Psalms 10

Psalms 10:1-2

1, 2. Stanza of Lamed. Expostulation with Jehovah for neglect of His persecuted people, and statement of the wrongs which call for redress.

Psalms 10:2

2. The general sense of the first clause is that given by R.V.: In the pride of the wicked the poor is hotly pursued; or possibly, is consumed, by fear, anxiety, and distress. In the second clause there is a double ambiguity. The verb taken may be rendered as a wish or as a statement of fact; and its subject may be the ‘wicked’ or the ‘poor.’ Hence either, as A.V., let them (the wicked) be taken in the devices that they have imagined: or, as LXX, Vulg., R.V. marg.: they (the poor) are taken in the devices that they (the wicked) have imagined. With the first rendering comp. Psalms 7:15-16, Psalms 9:16 : but the second is on the whole preferable. It gives a good parallelism to the first line of the verse; and a further description of the wrongs of the poor suits the context better than a parenthetical cry for retribution.

Psalms 10:3-11

3–11. The Psalmist justifies his complaint by a description of the reckless character (3–6) and the ruthless conduct (7–11) of the wicked man, and he traces them to their source in his virtual atheism. The alphabetic structure disappears in this section.

Psalms 10:4

4. The A.V. follows the Ancient Versions in rendering, ‘the wicked … will not seek after God:’ but a comparison of Psa 10:13, which clearly recapitulates Psalms 10:3-4, is decisive in favour of rendering as follows: As for the wicked, according to the loftiness of his looks, he saith, He will not make requisition: There is no God, is the sum of his devices. The construction is abrupt and forcible. The wicked man’s scornful countenance is the index of his character (Psalms 101:5); all his devices (as Psalms 10:2) are planned on the assumption that God does not regard and punish (Psalms 9:12); upon a virtual atheism, for such an epicurean deity, “careless of mankind,” would be no ‘living and true God.’ Cp. Psalms 14:1.

Psalms 10:5-6

5, 6. The security of the wicked. He fears neither God nor man.

Psalms 10:6

6. He hath said] R.V. he saith, and so in Psalms 10:11; Psalms 10:13. He presumes in his carnal self-confidence to use language which the righteous man employs in faithful dependence upon God (Psalms 16:8, &c.). for I shall never &c.] R.V., To all generations I shall not be in adversity. Hardly in the sense that “pride stifles reason,” and “he expects to live for ever” (Cheyne); but rather that he identifies his descendants with himself, and looks forward to the uninterrupted continuance of their prosperity. Cp. Psalms 49:11; and the promise to the righteous man in Psalms 37:27-29.

Psalms 10:7

7. His sins of tongue; cursing,—which may include both malicious imprecation (Job 31:30, R.V.) and perjury (Psalms 59:12 : Hosea 4:2): deceits, the plural, as in Psalms 38:12, expressing their abundance and variety: oppression (Psalms 55:11, Psalms 72:14), which he advocates, or abets by false witness (Psalms 27:12, Psalms 35:11; Exodus 23:1). Under his tongue, ready for immediate use, is a store of mischief and iniquity (Psalms 7:14). This is the usual interpretation; but it seems strange to regard ‘under the tongue’ as synonymous with ‘upon the tongue,’ and the use of the phrase in Job 20:12 suggests another explanation. Wickedness is there spoken of as a delicious morsel which is kept in the mouth to be enjoyed. (See Prof. Davidson’s note.) And similarly here the mention of the mouth as the organ of speech leads up to the thought of the tongue as the organ of taste. Mischief and iniquity are thoroughly to the wicked man’s taste. Cp. Proverbs 19:28, which speaks of iniquity as the wicked man’s favourite food: and Job 15:16. The first half of the verse (according to the LXX) is woven by St Paul into his description of human corruption in Romans 3:14.

Psalms 10:8-11

8–11. The wicked man’s crimes. He is described as a brigand, lying in wait to rob; as a lion lurking for its prey; as a hunter snaring his game. His victims are the innocent and defenceless poor. The reference is probably to the bands of freebooters which, in the absence of a system of police, have always been common in the East. At no time was the country entirely free from them, and in periods of anarchy they would multiply rapidly. See Judges 11:3; 1 Samuel 22:2; 2 Samuel 4:2; Hosea 6:9; St Luke 10:30. The emphatic warning of the wise man to his disciple in Proverbs 1:10-18 (a passage which should be studied in illustration of this Psalm) shews that such a life was common, and had strong attractions for young men. But in all probability the Psalmist has also in view the powerful nobles who plundered their poorer neighbours, and made their lives intolerable by oppressive exactions. They were no better than the professed brigands, and no doubt did not shrink from actual murder. See the prophets generally, and in particular Micah’s bitter invective, Psalms 2:1-11; Psalms 3:1-3. Cp. Sir 13:18-19.

Psalms 10:9

9. Render: He lieth in ambush in the secret place as a lion in his lair; He lieth in ambush to catch the poor: He catcheth the poor, dragging him off with his net. The wicked man is now described as a lion, lurking in his lair in the forest till his prey comes near. In the third clause the figure is changed for that of a hunter: probably the victim is dragged off to be sold for a slave.

Psalms 10:10

10. We may render with R.V. He croucheth, he boweth down, And the helpless fall by his strong ones. An obscure verse. According to the rendering of the R.V., which follows the traditional reading (Qrç), the figure of the lion is resumed. The word rendered boweth down is used of a lion couching in Job 38:40, the whole of which verse should be compared with Psalms 10:9-10. His strong ones is explained to mean his claws. But it seems preferable to regard the poor as the subject, and, neglecting the Massoretic accents, to render: He is crushed, he boweth down and falleth; (yea) the helpless (fall) by his strong ones: i.e. the ruffians of the wicked man’s retinue. The R.V. marg., And being crushed, follows the reading of the text (Kthîbh), and gives the same sense.

Psalms 10:11

11. He saith in his heart, God (El) hath forgotten: He hath hidden his face; he hath not seen nor ever will. Experience, he thinks, confirms the assumption from which he started (Psalms 10:4), that God will not trouble Himself to interfere: the exact opposite of the faith of the saints (Psalms 9:12; Psalms 9:18). The last clause means literally, He hath not seen for ever: i.e. hath not seen hitherto nor will hereafter.

Psalms 10:12-18

12–18. An urgent plea that Jehovah will vindicate His own character by action, grounded upon a confident assurance of the present reality of His government. The alphabetical arrangement is here resumed.

Psalms 10:13

13. Why, urges the Psalmist in support of his appeal, has God so long tolerated the blasphemies of the wicked man (Psalms 10:3-4), and by inaction let Himself be misunderstood? The verbs are in the perfect tense, expressing what long has been and still is the case. he hath said] R.V. and say.

Psalms 10:14

14. Stanza of Resh, consisting of one long verse. Originally in all probability there were two verses, as in the other alphabetic stanzas. Thou hast seen it] Whatever the wicked may imagine to the contrary, arguing from his own limited experience (Psalms 10:11). Faith triumphs over appearances, for it rests on the unchanging character of God, Who never ceases to ‘behold,’ to observe all that goes on upon the earth. Cp. Psalms 33:13; Psalms 35:22; Psalms 94:9. mischief and spite] The words may be understood thus, of the wrong done; or, as in R.V. marg., of the suffering endured, travail and grief. The first word inclines rather to the objective, the second to the subjective sense. Perhaps we might render: mischief and vexation. to requite it with thy hand] More exactly as R.V., to take it into thy hand. God’s observation cannot fail to lead to action. In His own time He will take the matter in hand. Cp. P.B.V., which however, in opposition to the Hebrew accents, connects the words with the following clause, ‘That thou mayest take the matter into thine hand: the poor &c.’ the poor] The helpless (Psalms 10:8; Psalms 10:10) abandons (such is the literal sense of the word) himself and his cause to God, Who will never abandon him (Psalms 9:10). thou art] Rather as R.V., thou hast been. It is an appeal to experience. The ‘fatherless’ (or ‘orphan’) is mentioned as a typical example of the friendless and unprotected, who are under God’s special guardianship. Cp. the primitive law of Exo 22:22 ff., reechoed in the latest utterance of prophecy, Malachi 3:5.

Psalms 10:15-16

15, 16. Stanza of Shin. Prayer for the extermination of evil, based on the facts of faith and history.

Psalms 10:16

16. The second clause has been variously explained to refer (1) to the past, or (2) to the future (prophetic perfect). If (1) it refers to the past, the Psalmist finds the guarantee for the fulfilment of his prayers and hopes in the extermination of the Canaanites, or, it may be, in the repulse of ‘the nations’ referred to in Psalms 9:5-6; Psalms 9:15 ff. As the nations have been driven out before God’s people, so the wicked must ultimately give place to the godly, and Jehovah’s land will become in fact what it is in name, the Holy Land. Cp. the frequent warnings to Israel that the fate of the Canaanites might be theirs (Deuteronomy 8:19-20, &c.). If (2) the clause refers to the future, it is a confident anticipation (expressed as though it were already realised) of the ultimate destruction of the foreign oppressors of Israel, including, it may be supposed, all the godless of whom they are typical. The first explanation suits the context best. The complaint and prayer of the psalm are directed against wicked oppressors within the nation of Israel, not against foreign enemies. An anticipation of the destruction of such external enemies is foreign to the line of thought. But an appeal to history as the ground of hope for the future is quite in place. his land] Cp. Leviticus 25:13; Joe 2:18.

Psalms 10:17-18

17, 18. Stanza of Tav. God has ‘seen’ (Psalms 10:14); He has also ‘heard’; the prayer of faith cannot remain unanswered.

Psalms 10:18

18. So justice will be done to the orphan (Psalms 10:14) and the downtrodden (Psalms 9:9); that mortal man which is of the earth may be terrible no more: may no more insolently defy God, and do violence to men. Cp. Psalms 9:19-20; Psalms 37:35, note.