Heart of a Psalmist - Worshipping Christ Through The Psalms

IV. THE JUSTICE OF GOD 17-20

“ The wicked will go down to the grave. This is the fate of all nations who ignore God. For the needy will not be forgotten forever, the hopes of the poor will not always be crushed.” (17,18)

There are spiritual dynamics at work when a person or a nation deliberately removes God from their conscience. They descend into spiritual and eventually literal death. The opposite dynamics come into effect when the needy remember God and turn to him for help.

“ Arise, O Lord! Do not let mortals defy you! Let the nations be judged in your presence. Make them tremble in fear, O Lord. Let them know they are merely human. Interlude” (19,20)

“ Arise, O Lord ” is a powerful petition we have in our prayer arsenal. (See Psalm 3:7, 7:6) It can stop the arrogance of an entire nation and bring its citizens to a realization that they are ‘frail’ in the presence of a sovereign, Divine Judge. It is time for the Daughter of Zion to sing and pray to the judge of the uni- verse: “ Arise, O Lord! Do not let mere mortals defy you! ”

1 Keil & Delitzsch 2 Spurgeon 3 Keil & Delitzsch

PSALM 10: WHY DO YOU STAND SO FAR AWAY? The Mystery of God’s Delay

This psalm presents the injustice of the wicked towards the helpless and their eventual judgment. It begins with the psalmist questioning the whereabouts of God as the wicked grow in strength and ar- rogance. The pivotal point is verse 12 where he cries: “Arise, O Lord…” from there, the wicked experi- ence the results of God’s presence and the ‘helpless’ are rescued. This anonymous psalm is presented in two sections:

I PROUD AND WICKED PEOPLE - 1-11 Il PUNISH THE WICKED - 12-18

I. PROUD AND WICKED PEOPLE - (1-11)

“ O Lord, why do you stand so far away? Why do you hide when I need you the most?”(1)

These questions are wrapped in the mystery of ‘God’s delay’, He waits until the wicked have fully resisted him before his judgment is executed. He also waits until the righteous cry out for his justice with impassioned hearts.

“ Proud and wicked people viciously oppress the poor. Let them be caught in the evil they plan for others. (2)

The source of wickedness is pride and it has its built-in natural consequences. The evil planned for others is returned upon the sender. This psalm shows God’s interest in the struggle of the ‘helpless, the poor and the oppressed’ against the wicked who exploit them. • “ …viciously oppress the poor.” (2)

• “ …some helpless victim…” (8) • “ …pounce on the helpless…”( 9) • “ …the helpless are overwhelmed and collapse;”(10) • “ …do not forget the helpless.”(12)

• “ The helpless put their trust in you.”(14) • “ You are the defender of orphans.” (14)

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