The Righteous One Detailing Earth’s Wickedness in Anticipation of Earth’s Deliverance

It is often a perplexity to the Christian, when he sees the wicked gaining ascendancy, and the poor being oppressed and abused. Seemingly, the wicked appear not to be held accountable, and fulfil their evil designs with impunity. David queries in v. 1 why God does not take action. Why does He not redress the injustice and exploitation?

But then he acknowledges that though the wicked think, “God will never see” (v. 11) their scandalous behaviour – yet, “thou hast seen it” (v. 14). And he knows that God, having seen, He will act, He will punish, and He will minister to the fatherless. After all, pure religion and undefiled is to visit the fatherless and the widow, and will not the Author of this pure religion come to their relief?

Pastor Jeff O’ Neil

Psalm 10

¹Wherefore is it that thou, O LORD,
Dost stand from us afar?
And wherefore hidest thou thyself,
When times so troublous are?

²The wicked in his loftiness
Doth persecute the poor:
In these devices they have fram’d
Let them be taken sure.

³The wicked of his heart’s desire
Doth talk with boasting great;
He blesseth him that’s covetous,
Whom yet the LORD doth hate.

⁴The wicked, through his pride of face,
On God he doth not call;
And in the counsels of his heart
The Lord is not at all.

⁵His ways they always grievous are;
Thy judgments from his sight
Removed are: at all his foes
He puffeth with despight.

⁶Within his heart he thus hath said,
I shall not moved be;
And no adversity at all
Shall ever come to me.

⁷His mouth with cursing, fraud, deceit,
Is fill’d abundantly;
And underneath his tongue there is
Mischief and vanity.

⁸He closely sits in villages;
He slays the innocent:
Against the poor that pass him by
His cruel eyes are bent.

⁹He, lion-like, lurks in his den;
He waits the poor to take;
And when he draws him in his net,
His prey he doth him make.

¹⁰Himself he humbleth very low,
He croucheth down withal,
That so a multitude of poor
May by his strong ones fall.

¹¹He thus hath said within his heart,
The Lord hath quite forgot;
He hides his countenance, and he
For ever sees it not.

¹²O LORD, do thou arise; O God,
Lift up thine hand on high:
Put not the meek afflicted ones
Out of thy memory.

¹³Why is it that the wicked man
Thus doth the Lord despise?
Because that God will it require
He in his heart denies.

¹⁴Thou hast it seen; for their mischief
And spite thou wilt repay:
The poor commits himself to thee;
Thou art the orphan’s stay.

¹⁵The arm break of the wicked man,
And of the evil one;
Do thou seek out his wickedness,
Until thou findest none.

¹⁶The LORD is King through ages all,
Ev’n to eternity;
The heathen people from his land
Are perish’d utterly.

¹⁷O LORD, of those that humble are
Thou the desire didst hear;
Thou wilt prepare their heart, and thou
To hear wilt bend thine ear;

¹⁸To judge the fatherless, and those
That are oppressed sore;
That man, that is but sprung of earth,
May them oppress no more.