Psalm 10

Psalm 10

From Times of Trouble to Calm Confidence

This psalm stands without a title, though it is placed among several psalms that do contain inscriptions. Because it shares thematic connections with Psalm 9, especially in its concern over the apparent prosperity of the wicked and the justice of God, some have suggested it was originally joined to Psalm 9 as a single composition. However, the internal structure, tone, and progression of thought demonstrate that Psalm 10 stands independently. It moves from perplexity over divine silence to settled confidence in divine judgment. It is a psalm of lament that wrestles honestly with the seeming triumph of evil while ultimately affirming the righteous rule of God.

Martin Luther remarked that there is scarcely a psalm which so thoroughly describes the mind, manners, works, words, feelings, and ultimate fate of the ungodly as this one. It is a penetrating spiritual diagnosis of wickedness, exposing not merely outward acts but inward disposition.

A. Questioning the Success of the Wicked

1. Psalm 10:1–4

Questioning the seeming inactivity of God

“Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.”

The psalm opens with a cry that has echoed in every generation of believers. The psalmist feels as though the LORD stands at a distance. This is not a denial of God’s omnipresence but a lament over His perceived inactivity. The language reflects covenant relationship. He addresses “O LORD,” the covenant name of God, yet confesses emotional bewilderment at what appears to be divine silence.

The phrase “times of trouble” suggests distress intensified to the point of despair. It describes circumstances where hope seems cut off. The psalmist is not merely troubled by affliction but by the apparent hiding of God during affliction. The greater pain is not the adversity itself but the felt withdrawal of divine favor.

The reason for this anguish becomes clear. The wicked, motivated by pride, persecute the poor. Pride is presented as the root sin. From that inward arrogance flows oppression. The wicked man not only commits injustice but glories in it. He boasts of his heart’s desire. He blesses the covetous, meaning he commends and approves those whom the LORD abhors. Thus he inverts moral order, praising what God condemns.

The most devastating indictment is found in verse four. The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God. God is not in all his thoughts. This is not merely atheism in word but practical atheism in life. He may not verbally deny God’s existence, yet he lives as though God is irrelevant. Failure to seek God is sin. Neglecting to think about God is sin. Man, as creature, owes worship, obedience, and submission to his Creator. Ignoring God is an assertion of independence, an expression of pride.

It is notable that the psalmist places the one who “will not seek after God” and the one for whom “God is not in all his thoughts” in the same moral category as the one who openly renounces the LORD. Sin is not confined to overt blasphemy but includes indifference and neglect.

Yet the psalmist prays, “let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.” This is a plea for poetic justice, that the wicked fall into their own traps. In other psalms this truth is expressed as a confident declaration, but here it is a prayer born from distress. The psalmist casts the matter upon the righteous Judge.

2. Psalm 10:5–7

The pride and speech of the wicked

“His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.
His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.”

The psalmist continues by describing the apparent prosperity of the wicked. His ways are always grievous, meaning they are corrupt and oppressive, yet they seem to succeed. God’s judgments are far above out of his sight. The wicked man does not perceive divine justice. He interprets delay as absence. Because he does not immediately see judgment, he assumes there is none.

This blindness reinforces arrogance. He “puffeth” at his enemies, expressing contempt and scorn. In his heart he declares, “I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.” This is functional immortality. He imagines permanence. He assumes his prosperity is secure and untouchable.

The psalm exposes that wickedness is rooted in the heart before it appears in speech. He hath said in his heart. Sin begins internally, then flows outward. His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and fraud. Under his tongue is mischief and vanity. Speech reveals character. Words are not neutral. The Psalms repeatedly treat corrupt speech as serious sin because it flows from unbelief. When a man does not fear accountability before God, his tongue becomes unrestrained.

The wicked man described here rejects divine authority in every sphere. He seeks no prophet to instruct him, no priest to atone for him, no king to govern him. He believes no Providence, fears no Judge, and sees no final reckoning. Yet this psalm, while vividly portraying his arrogance, is not written in despair. It is written in faith wrestling toward confidence.

Theological Reflection

Psalm 10 presents a realistic portrait of life in a fallen world. It acknowledges the perplexing delay of justice and the brazen confidence of evil men. Yet it does so within the framework of covenant faith. The psalmist never abandons the LORD. He questions, but he questions God, not about God. He prays for justice because he believes in justice. He laments divine distance because he knows the sweetness of divine nearness.

The movement of this psalm, as it continues, will lead from troubled questioning to calm confidence. The believer may wrestle with the prosperity of the wicked, but he does so anchored in the conviction that God reigns, sees, and will judge in righteousness.

3. Psalm 10:8–11

The Violence and Blasphemy of the Wicked

“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 hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.”

The psalmist intensifies his description. The wicked man is not merely proud in attitude and corrupt in speech, he is predatory in conduct. The repeated emphasis on secrecy is striking. He sitteth in the lurking places. In the secret places doth he murder. His eyes are privily set. He lieth in wait secretly. He croucheth and humbleth himself. This is calculated evil. It is deliberate. It is concealed.

Sin thrives in darkness. Scripture consistently connects wickedness with secrecy and concealment. “For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved” John 3:20. The wicked man described here does not operate openly. He hides because he knows his deeds cannot withstand the light of truth.

The setting, lurking places of the villages, suggests ambush. This is not open warfare but treachery. The language of hunting dominates the passage. He lies in wait as a lion in his den. He draws the poor into his net. The imagery shifts from predator to trapper. Whether by strength or deception, the goal is the same, exploitation.

The objects of his violence are carefully chosen. He murders the innocent. His eyes are set against the poor. The poor may fall by his strong ones. The Hebrew idea behind poor and helpless conveys one who is weak, vulnerable, defenseless. The wicked man is not courageous. He does not challenge equals. He preys upon those unable to resist.

This pattern reflects a universal principle. Tyranny always begins with the vulnerable. Oppression seeks those who lack power. Scripture repeatedly reveals the Lord’s special concern for such people. “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation” Psalm 68:5. The wicked man stands in direct opposition to the character of God.

Verse ten is especially revealing. He croucheth, and humbleth himself. The wicked man disguises himself. He appears lowly. He presents false humility. His posture is deceptive, intended to ensnare. This counterfeit humility is weaponized weakness. It is strategy, not sincerity.

At the core of his conduct lies theology, or rather false theology. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten. He hideth his face. He will never see it. This is not ignorance but chosen unbelief. The wicked man comforts himself with the thought that divine justice is absent. Because judgment is not immediate, he concludes it will never come.

Scripture addresses this very delusion. “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” Ecclesiastes 8:11. Delay is mistaken for indifference. Silence is misinterpreted as absence.

The statement God hath forgotten is especially blasphemous. The living God neither forgets nor overlooks. “For his eyes are upon the ways of man, and he seeth all his goings” Job 34:21. The wicked man attempts to quiet his conscience by constructing a god of his own imagination, a god who does not see and will not judge.

There is a profound contrast here between the believer and the unbeliever. In verse one, the psalmist laments, Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble. His anguish flows from faith. He believes God sees, and therefore he longs for visible intervention. The wicked man, by contrast, hopes God does not see. One fears abandonment. The other embraces imagined invisibility.

The difference is not circumstance but heart. The believer wrestles with God because he trusts Him. The wicked man suppresses God because he rejects Him. As Romans declares, “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” Romans 1:32.

Thus the psalmist exposes the anatomy of wickedness. It begins with pride. It expresses itself in oppression. It operates in secrecy. It targets the weak. It justifies itself with false theology. And it rests upon the assumption that God will not require an account.

Yet the psalm is not finished. The very articulation of this injustice prepares the ground for appeal to the righteous Judge. The wicked man may say in his heart that God hath forgotten, but the psalmist knows better. The calm confidence that closes this psalm will rest upon the unshakable truth that God neither forgets nor fails to see.

B. A Prayer to God for Protection and Vindication

1. Psalm 10:12–13

A Call Upon God to Take Action

“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.”

After carefully describing the arrogance and cruelty of the wicked, the psalmist turns from description to supplication. Theology now becomes prayer. The cry “Arise, O LORD” is covenantal language. It is not that God sleeps or is inactive in reality, but that from the psalmist’s perspective justice appears delayed. The appeal is for visible intervention.

“Lift up thine hand” invokes the imagery of divine power. Throughout Scripture, the hand of the LORD symbolizes His strength in judgment and deliverance. “Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them” Exodus 15:12. The psalmist is asking God to demonstrate His power openly against injustice.

“Forget not the humble” directly counters the wicked man’s boast in verse eleven. The wicked says, God hath forgotten. The believer prays, Forget not the humble. Faith answers blasphemy with petition. The humble here are the afflicted, the poor, the oppressed. God’s covenant character assures that He does not neglect such people. “For he forgetteth not the cry of the humble” Psalm 9:12.

The psalmist asks, “Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God?” The word contemn means to despise or treat with scorn. The wicked man’s contempt flows from his false assurance: “Thou wilt not require it.” He convinces himself that there will be no reckoning. He imagines a universe without accountability.

This is the root of much wickedness. Men sin boldly when they believe there will be no requirement. Yet Scripture is clear. “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God” Romans 14:12. The psalmist’s question contains an implied plea: LORD, prove him wrong. Require it.

The delay of judgment is not the absence of judgment. It is mercy. Yet mercy abused becomes fuel for greater rebellion. As Ecclesiastes declares, “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil” Ecclesiastes 8:11. The psalmist understands this dynamic and therefore urges divine action.

2. Psalm 10:14–15

Asking for God’s Help in View of His Care for the Helpless

“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.”

There is a shift in tone. The prayer begins with urgency but now rises into confidence. “Thou hast seen it.” This directly refutes the wicked man’s claim that God will never see. The psalmist affirms divine omniscience. God beholds mischief and spite. Nothing escapes His observation.

To requite it with thy hand reveals settled assurance in divine justice. God not only sees, He repays. His hand, earlier requested to be lifted up, is the instrument of requital. The psalmist anchors his confidence in God’s character. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Genesis 18:25.

“The poor committeth himself unto thee.” The helpless cast themselves upon God. The word committeth conveys entrusting or leaving one’s cause in another’s hands. It reflects the same spirit found in “Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass” Psalm 37:5. When earthly strength fails, faith transfers the burden to heaven.

“Thou art the helper of the fatherless.” Throughout Scripture, God identifies Himself with the defenseless. “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation” Psalm 68:5. The fatherless represent those without protection or advocate. The psalmist rests in the certainty that God personally assumes that role.

Verse fifteen intensifies the prayer. “Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man.” The arm symbolizes strength and capacity for action. To break the arm is to shatter power. The psalmist is not calling for petty revenge but for the disabling of oppression. If the arm that harms the helpless is broken, the harm ceases.

“Seek out his wickedness till thou find none” expresses a desire for thorough justice. Nothing hidden. Nothing overlooked. Complete exposure. This does not imply that God must search to discover, but that He would judicially uncover and remove all evil.

The prayer is bold, yet it is grounded in righteousness. The psalmist does not seek personal vengeance but divine justice. Scripture forbids personal retaliation but commands trust in God’s judgment. “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” Romans 12:19.

Thus the lament matures into assurance. The wicked believe God will not require an account. The humble believe God sees and will repay. The wicked rely on imagined forgetfulness. The humble rely on proven faithfulness.

The psalm is moving steadily from troubled questioning toward calm confidence. God sees. God knows. God will act.

3. Psalm 10:16–18

Confidence in God’s Judgments

“The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.
LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.”

The psalm now reaches its settled conclusion. What began in anguish ends in assurance. The lament has matured into confidence rooted in theology. The foundation of that confidence is declared in the first clause: “The LORD is King for ever and ever.”

This statement answers every prior question. The wicked may boast. The poor may suffer. God may seem distant. Yet the LORD reigns. His kingship is not temporary, not threatened, not subject to removal. It is eternal.

Scripture has long proclaimed this truth. “The LORD shall reign for ever and ever” Exodus 15:18. Even when Israel later rejected divine rule and demanded a human king, the LORD declared, “They have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them” 1 Samuel 8:7. Earthly instability does not cancel heavenly sovereignty.

If David composed this psalm during persecution, perhaps under Saul’s unjust pursuit, this confession would have carried deep personal meaning. Though Saul occupied the throne, the LORD was still King. Dysfunction in visible leadership does not dethrone the invisible Sovereign.

“The heathen are perished out of his land” recalls historical acts of divine judgment. The land belongs to the LORD. Nations that oppose Him do not endure indefinitely. The Canaanites once dominated the land, yet they were driven out. Their apparent strength proved temporary under divine decree.

This remembrance of past judgment strengthens present faith. God has acted before. Therefore He will act again. The wicked are never as secure as they imagine. History is filled with fallen tyrants who once declared themselves immovable.

The psalmist continues, “LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble.” Notice the progression. Earlier he cried, “Forget not the humble.” Now he affirms that God has heard. Faith moves from request to recognition. The desire of the humble includes more than spoken prayer. It includes inward longing, silent grief, unuttered burden.

Scripture affirms that God discerns what words cannot express. “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered” Romans 8:26. The humble may lack eloquence, but they are not unheard.

“You will prepare their heart.” This is a profound theological statement. Even the posture of humility is a divine work. Preparation of the heart precedes effective prayer. Man does not naturally incline toward God. When the heart is made tender, dependent, and desirous of righteousness, that is grace at work.

Scripture consistently teaches that the LORD works within before acting without. “A man’s heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps” Proverbs 16:9. The preparation of the heart is itself evidence of God’s intention to answer.

“You will cause Your ear to hear” does not imply that God is hard of hearing, but emphasizes attentive response. The King is not indifferent. The Sovereign listens. The repetition reinforces assurance.

The purpose of divine intervention is stated clearly: “To judge the fatherless and the oppressed.” God’s justice is not abstract. It is applied to real suffering. The fatherless and oppressed represent those without protection, status, or power. Throughout Scripture, the LORD identifies Himself as their defender. “A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation” Psalm 68:5.

The final clause provides the ultimate goal: “That the man of the earth may no more oppress.” The phrase “man of the earth” underscores human frailty. The oppressor is dust. He is earthly, mortal, temporary. Yet in arrogance he behaves as though he were ultimate.

The psalm closes by restoring proper perspective. The LORD is eternal King. The oppressor is merely man of the earth. The apparent imbalance of power is temporary. Under divine rule, the day comes when oppression ceases.

Thus Psalm 10 moves from troubled questioning to calm theological certainty. The wicked say in their heart, God will not require it. The humble confess with confidence, The LORD is King for ever and ever. The wicked imagine forgetfulness. The believer rests in justice. The wicked boast of permanence. The psalmist proclaims divine eternity.

The final note is not despair but dominion. The LORD reigns. The humble are heard. Justice will be done. The man of the earth shall not oppress forever.