INTRODUCTION
This Psalm is a cry for justice for the poor and helpless in the face of the arrogant violence of the wicked. But the justice of God and this prideful wickedness is a line that runs through our world and right down the middle of every human heart. And it is a line that is often hidden in the secret places of “good intentions.”
The Text: “Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?…” (Psalm 10:1-18)
SUMMARY OF THE TEXT
The psalm begins with a plea in the form of a question of what the psalmist feels – it feels as if God is far away and ignoring the trouble he is facing (10:1). And the psalmist cries out, “why?” Of course, God is not actually far away or hiding, otherwise, how could David pray at all?
The first half of the psalm describes the trouble of the wicked as a continuous and arrogant hunting of the poor (10:2). This flows from the wicked man’s commitment to doing whatever he wants, not seeking the Lord, and all his thinking assumes there is no God (10:3-4). He ignores God’s judgments while appearing to prosper and without any fear of trouble (10:5-6). You can tell the wicked because his mouth is full of cursing, which multiplies lies, fraud, and misery as he sets ambushes, lurking like a lion for prey (10:7-9). And the result is the helpless are crushed, and the wicked think there is nothing to worry about (10:10-11).
The second half of the psalm renews the plea for God to arise and act (10:12). Since God actually has seen all of it (answering the initial cry), he asks why God seems to be allowing the wicked to get away with their taunts (10:13-14)? The psalm asks God to break their arms and bring them up on charges (10:15). Finally, the psalm ends in confidence, proclaiming that the Lord is king forever, and those who hate Him cannot remain (10:16); God hears the prayers of the afflicted, and therefore He will strengthen their hearts and do justice for the fatherless and helpless (10:17-18).
ARROGANT IGNORANCE
One of the marks of evil men is their arrogant ignorance. He persecutes the poor in his pride (Ps. 10:2, 4). Part of this pride is the denial of God’s existence and knowledge (Ps. 10:4, 11), but this often takes the form of a kind of “benevolent” pride. The unbelieving heart reasons that since there is no God, human beings and our programs and solutions are all we have. Religion is seen (at best) as a quaint superstition, and therefore, if we really want to help the poor, we have to “do” something but it cannot be a solution found in the Bible Ps. 10:5). This is his pride: he will not seek after God or God’s ways.
Therefore, often, in the name of helping the poor, the wicked are actually persecuting the poor. While there are some wicked who literally lurk in secret places to hunt down the helpless (e.g. human trafficking, terrorist attacks), a great deal of evil is perpetrated in the “secret places” of good intentions. In the name of “helping” the poor, the wicked load them with the chains of welfare. In the name of “helping” the poor, the wicked load them with medications to mask their follies. In the name of “helping” the poor, the wicked destroy their agency by blaming others and propping up their victimhood. These are often the “lurking places of the villages” (Ps. 10:8).
C.S. Lewis described this well: “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”
This can happen in public policy, but this also happens in hearts and homes. C.S. Lewis again: “She’s the sort of woman who lives for others – you can always tell the others by their hunted expression.” It is perilously easy for Christians (of all people) to hide their wickedness in the secret places of what we consider our virtues. This can be a woman who has determined to “live for others” or “to be a servant of all” but refuses to allow God to define for her what that means. His judgments are out of her sight (Ps. 10:5). And in her pride she is actually persecuting everyone around her, all in the name of being helpful. And of course men can do this too.
LOOSE LIPS
The old saying is that “loose lips sink ships,” referring to the care that soldiers and citizens needed to have during certain wartime conflicts in order to protect the mission. But the principle stands: words are potent and powerful because we are made in the image of the Triune God who spoke the world into existence and whose Word became flesh.
The wicked man has a mouth full of cursing, but it doesn’t stop there: the cursing is friends with treachery, and the treachery lives right next door to oppression (Ps. 10:7). And under his tongue can be found trouble and misery (Ps. 10:7). James says that the tongue is like a flame thrower, that defiles the whole body and can set whole worlds ablaze (Js. 3:5-6). He says that these kinds of destructive words flow from hearts full of “bitter envy” (Js. 3:14). He also says that these words are often a counterfeit “wisdom” that is earthly, sensual, and devilish (Js. 3:15). But the wisdom that is from above is pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruit, without partiality, and without hypocrisy (Js. 3:17).
CONCLUSION: WHY GOD HIDES
So we return the opening question: why does God let evil grow? Why does it seem that He is far off in times of trouble? At least one answer to that question is so that we will learn to pray, sing, worship, and think like this psalm. Like a faithful Father determined to grow His children up, God sometimes “leaves” us some space to grow up into this wisdom. Do you see evil for what it really is? Are you desperate for God to come down and break its evil arms and see it fade away? Do you see it out there in the world? Good. And now, do you see it in your own heart? And do you see that you are often the problem? And what you often think of as your virtue or your good traits need to die.
Now hear this: The Lord Jesus is King forever and ever, and He must reign until all of His enemies have been put beneath His feet. This includes the wicked machinations of globalists and jihadists, and this includes the plots and scams of your devilish flesh. Christ is King forever and ever. He will hear your cries, and He will always save.