or the threat of imminent war. Some may ask the question when facing a health or financial crisis while others may ask this question when family troubles erupt.
This is a powerful question for all of us to think about. Is it right to say that God seems to have moved away from us leaving us stranded in the midst of trouble? Is it true that God is hiding Himself from us as we seemingly sink into deep distress?
Even the strong in faith can be weak.
The very nature of this question from the heart of the Psalmist shows us that even among the people of God who may have very strong faith in most circumstances, are revealed to be weak when subjected to great stress. It is a very human cry from the Psalmist and God does not rebuke him for it. Therefore, He has a purpose in placing the Psalmist in a situation where the question comes from his heart.
God's heart is to make His face shine on us.
Numbers 6:22-26 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 23 Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying, On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, saying unto them, 24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: 25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: 26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.
This is the blessing that God commanded the priests to say over all Israel. It communicates God's heart toward mankind and shows us that He wants to bless us and to keep us safe at all times. It shows us that God wants us to know that His face is shining on us for our benefit and that His countenance (Same word translated "face") is focused on us and grants us peace.
This blessing is what God wants to do but we know from reading through the Old Testament that there are many times where He did not cause His face to shine on the nation nor did He bless them. Why? Because there was sin that they were hiding.
Why is the Psalmist so distressed and questioning where God is in the midst of his troubles? This is due to the perfect wisdom of the All Wise God who truly does know what is best and good for us and who will always work those things out for our good (Romans 8:28).
God will not look on our sins.
Deuteronomy 31:16-18 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. 17 Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? 18 And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.
This text makes it very plain that God will hide His face from us when we are dabbling in sin, when our heart has gone lukewarm toward Him or when we stubbornly refuse to sit under the weight of His Word.
In the case of Israel, the people frequently fell into idolatry like the pagan nations around them and He allowed judgment to come so that they might repent and turn to Jehovah once more. When we repent and turn away from sin and return to God He will always turn toward us and make His face to shine upon us.
Our weakness leads to God's strength on display.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
The apostle Paul often seems like a larger than life character in the New Testament. He wrote 13 letters and did many miracles as He took the gospel to the ends of the earth. Yet, Paul recorded many of the troubles and persecutions that he endured. (2 Corinthians 4:8-10; 11:16-33; 2 Timothy 3:10-12).
In the text above Paul prayed that a physical illness of some sort might be removed from his body but the Lord Jesus Christ told Paul that His strength is made perfect in Paul's weakness. Therefore, Paul was content to suffer because the power of Christ was at work advancing His kingdom purposes.
Thoughts to Ponder..
As we bring the introduction to this Psalm to a close, I find my heart is gladdened because it is part of our human nature to ask a question like the one posed in Psalm 10:1. Certainly all believers know and can probably quote that God promised He will never leave us nor forsake His sheep. Yet, we seem prone to forget this when something bad happens or when the wicked seem destined to triumph over that which is good.
I think that the Psalmist helps is see several things. First, he asked an honest question out of the dire distress that he faced. There is nothing wrong with the question.
Second, he reminds us that we all can be weak in faith when we are getting crushed by circumstances.
Third, I think that he reminds us that God is still in control, that He is being worshipped in heaven right at this very moment in time. Therefore, we can implicitly trust Jehovah to always do the right thing, even if it brings some pain or trouble into our lives.
Fourth, He reminds us that we must repent, confess and forsake our sins in order to have Jehovah's face once again shine on us in blessing.
God truly does work out all things, including hardship, sorrow, turmoil and trouble that we encounter, for our good. God truly does pour His strength into weakened vessels like us. God always hears the prayer of a repentant believer who has turned away from sin and returned to his loving Father in heaven.
Can we rest in these truths today and fully trust our Great God to work out the details?
Bob
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