Oftentimes it seems that those who ignore God, or live as if he does not exist, abusing the weak and exploiting others, prosper wildly, seemingly unchecked. Meanwhile those who acknowledge and worship him, caring for the “least of these” may be seriously struggling. “It is a function of the Psalms to touch the nerve of this problem and keep its pain alive, against the comfort of our familiarity, or indeed complicity, with a corrupt world.” (Kidner) This is Psalm 10 - predator and prey, strong and helpless, and a God who is decidedly on the side of the underdog.
Verse 1. This is the question our hearts very often want to scream out to God, especially when we know the situation is something close to his heart. Though he is never far away or hidden, he certainly can feel that way to us.
Verses 2-4. Powerful, wicked people are using the weak in their schemes to get what they want. This may be a tyrannical ruler in a country far away, but it may also be a ruthless businessman down the street who ruins others’ investments while walking away with a fortune. They purposely avoid God, believing they will never be brought to justice.
Verses 5-6. Because God has not yet judged them, they become more brazen, bold, confident. Think of the slumlord who charges a ridiculous rent to the new immigrant or refugee living in his property. He does so well he buys more buildings to exploit more people.
Verses 7-10. Their attacks are sudden, secret, stealthy. And the afflicted person is no match for these planned ambushes. One cannot help but think again of young girls sold into sex trafficking. Also the title pawn business comes to mind, charging ridiculous amounts of interest on loans to the already working poor.
Verse 11. Once again, the wicked utterly disregard the Lord. “They mistake God’s patience with evil for God’s lack of interest in justice and the innocent victims of injustice” (Van Gemeren) Maybe it’s the computer hacker team who manages to steal the credit card numbers of thousands of people. Perhaps it’s the sex offender who slowly reels in another child victim.
Verses 12-15. Asking God to ‘arise’ is asking him to act. The Psalmist knows that God has been the ‘helper of the fatherless’. He knows God cares for these weak and defenseless people. The word here for ‘helper’ often describes God; it means that he is able to do for people what they cannot do for themselves. The writer prays that God would break the power of the wicked.
Verses 16-18. The hope of this unjust world lies in the Lord. The fatherless and the oppressed are the class of people who are most easily wronged. ‘you encourage’, ‘you listen’ - these are progressive imperfects, meaning this is what God is now already doing as a result of having heard the pleas of the psalmist. He is still the eternal king of glory, in charge, the ultimate victor. He is just and will bring the wicked to account. They will answer to the judge for what they do. And those children of God who are preyed upon will be rescued.
What does this mean for OUR prayers? It means God cares about the foster children in our congregation. And so our prayers for them should be bold, confident. It means God is on the side of the widow and the orphan in countries where they are ruled by horrible, despotic rulers. And so our prayers for them should hold God’s promise and his own words before him, asking him to do something about what he cares about. It means that God hears us when we are the victims, the helpless, the ones at the mercy of the merciless, whatever that might look like.
Food for thought:
1. When you pray for such issues as justice for the oppressed in some category, do you expect God to act? Have you decided he doesn't care?
2. What are some things you know God cares about after studying this Psalm that you can take to him and hold him to his word?
Oops, I missed Psalm 10! I went back and looked at it and commented. :)
ReplyDeleteChris, are these psalms listed in the order in which they were written? Psalm 10 seems to follow Ps 9 perfectly. Ps 9 is smaller scale: there's suffering going on, including in David's life; God will take action and be victorious over that suffering and those causing it. Ps 10 takes that suffering to a broader scale: others are suffering, others are being unjustly treated, seemingly unchecked; and again, God will take action and be victorious over that suffering and those causing it. Thoughts on that?
I don't know how to respond to this psalm. Part of me thinks, why does God let it go on? Why doesn't he do something right away, and rescue people from the beginning? "His ways prosper at all times" - that is true, it seems. But it doesn't have to, does it? Could there be immediate consequences, like with my daughter? She sins, and I respond.l She learns quickly that those actions are unacceptable, and avoids them.
And then I'm reminded that God is big, and I am small. He does things that I don't understand. And that's a good thing, because if I fully understood God, He would be finite, and not God. In the end, every knee WILL bow and every tongue confess, and he doesn't always choose to have people do that before the end. So what's my role, or how do I respond? Like David, I pray boldly. I share my heart honestly - what I see - asking God where He is in all that. I praise God for who I know He is. And I trust that He will act, in His timing.
I love that word arise. In Hebrew it's קוּם, "quwm." It translates as, "Arise! Become powerful. Come on the scene. Establish yourself. Investigate." I love that David, by asking God to act, is calling on God to be God! He's confident that's part of God's character and is asking him to act out of who He is. Oh, that I would know His character, and pray expectantly according to it!