Psalms 10 · ESV Study Bible

Why Do You Hide Yourself?

PSALM 10 [†] Why, O LORD, do you stand k far away?

Why l do you hide yourself in m times of trouble?

2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;

let them n be caught in the schemes that they have devised.

3[†] For the wicked o boasts of the desires of his soul,

and the one greedy for gain p curses [1] and q renounces the LORD.

4 In the pride of his face [2] the wicked does not q seek him; [3]

all his thoughts are, r “There is no God.”

5 His ways prosper at all times;

your judgments are on high, s out of his sight;

as for all his foes, he t puffs at them.

6[†] He u says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;

throughout all generations I v shall not meet adversity.”

7[^][†] w His mouth is filled with cursing and x deceit and y oppression;

z under his tongue are a mischief and b iniquity.

8 He sits in ambush in the villages;

in c hiding places he murders the innocent.

His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

9 he lurks in ambush like d a lion in his e thicket;

he f lurks that he may seize the poor;

he seizes the poor when he draws him into his g net.

10 The helpless are crushed, sink down,

and fall by his might.

11[†] He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,

he has h hidden his face, he i will never see it.”

12[†] j Arise, O LORD; O God, k lift up your hand;

l forget not the afflicted.

13 Why does the wicked m renounce God

and say in his heart, “You will not n call to account”?

14[†] But you do see, for you o note mischief and vexation,

that you may take it into your hands;

to you the helpless p commits himself;

you have been q the helper of the fatherless.

15[†] r Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;

s call his wickedness to account till you find none.

16[†] t The LORD is king forever and ever;

the u nations perish from his land.

17[†] O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted;

you will v strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

18[†] to w do justice to the fatherless and x the oppressed,

so that y man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

To the choirmaster. Of David.

PSALM—NOTE ON 10:3 curses. Literally, “blesses,” used euphemistically for cursing God (as in Job 1:5). renounces the LORD. Cf. Ps. 10:13. See also Num. 14:11 and Isa. 1:4, where God’s own people faithlessly “despise” him (same Hb. word).

PSALM—NOTE ON 10:1 hide yourself. That is, ignoring cries for help (cf. 55:1; Prov. 28:27; Isa. 1:15; 58:7).

PSALM—NOTE ON 10:15 Break the arm. That is, make them powerless, so that they can no longer torment the godly. call his wickedness to account. That is, do precisely what the wicked deny you will do (v. 13). till you find none. That is, until there is no more wickedness to account for.

PSALM—NOTE ON 10:6 I shall not be moved. See 15:5 and 55:22 (where it is the assurance of the godly); cf. 30:6 (the false confidence of the complacent). It is galling to the pious when the impious feel safe in their impiety.

PSALM—NOTE ON 10:17 Contrary to appearances (as in v. 1), God does in fact attend to these cries for justice.

PSALM—NOTE ON Psalm 10. Cf. note on Psalm 9. Psalm 10 is a lament, designed for cases in which “the wicked hotly pursue the poor” (v. 2). These wicked could be faithless, wealthy Israelites (vv. 4, 13), and the poor are the defenseless pious. While it was the task of the Davidic king to ensure justice (by force if necessary), it was the task of the general public to pray, and thus to use a psalm like this.

PSALM—NOTE ON 10:11 God has forgotten. In the mouth of the wicked, this would attribute a weak memory to God, or perhaps indifference to human suffering. Either way it is blasphemy, and the faithful mention it to God in order to stir him to action that would prove the wicked to be in the wrong (see vv. 12–14).

PSALM—NOTE ON 10:18 man who is of the earth. Similar to 9:19–20.

PSALM—NOTE ON 10:1–11 Why Do You Let the Wicked Get Away with It? Beginning with a blunt question to the Lord, the song details the ways in which the wicked make the helpless poor suffer, while they themselves prosper. These wicked are boastful and greedy; they renounce the Lord (v. 3) and feel secure from divine judgment (vv. 4–6, 11). They look for opportunities to destroy the innocent in order to advance their own interests (vv. 8–10). The question of why God “stands far away” (v. 1) does not stem from doubting God but from believing that he is reliable and just. It is this faith that leads to perplexity over how God can tolerate such conditions among his people.

PSALM—NOTE ON 10:14 the fatherless. The OT law is full of warnings about oppressing such people (see Ex. 22:22; Deut. 10:18); the true Israelite will care for them.

PSALM—NOTE ON 10:7 Paul uses the Greek (lxx) wording of this verse in Rom. 3:14 as part of his proof that “all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin” (Rom. 3:9); this text supports his case about the Jews.