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How Long, O Lord?

Published June 19, 2015 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: joy, Psalms, Psalms of lament

Decca label image of “Nobody Knows De Trouble I’ve Seen” released as part of a five record 78 rpm album in 1939.

The Book of Psalms is quoted in the New Testament more than any other Old Testament book. In fact, there are 78 direct quotations from one Psalm or another and over 300 indirect references to the Psalms. Within the large Book of Psalms, there are eight smaller “collections” or types of psalms. Not all psalms are the same. There are Psalms of lament, of thanksgiving, of praise, of wisdom, covenant, of ascent, of divine justice, and Messianic psalms.

The Psalms of lament represents the largest collection of psalms in the Psalter. That’s probably because during Old Testament times there was plenty of lamenting going on. God’s people were in almost constant need or facing one threat after another, and they cried out to God for help and deliverance. That’s what a psalm of lament is all about: a believer desperately pleading with God for help; to come into their lives or their home or their nation. Usually the psalm of lament dealt with some sort of national lament; the prayers of a nation directed to God to fill some need or provide some deliverance.

Over in the New Testament, we see this on a much smaller scale in the ministry of Jesus. There are many examples of blind people, lame people, lepers, poor people, and in the cases of Lazarus and Jairus’ daughter, the families of dead people, pleading with Jesus or summoning Him to come and provide what they need. Here’s a classic example of a New Testament lament:

He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”

“Lord, I want to see,” he replied. (Luke 18:38 – 41 NIV)

“Have mercy on me” is a tiny prayer of lament. Each of the 68 psalms of lament is, of course, much longer than a single verse, but they amount to the same thing: the needy person or the lamenting person trying to bring God into his life so that God will help him. Most believers are taught that God takes all initiative. But is that always true? It certainly is in the case of salvation. Whether you believe in the idea of prevenient grace or the idea of regeneration before salvation, nobody just decides one day to “get saved.” God through the Holy Spirit is calling that lost soul, and somehow makes it possible for him to believe. But in other areas of life, does God always take the initiative? If we look at the example of Jesus and the blind man, the blind man took the initiative to summon Jesus to heal help him. So it is with the psalms of lament: they are designed to summon God into doing something, based on the assumption that if no prayer is offered, God won’t do anything. Getting God’s attention so that He will act is the basic purpose of each psalm of lament.

Karl Barth once wrote something along these lines:

Prayer causes God to do things He otherwise wouldn’t do.

That’s a very simple and primitive view of prayer, but when you are suffering and when your back is against the wall and you’ve run out of options, it’s what you believe because it’s all you have.

Psalm 4:1 – 8, A prayer for mercy

If Psalm 3 can be considered a “morning prayer,” then Psalm 4 is an “evening prayer.” Bible scholars believe that a devastating crop failure is behind the writing of this psalm. That is certainly a problem worthy of a lament! Oesterley remarked:

Written at a time when there was famine, or at any rate a shortage of food, in the land owing to a bad harvest, the psalmist glories in the spiritual satisfaction of joy within him through his love and faithfulness to God; compared with this, material wants do not trouble him.

That’s an important thing to keep in mind: a believer’s joy should never be rooted in anything other than his relationship with God through Jesus Christ. To find joy in anything or anyone else is to settle for at best a temporary second best.

Trial, vs. 1, 2

My faithful God, answer me when I call out to you. Give me rest from my trouble. Show me your favor. Hear my prayer. How long will you people turn my glory into shame? How long will you love what will certainly fail you? How long will you pray to statues of gods? (NIrV)

Typical of many psalms written by David, God is reminded of things He did for David in the past. Verse 1 is a very strong verse with no less than three imperative verbs: “hear me,” “have mercy,” and “hear.” Things were bad (or “tight”) for David now, but he could remember being in great distress before, and God helped him (“loosed” him) then. David just knew God could help him again if only He would hear his prayer.

Verse 2 is directed to a human audience, not to God. People (“sons of men”) were discouraging the psalmist, perhaps mocking his faith in God or even God Himself and in doing so, making light of this prayer. They preferred to seek help from other means (other gods). David would have nothing of this idolatry!

Teaching, vs. 3, 4

Remember that the Lord has set his faithful people apart for himself. The Lord will hear me when I call out to him. When you are angry, do not sin. When you are in bed, look deep down inside you and be silent.

This second stanza contains some teaching or instruction for people who don’t have the faith David has. But the truth is, faith is linked to understanding God’s sovereignty. David is teaching a profound truth in verse 3. God has sovereignly set apart the godly – faithful people – for Himself. Coupled with that fact is another one: we are able to call out to God – to plead with Him. So, on the one hand God calls and sets apart, but on the other He hears those who call out to Him. In one instance, God initiates the action, but on the other, people do.

The admonition in verse 4 can be looked at two ways. “When you are angry, do not sin,” or “Stand in awe (of God), and do not sin.” It is quoted in Ephesians 4:26, 27 like this:

Scripture says, “When you are angry, do not sin.” Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. Don’t give the devil a chance (NIrV)

Either translation of the rare Hebrew word is possible since the same term may suggest “fear” or “awe” and “anger.” Paul’s advice of not giving the devil a chance is the key to either translation: if you fear God you won’t sin, thus you won’t be giving the devil a chance to trap you. If you are angry yet are able to control your emotions, you also won’t be giving the devil a chance to take advantage the situation to drag you further away from God.

Trust, vs. 5, 6

Offer sacrifices to the Lord in the right way. Trust in him. Many are asking, “Who can show us anything good?” Lord, let us see your face smiling on us with favor. (NIrV)

Lasting prosperity and happiness are not found in any man or man’s ways but in the Lord. Verse 5 is all about public worship. If you are going to worship God – offering sacrifices – then do it the right way! Worship of God without the corresponding trust is of no value. Yet how many Christians do just that every Sunday? They stand in church, singing hymns and worship choruses all about faith and trust all the while they none of those things. This seemed to frustrate the psalmist, and it certainly frustrates the pastor.

Not only that, but works without faith are dead. Going through the motions of appropriate worship while your heart is not in it, again, is useless. That kind of religion leads only to cynicism, as evidenced by the phrase, “Who can show us anything good?” Only faithless, unrighteous people could ask a question as cynical as that. A true believer always knows where good comes from!

Triumph, vs. 7, 8

You have filled my heart with great joy. It is greater than the joy of people who have lots of grain and fresh wine. I will lie down and sleep in peace. Lord, you alone keep me safe. (NIrV)

David has covered a lot of territory in just 6 verses. He has praised God for help and deliverances of the past. He has prayed that God would provide deliverance again. He has admonished people for being faithless in the present distress. In the final two verses of this psalm of lament, there is a sense of triumph or victory. And why wouldn’t David end this psalm on a positive note? He had faith in God. He had seen God’s mighty power firsthand in the past. He had no doubt that he would experience God’s provision and deliverance one more time.

David had something in his heart nobody or nothing could take from him: joy. Unlike the ungodly who find joy in things like a good harvest, his joy was in God. Harvesttimes for the Hebrews and other ancient people were, in fact, cause for celebration and rejoicing. But the joy found in the Lord is greater and will never end.

A New Testament writer, Paul, found the kind of joy David found and wrote a whole letter about it. Joy is the main theme of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. The words “joy” and “rejoice” are used some 16 time in this short letter. What’s remarkable about the joyful tone of this letter is that it was written while Paul was under house arrest! That’s right. He had no freedom and no prospects for freedom, yet he wrote verses like these:

Are you cheerful because you belong to Christ? Does his love comfort you? Is the Holy Spirit your companion? Has Christ been gentle and loving toward you? Then make my joy complete by agreeing with each other. Have the same love. Be one in spirit and purpose. (Philippians 2:1, 2 NIrV)

But my life might even be poured out like a drink offering on your sacrifices. I’m talking about the way you serve because you believe. Even so, I am glad. I am joyful with all of you. So you too should be glad and joyful with me. (Philippians 2:17, 18 NIrV)

Always be joyful because you belong to the Lord. I will say it again. Be joyful. (Philippians 4:2 NIrV)

For the true believer, joy is all about having the right perspective. David was a true believer and he realized that his joy would not be hindered by famine or by godless people. When you find yourself in circumstances that seem more joyless than joyful, take a moment to ask God to help you IN your circumstances, then claim your joy IN SPITE of your circumstances. Your lament to the Lord should be based on His ability to provide, not on the size of your circumstances.

PSALMS, PART 6

Published September 19, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: beloved hymns, Messianic Psalm, Psalm 40, Psalms, song of lament, worship

PSALM 40

The Nature of Worship

Psalm 40 is not without some controversy. Some critics see this one psalm as a combination of shorter songs. The first part of Psalm 40 is a song of praise, and it is connected to the second song, which is a song of lament, with verse 12 serving as a transitional verse. This may or may not be true, but there is a definite, natural division of Psalm 40. Another interesting fact about this psalm is that the second half of it appears later on as Psalm 70! Both psalms are credited to David and dedicated to the Chief Musician.

Verses 6-8 appear in the New Testament as part of the letter to the Hebrews (10:5-9) as referring to Christ, which makes Psalm 40 a Messianic Psalm. This doesn’t mean that the whole psalm refers to Christ, although some scholars see it that way.

But perhaps Psalm 40’s greatest claim to fame is that it is the basis of one of the most beloved hymns of the church: “He Brought Me Out.”

1. Salvation, verses 1-3

The story of salvation is the story of what God has done. And what has He done for the psalmist?

He turned;
He heard;
He lifted;
He set.

The experience of the psalmist is the experience of all who have experienced God’s gift of salvation.

It begins with the psalmist “waiting patiently for the Lord.” We should not picture him sitting around, pining away for God to appear or feeling defeated and resigned to being alone for so long. In fact, the opening words of Psalm 40 are made up of a highly intensive expression which, in the Hebrew, reads: “Expecting, I expected.” So the psalmist is waiting in eager expectation for God to appear and do something great on his behalf. It’s really a statement of faith.

Answer to prayer doesn’t always come immediately. We surely wish it did! But it almost always doesn’t, so believers, like the psalmist, should persevere in their faith; they shouldn’t give up and assume God has left them just because an answer to prayer is apparently long in coming. In truth, perseverance in prayer, that is, continuing to pray when it seems those prayers go unanswered, is a way to express your submission to God’s sovereignty.

In the case of the psalmist, he was praying to be delivered out of a deep, slimy pit. Most scholars believe David wrote this psalm when he was physically sick, maybe so sick he was on the verge of death! So the slimy pit is symbolic of death; David’s salvation is healing. Now, Jeremiah, interestingly enough, was one of God’s servants who was delivered out of a literal put, Jeremiah 38.

Some scholars see this entire psalm as referring to Christ, not just the few verses cited in Hebrews. If this is the case, then these opening verses refer not only to David’s experience, but Christ’s also. They see these verses as referring to Christ praying for His resurrection.

David was eventually saved, and his deliverance resulted in two things:

God gave him a “new song.” This new song does not necessarily refer to the inspiration of a new psalm, but rather a new reason to praise the Lord.
God gave him a powerful testimony. David saw in his deliverance a chance to glorify God, pointing others to Him and giving them a reason to believe and trust.

On the last point, we see a powerful illustration of the benefits of sickness. As noted by a number of commentators, sometimes God makes His children look up to Him by putting them flat on their backs. This is a good observation because human nature is such that when things are going well, most of us tend to forget God; we get lazy in our faith. David saw God’s love and compassion and His power only after he was forced to trust in God. When we are sick in bed, if we have the right attitude, we have the opportunity to pause and realize how weak we are and how strong God is and we are able to see how many are God’s wonderful works toward those who love Him.

2. Blessings, verses 4, 5

The man who trusts God is happy. The psalmist is blessed – happy – because he is trusting in God and not in man. Verse 4 must be read clearly to get the sense of what the psalmist is trying to say. He is happy, not necessarily because God saved his life but because he trusted God. But he goes on to testify to the goodness of God. God has done so many good things they can’t be counted. As we read these verses, we think of that old gospel song: “Count Your Blessings.”

…name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

3. Commitment, verses 6-8

In its Old Testament context, this group of verses is a strong statement that God is far more concerned with obedience and submission to His will than He was with the sacrifices and offerings prescribed in the Law. It’s not that God didn’t want His people to continue their ritual worship, but He objected to empty, hollow sacrifice; a lack of devotion and sincerity on the part of His people.

However, for Christians, these verses have a strong Messianic meaning. As applied to Christ, we see how committed the Son was to the Father’s plan. The “open ears” suggests that one is ready to hear what God is saying. The psalmist has heard the Law of God and is ready to fulfill it. David’s greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, fulfilled the Law perfectly and lived out God’s will to the letter.

These three verses speak powerfully of the extent of Christ’s obedience and of David’s commitment to God. But it also shows Christians the kind of commitment God expects. As David was obedient, so should we be. As Christ lived perfectly in God’s will, so we should strive to be Christlike.

Christlikeness looks like this:

“Open ears.” We should be listening for God to speak to us. We should expect Him to do so. Hearing from God should be the norm, not the exception. God speaks to us through His Word, through other believers, and even providentially through circumstances and the world around us.
“Here I am, I have come.” We should be personally prepared to do the will of God any time, at all times. This is the essence of what submission is all about. At a moment’s notice, God’s servant should be ready to “go.”
“I desire to do your will…” Finally, followers of Christ should be wholeheartedly committed to fulfilling God’s will as revealed in His Word (“the scroll”). Naturally, this presupposes you actually KNOW what’s written in it!

4. Submission, verses 9-11

In this group of verses, the writer delights in the will of God. In response to his great deliverance, David shouts the awesome news of God’s many perfections. Nothing will stop him for declaring the good news of God to the people.

In a clever writing style, we read about what David did not do versus what he did do. These are some powerful statements which modern believers would do well to take note of. To not give the Lord the praise and adulation He deserves is a sin. We don’t often think of that, but it’s the implicit teaching of this paragraph. We should never be afraid to give God glory. We should be always careful to not be unthankful. Worship isn’t just something we do in church that ends Sunday afternoon. It should be a way of life! We should not only appreciate what God has done for us, we need to talk about it!

5. Protection, versus 13-17

Verse 12 is seen as a transitional verse, joining two songs together. The king, in spite of his high estimation of God, is aware of his own dire circumstances. He may have been “jumping and leaping and praising God,” but he was definitely grounded in reality! He was in trouble and he needed help. NOW! Thus begins his prayer for help.

As David prays for God to come to his aid, he wants God to come quickly, without any hesitation, because he believes that it is God’s will to do just that, This is implied by the phrase, “Be pleased.” The king just knew that God would come and help if He was asked.

Linked to this prayer for help is a prayer for vindication, which is also a major theme in many Old Testament prayers. The psalmist wants not only to be saved from his enemies, but he wants his enemies to fall and to end up ashamed and in disarray because of their unfaithfulness to God and because of the way they treated him. Just who these particular enemies are is unknown to us. Sometimes we know who they are, but most of the time, in most psalms, the enemies go unnamed. That’s because most of the time, it’s not personal with David; he is praying against Israel’s enemies, who were really his enemies but were ultimately enemies of the Kingdom of God. Part of praying for the coming of the God’s kingdom to earth is for the subjugation of all His enemies.

When the Lord moves and does great things, God’s people rejoice. When God acts, it results in salvation. The beautiful thing about verse 16 is that here we see the love of the king for his people. David was more than a king; he was the people’s shepherd-king and he was as concerned with their welfare as he was with his own. Notice his prayer for his people; he wants them to seek the Lord and rejoice as they seek Him.

Finally, we read verse 17 and we almost do a double-take! Was he talking about himself? Probably what David is doing here is identifying himself with his people. He may not have been personally poor, but many of his people were. Perhaps he has in mind a kind of spiritual poverty, in which case he is speaking honestly of himself and his people. Regardless of exactly what the psalmist had in his mind, his meaning is clear. In humility, we must acknowledge we are not where we should be in our relationship with God. No matter how well we think we “have it all together,” we must get to the point David got to: total dependence on God. Here was David, the greatest king of his time, with wealth unparalleled, humbly trusting in God. He does not assume that God will do anything for him because of who he is, but rather David wants God to “think of him.” In other words, regardless of who he is or what he has, David wants God to see what he needs and to supply those needs.

This is a beautiful psalm, regardless of how much of it applies of Christ. We should seek to emulate the psalmist’s attitude as he prayed. Maybe if we did that, we would notice God moving more in our lives and in the lives of people we know.

PSALMS, PART 5

Published September 18, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: Psalm 25, Psalms

Psalm 25

Psalm 25 is another acrostic psalm, with each verse beginning with a successive letter of the 22 letter Hebrew alphabet. It is also classified as a “wisdom psalm,” containing a number of proverbial sayings.

This psalm also begins a series of 15 psalms that record King David’s personal experiences and present a picture of Israel’s troubled future. This group of psalms is wonderfully comforting and just as applicable to us today as they were in the past.

1. Two prayer requests, verses 1—7

The first verse is actually a declaration of faith, with the following six verses making up two prayer requests.

In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. (vs. 1)

This sentence is given as a contrast to something written in Psalm 24:4—

The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.

David, unlike the one who put his trust in idols and false gods, depends completely on God. Not only does he depend on God, he is confident in approaching God, evidenced by the phrase “In you,” which is emphatic. David had no hesitation in approaching God. The new NIV uses the word phrase “I put my trust” in place of the more familiar, “I lift up my soul.” The idea being conveyed is one of submission. David has no problem taking the subordinate position of having to “lift up” his prayer to God. To “trust” also suggests submission; it suggests God’s way is better than your way or any other way.

a. Request for deliverance and guidance, vs. 2, 3

I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.

The writer is trusting God to keep his enemies at bay; he has confidence that His God will help him to be victorious over them. But the thing to notice here is David’s reason for wanting to triumph over his enemies—so that his faith would be vindicated. For his enemies to triumph over him would be insulting to God.

So David’s request is based on what’s best for God, not himself. What a good lesson to learn as far as our prayer requests go. Generally speaking, our prayers tend to be selfish compared to his. We want what we want because we believe it’s best for us. That’s natural, but our highest aspiration, even as we pray, should be to glorify God.

A minor request linked to the first one: that his enemies would suffer shame; that they would receive their just reward for their faithlessness and disregard for God.

b. Request for guidance and forgiveness, verses 4—7

The writer trusted God explicitly but he needs God direction.

Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. (vs. 4, 5)

David wants to know God’s way and His paths. He wants to imitate God. It’s not just wanting to know what way to go and what to do, David genuinely wants to present an accurate representation of God before the people.

Here is another lesson for the believer. This wasn’t the first time David wanted to reflect the goodness of God before His people; it was always important for David to never embarrass God or cause people to think badly or wrongly about God because of his behavior. What would the church of Jesus Christ look like if we adopted David’s attitude? Suppose “What Would Jesus Do” was more than a merely a slogan but a way of life? It might well be that one of the reasons why the church has such problems winning converts or keeping converts is that its members are presenting a warped image of God.

Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good. (vs. 6, 7)

Part of David’s prayer involved asking God to remember the past, as the KJV translation suggests:

Remember, O Lord, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old.

It’s good to remind the Lord of how wonderful He has been. This is, of course, not for His benefit. He has no ego stroke and He cannot be bribed by our praise of Him. Reminding God of His character, nature, attributes, and things He has done in the past for us and others is for OUR benefit; it boosts our faith.

Linked to the Lord remembering His past is a request for the Lord to forget ours. David wants God forget his “sins” and “rebellious ways.” The word used for “sins” is chattah, meaning to “lose the way” or “miss the mark.” The writer wants God to forget his weaknesses, failures, mistakes, and frailties. The other word, “rebellious ways” is pesha, and refers to determined sins and rebellious acts against the law of God. David is sure that God will forgive and forget the wrong in his life. We should rejoice and praise God for His mercy and His grace because they are more than sufficient to take care of all this sins in our lives, too!

2. Praise and contemplation, verses 8—15

A common thing in the psalms is the structure of its prayers; they move naturally from requests to praise. As one commentator cleverly noted,

Sometimes when we cannot “pray our way through” we may “praise our way through.”

He has a good point! Praise of God releases our spirits; we get a sense of freedom as we praise the Lord. Our circumstances may not have changed, but as we praise God our focus moves off ourselves and onto Him. We just feel better when that happens! It’s a side benefit of praise.

Verse 10 is beautiful and important:

All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.

The deep meaning of this verse is often missed. The “ways of the Lord” are really just manifestations of His continuous love of and care for those who are faithful to Him. In other words, no child of God should ever be fearful or even reticent of God’s will! God would never, ever place one of His own in a treacherous, dangerous place.

In verses 12—15, David gives us four blessings that are ours if we “fear the Lord.”

The Lord will guide him in his choices, vs. 12
The Lord will cause him to prosper in all ways, vs. 13
The Lord will personally spiritually teach the one who fears Him, vs. 14
The Lord will come to his rescue, vs. 15

3. More prayer requests, verses 16—22

From praise, the psalmist swings back to requests. Verse 16 is almost pathetic:

Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.

He feels “lonely” and “afflicted,” so he begs God for some attention. Verse 17 is a little obscure, but the sense is brought it very nicely in the Anchor translation:

Anguish cramps my heart, of my distress relieve me.

When you are surrounded by bad circumstances, it can feel like that; they crowd out God’s goodness. But no matter how many troubles are piled on top of you, God sees and responds.

Verse 18 may be troublesome to some because David makes a connection between his current trouble and his sins.

Look on my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.

The psalms certainly teach us something about ourselves. Two things are worth exploring in this verse. First, we are quick to ask for forgiveness when we are in trouble. Whether or not our problems are the direct result of our sins or not, when the hard times come more often than not we ask God to forgive us.

Second, it’s probably human nature to think that whenever negative things fall on us that we caused it. Sometimes this is undoubtedly true; when we sin we reap the consequences of that sinful choice or behavior. But other times, trouble comes for no apparent reason and it’s “superstition” to think that we caused it to happen.

David seems to think his current difficulties were the result of some sin. We can’t know what was in his mind when he wrote this. David wasn’t perfect—and he would be the first to admit this if you asked him—so it is entirely possible that his enemies are coming against him because of something he has done.

See how numerous are my enemies and how fiercely they hate me! (vs. 19)

In spite of the fact that David was probably reaping what he sowed, he wasn’t afraid to ask God for help and he was certain God would help him. We should never be afraid to approach God when we are in trouble. Imagine the folly of avoiding God because we did something wrong! How foolish is that? God knows what you did, and He knows how you feel about it. He would never turn away a repentant heart. How many of “rough patches” have been extended because we were too prideful to ask God for deliverance?

This magnificent psalm ends with a prayer for the nation of Israel:

Deliver Israel, O God, from all their troubles! (vs. 22)

In spite of David’s struggles, he still had to time to pray for his people. The KJV’s rendering of this verse hits a little closer to the real meaning of the words:

Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

All of David’s prayer requests in this psalm, and indeed in all the psalms, may be summed up with the word: redeem. All of David’s problems and the problems of the people can be summed up in the word troubles. The twin of this verse is verse 11:

For thy name’s sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great.

All deliverance and redemption and all salvation are for God’s glory. When God does good things for His people, His Name is glorified and honored.

PSALMS, PART 3

Published September 4, 2012 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: fair weather friend, Psalm 10, Psalms, sovereignty of God, wicked

Psalm 10, Defeat of the Wicked

We don’t know who wrote this psalm, but we sure know what was bugging him! He was deeply troubled by the seeming absence of God during times of trouble and he was upset that God was silent.

Psalm 10 is actually the second half of Psalm 9, and some scholars think these two psalms were originally one. Psalm 9 exalts the sovereignty of God in relation to the unbelieving nations that surrounded Israel, while Psalm 10 deals with the growth of evil within Israel, the covenant community.

Even though ancient, this psalm is timely and applicable. Christians have to deal with sin both inside and outside their community of faith, the church. And our perception of God is, unfortunately, often like that of the discouraged psalmist.

G. Campbell Morgan, preacher of preachers, wrote, “Psalm 10 opens in complaint but closes with confidence.”

1. Complaint, vs. 1, 2

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.

The psalmist’s complaint is obvious: he feels like God is way off in the distance. He feels like God is merely a fair-weather friend to the righteous; He’s there when times are good, but now that circumstances are unfavorable, God is nowhere to be found. It’s not as if God has abandoned His people, argues the writer, it’s just that He’s not all that dependable. Job experienced the exact same thing:

Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy? (Job 13:24)

The psalmist needs God’s help, desperately, but it’s as though God is hiding Himself. This was a common complaint in ancient Israel, and it’s a common complaint in the church of Jesus Christ today!

2. Character, vs. 3—6

He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord. In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies. He says to himself, “Nothing will shake me; I’ll always be happy and never have trouble.”

The ungodly man’s hatred of the godly manifests itself in a complete disregard for God and His commands. He is only concerned with himself and filling his earthly cravings. Whatever he wants, he finds a way to get. Pride, irreverence, unbelief, and materialism charaterize the life and attitude of the ungodly. Add to that a sense of what amounts to false security, and we see that the ungodly bears almost no resemblance to the godly. Moffatt says of these people:

There is no God at all.

We have a good picture of those who live without God, but we also have glimpses of the psalmist’s attitude when he observes: his ways are always prosperous. The truth is, nobody’s ways are always prosperous, but to the godly man looking at the ungodly man, it seems as though the ungodly man is always living high on the hog. The implication is that he, the godly man, feels like he is being ignored by God completely; that he isn’t being blessed in any way by His God.

3. Conduct, vs. 7—11

He says to himself, “God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees.” (verse 11)

The wicked man—remember he is part of the community of faith—thinks there is no God. He is far worse than one who has his doubts; he actually acts like there is no God. He may appear to be merely a lost soul, but an unbeliever among believers is actually dangerous. He uses his tongue as a weapon; he intimidates believers with “curses, lies and threats.” But he is an accomplished liar! He is so smooth and persuasive that he convinces some believers that he is right:

His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength. (verse 10)

Moffatt interprets verse 10 a little differently:

He hunts the helpless till they drop, unlucky victims in his clutches.

We get the idea that within Israel, within the community of faith, there were those who could not be trusted; there were those who had turned their backs on God, having lost their faith in Him. What’s really nefarious about these “backsliders” is that they weren’t happy with just abandoning Him, they actively tried to recruit others to follow them away from God.

The wicked expressed themselves in injustice and boorish behavior, but their sorry lifestyle had its roots in one place: a complete disregard for the Lord. They had rejected the Word of the Lord. The had no understanding of God; they mistook God’s patience with evil for a lack of interest in fairness. The wicked were bold and they getting bolder because they felt like they had no accountability for their actions.

This is why evil grows. This is why those who forsake the Lord seem to have not only left Him but are running as fast as they can away from Him towards sin, it’s like they have to catch up on all they missed while they were serving Him.

4. Cry, verses 12—15

In the face of people who have become such enemies, the righteous can only do one thing: cry out to God for vindication and to punish those who are harming God’s people. The prayer beginning at verse 12 is a welcome relief! The structure of this paragraph A BB A:

A. Prayer for God’s intervention (vs. 12)

B. The boast of the wicked (vs. 13)

B. The trust of the afflicted (vs. 14)

A. Prayer for God’s intervention (vs. 15)

In essence, this is a prayer for God to step in and help. The wicked thought that God had forgotten them; that God would never call them to account for their actions; and that no bad things will ever happen to them. The psalmist prays that God will show His strength (His hand) to help the oppressed; to punish the wicked and hold them accountable.

The fact is, God does not ignore the evil that men do. The “but you” in verse 14 is emphatic, meaning God is the only help available to the righteous. Time and again throughout the Old Testament God had promised to never abandon His people, that He would be a “father to the fatherless.” Sometimes, to we with finite minds, it may seem as though God is absent or uncaring, but the truth is quite different. God is patient in the face of evil, but not condoning of it. Calvin’s thoughts on this are helpful:

It is, however, our duty to wait patiently so long as the vengeance is reserved in the hand of God, until he stretches forth is arm to help us.

In other words, let’s try to be as patient as God is. Let’s try to see the world the way God does. Perspective is everything. And while we are being patient, we need to pray that God will eventually have His way with the wicked:

Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out. (verse 15)

Harrison translates verse 15 like this:

Break the power of the guilty and wicked; punish his iniquity till You have completely obliterated it.

This is easily the strongest verse in the entire psalm and it is clear call for God to dispense His justice.

5. Confidence, verses 16—18

This final group of verses may be considered a benediction. Because it was written by a believer, it is naturally hopeful and upbeat. This was the psalmist’s true worldview; he had not wandered from God! His faith was intact, even while acknowledging the presence of the wicked around him. Living by faith is not denying reality, rather it is looking ahead to a future grounded in the promises of God. There may be trials and wickedness all around. The world may seem to be unjust. But God is not indifferent! God is not helpless! He is not slack in keeping His promises! God waits in patient mercy for the right time to act. As one scholar has noted, “A prepared heart will always find a prepared God.”

Throughout this psalm, we find three aspects of the psalmist’s difficult situation:

You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

A) It is sometimes painful to be surrounded by the unrighteous. Here it is called an “affliction.” Indeed, dealing with one who has no fear of God can seem to be an “affliction” to those of us who live trusting in the One they have forsaken!

B) Our circumstances often dictate our feelings which in turn influence our thoughts. We are creatures of feelings! But sometimes our feelings are untrustworthy and they result in thoughts that may be inaccurate where God is concerned. When we are able to change the character of our thoughts, the character of our hearts will also change and will see God’s character correctly.

C) Trials may be salutary experiences. David once said:

It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. (Psalm 119:71)

Looking back over our lives, we should take the attitude David took. God teaches us great things in times of trouble; God may even speak to us through the wicked!

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Posts Tagged 'Psalms'

How Long, O Lord?

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