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Wisdom & Poetry · Old Testament

Psalms 10

Psalm 10: why the Lord stands afar off while the wicked hunts the poor

General context

The psalm opens by asking the Lord why he stands afar off and hides himself in times of trouble. It describes the wicked, who in pride persecutes the poor, boasts of his heart's desire, blesses the covetous whom the Lord abhors, and will not seek God, who is not in all his thoughts. His ways are grievous, God's judgments are far out of his sight, and he puffs at his enemies; he says in his heart that he will not be moved or ever be in adversity. His mouth is full of cursing, deceit and fraud. He sits in lurking places, murders the innocent in secret, sets his eyes against the poor, lies in wait like a lion in his den, catches the poor in his net and crouches so the poor fall by his strong ones. He says in his heart that God has forgotten, hides his face and will never see. The speaker calls on the Lord to arise, lift up his hand and not forget the humble, asking why the wicked contemns God and says in his heart that God will not require it. He affirms that God has seen mischief and spite to requite them, that the poor commit themselves to him, and that he is the helper of the fatherless. He asks God to break the arm of the wicked and seek out his wickedness till none is found. The psalm ends declaring the Lord King for ever, the heathen perished out of his land, and the Lord hearing the desire of the humble, preparing their heart, to judge the fatherless and oppressed so that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

Cited passages: Psalms 10:1, Psalms 10:2, Psalms 10:3, Psalms 10:4, Psalms 10:6, Psalms 10:7, Psalms 10:8, Psalms 10:9, Psalms 10:11, Psalms 10:12, Psalms 10:13, Psalms 10:14, Psalms 10:15, Psalms 10:16, Psalms 10:17, Psalms 10:18

Psalms 10 (KJV)

1Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?

2The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.

3For the wicked boasteth of his heart’s desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.

4The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

5His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.

6He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.

7His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.

8He 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.

9He 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.

10He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.

11He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.

12Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.

13Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.

14Thou 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.

15Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.

16The Lord is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.

17Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

18To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The text as printed carries no heading of any kind, and the psalm opens directly with a question to the Lord. The wicked is a single figure described in the third person, sometimes with plural victims ("the poor", "the innocent") and once with plural agents ("his strong ones"); no name, office or nation is given. Three times the poem quotes what the wicked "hath said in his heart" (verses 6, 11, 13); these are the psalm's report of his inward speech, not words spoken aloud to anyone. "The villages" of verse 8 are the only setting word and are not located. Verse 16 says "the heathen are perished out of his land" in the past tense, while verses 12-15 still ask God to act, and the text does not resolve the sequence. "The fatherless" and "the oppressed" appear as the ones God helps and judges for. Part of verse 7, the mouth full of cursing, is taken up in Romans 3:14, "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness", in a chain of quotations there. The psalm has no Selah and no closing praise formula.

Cited passages: Psalms 10:1, Psalms 10:10, Psalms 10:6, Psalms 10:8, Psalms 10:16, Psalms 10:18, Romans 3:14

Literary context

The psalm opens with a complaint and holds it for a long stretch before any petition. Verses 2-11 are a portrait of the wicked, built from his pride, his mouth, his hiding places and his inward speech, with the hunting images stacked: lurking, lying in wait as a lion, a net, crouching. The three sayings "in his heart" give the portrait its spine, and the last of them, "God hath forgotten", is answered directly by the petition "forget not the humble" and by the statement "Thou hast seen it". The complaint that God "hidest" himself is answered by the wicked's claim that God "hideth his face", so the same verb is used first as the speaker's fear and then as the wicked's boast. The prayer in verses 12-15 uses the imperatives arise, lift up, break, seek out. The ending changes register to declaration, "The Lord is King for ever and ever", and closes on the purpose "that the man of the earth may no more oppress". Read after Psalm 9, the concern for the poor, the humble and the heathen continues without a new opening of praise.

Cited passages: Psalms 10:9, Psalms 10:11, Psalms 10:12, Psalms 10:14, Psalms 10:1, Psalms 10:16, Psalms 9:18

Key moments

  1. Why afar off? (Psalms 10:1). The speaker asks why the Lord stands afar off and hides in times of trouble.
  2. God not in his thoughts (Psalms 10:4). The wicked in his pride will not seek God.
  3. Lion in his den (Psalms 10:9). The wicked lies in wait secretly and catches the poor in his net.
  4. God hath forgotten, he says (Psalms 10:11). The wicked says in his heart that God hides his face and will never see.
  5. Arise, forget not the humble (Psalms 10:12). The speaker calls on the Lord to arise and lift up his hand.
  6. Helper of the fatherless (Psalms 10:14). God has seen the mischief; the poor commit themselves to him.
  7. King for ever (Psalms 10:16). The psalm declares the Lord King for ever and the heathen perished out of his land.

For reflection

The speaker fears that God hides himself, and the wicked counts on it; what separates those two readings of the same silence in the way the psalm ends?