Psalm 10

Psalm 10 belongs to Book One of the Psalms (Psalms 1–41). It has no superscription, and its themes and wording continue those of Psalm 9, which gives thanks for God's judgment on the enemy. Whereas Psalm 9 opens with thanksgiving, Psalm 10 is a lament that opens with the question "Why?"

Structure

• Verses 1–2 The psalmist complains that in times of trouble God seems to stand far off and hide Himself. Because the proud wicked man fiercely persecutes the poor, the psalmist asks that the wicked be caught in the devices they have imagined.
• Verses 3–6 The psalm portrays the wicked man. He boasts of his heart's desire and despises the LORD, assumes that God will not take notice, and declares that he will never be moved.
• Verses 7–11 The mouth of the wicked is full of cursing and deceit. He lurks in secret places, crouching like a lion in wait, and catches the poor in his net. He says that God has forgotten and will never see.
• Verses 12–15 The psalmist pleads, "Arise, O LORD," and confesses that God has already seen and is the helper of the fatherless. He asks God to break the arm of the wicked.
• Verses 16–18 The psalm proclaims that the LORD is King for ever and closes with the confidence that God hears the desire of the humble and will judge on behalf of the fatherless and the oppressed.

Key Verses

• Psalm 10:1 "Why standest thou afar off, O LORD?" — A classic expression of honest lament in the face of God's silence.
• Psalm 10:4 "God is not in all his thoughts" — This reveals the attitude of the wicked, who ignore God in the way they live rather than denying Him in theory.
• Psalm 10:17 "LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble" — The turning point at which lament gives way to trust and confidence.

People and Places

• The LORD: The one to whom the psalmist cries out, confessed as the eternal King and the helper of the fatherless.
• The wicked: An unnamed oppressor who is proud and greedy and preys on the weak.
• The poor, the fatherless, and the forsaken: The vulnerable who are crushed by the wicked, portrayed as those for whom God cares.

Points for Reflection

• In the Septuagint and the Vulgate, Psalms 9 and 10 are combined into a single psalm, so in traditions that follow this numbering the subsequent psalms are numbered one lower. One argument cited for reading the two as a single psalm is that, in the Hebrew text as well, they together show traces of an alphabetic acrostic. The alphabetic arrangement, however, is incomplete.
• The wicked man's claim that there is no God echoes the theme of Psalm 14: "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."
• In Romans 3, where Paul argues that all people are under sin, he writes, "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness" (Romans 3:14), a line regarded as a quotation of Psalm 10:7.