Psalm 10
Exposition
Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings
Hints to the Village Preacher
Since this Psalm has no title of its own, it is supposed by some to be a fragment of Psalm 9. We
prefer, however, since it is complete in itself, to consider it
as a separate composition. We have had instances already of
Psalms which seem meant to form a pair (Psalm 1 and 2, Psalm 3
and 4) and this, with the ninth, is another specimen of the
double Psalm.
The prevailing theme seems to be
the oppression and persecution of the wicked, we will, therefore,
for our own guidance, entitle it, THE CRY OF THE
OPPRESSED.
DIVISION. The first verse, in an exclamation of surprise,
explains the intent of the Psalm, viz., to invoke the
interposition of God for the deliverance of his poor and
persecuted people. From verse 2 to 11, the character of the
oppressor is described in powerful language. In verse 12, the cry
of the first verse bursts forth again, but with a clearer
utterance. In the next place (verses 13-15), God's eye is
clearly beheld as regarding all the cruel deeds of the wicked;
and as a consequence of divine omniscience, the ultimate judgment
of the oppressed is joyously anticipated (verses 16-18). To the
Church of God during times of persecution, and to individual
saints who are smarting under the hand of the proud sinner, this
Psalm furnishes suitable language both for prayer and
praise.
EXPOSITION
Verse 1. To the tearful eye of the sufferer the Lord seemed to
stand still, as if he calmly looked on, and did not
sympathize with his afflicted one. Nay, more, the Lord appeared
to be afar off, no longer "a very present help in
trouble," but an inaccessible mountain, into which no man would
be able to climb. The presence of God is the joy of his people,
but any suspicion of his absence is distracting beyond measure.
Let us, then, ever remember that the Lord is nigh us. The refiner
is never far from the mouth of the furnace when his gold is in
the fire, and the Son of God is always walking in the midst of
the flames when his holy children are cast into them. Yet he that
knows the frailty of man will little wonder that when we are
sharply exercised, we find it hard to bear the apparent neglect
of the Lord when he forbears to work our deliverance.
"Why hidest thou thyself in times
of trouble?" It is not the trouble, but the hiding of our
Father's face, which cuts us to the quick. When trial and
desertion come together, we are in as perilous a plight as Paul,
when his ship fell into a place where two seas met (Acts 27:41).
It is but little wonder if we are like the vessel which ran
aground, and the fore-part stuck fast, and remained unmoveable,
while the hinder part was broken by the violence of the waves.
When our sun is eclipsed, it is dark indeed. If we need an answer
to the question, "Why hidest thou thyself?" it is to be found in
the fact that there is a "needs-be," not only for trial, but for
heaviness of heart under trial (1 Peter 1:6); but how could this
be the case, if the Lord should shine upon us while he is
afflicting us? Should the parent comfort his child while he is
correcting him, where would be the use of the chastening? A
smiling face and a rod are not fit companions. God bares the back
that the blow may be felt; for it is only felt affliction
which can become blest affliction. If we were carried in
the arms of God over every stream, where would be the trial, and
where the experience, which trouble is meant to teach us?
Verse 2. The second verse contains the formal indictment against
the wicked: "The wicked in his pride doth persecute the
poor." The accusation divides itself into two distinct
charges,—pride and tyranny; the one the root and cause of the
other. The second sentence is the humble petition of the
oppressed: "Let them be taken in the devices that they have
imagined." The prayer is reasonable, just, and natural. Even
our enemies themselves being judges, it is but right that men
should be done by as they wished to do to others. We only weigh
you in your own scales, and measure your corn with your own
bushel. Terrible shall be thy day, O persecuting Babylon! when
thou shalt be made to drink of the winecup which thou thyself
hast filled to the brim with the blood of saints. There are none
who will dispute the justice of God, when he shall hang every
Haman on his own gallows, and cast all the enemies of his Daniels
into their own den of lions.
Verse 3. The indictment being read, and the petition presented,
the evidence is now heard upon the first count. The evidence is
very full and conclusive upon the matter of pride, and no
jury could hesitate to give a verdict against the prisoner at the
bar. Let us, however, hear the witnesses one by one. The first
testifies that he is a boaster. "For the wicked boasteth of
his heart's desire." He is a very silly boaster, for he
glories in a mere desire: a very brazen-faced boaster, for that
desire is villainy; and a most abandoned sinner, to boast of that
which is his shame. Bragging sinners are the worst and most
contemptible of men, especially when their filthy desires,—too
filthy to be carried into act,—become the theme of their
boastings. When Mr. Hate-Good and Mr. Heady are joined in
partnership, they drive a brisk trade in the devil's wares. This
one proof is enough to condemn the prisoner at the bar. Take him
away, jailor! But stay, another witness desires to be sworn and
heard. This time, the impudence of the proud rebel is even more
apparent; for he "blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord
abhorreth." This is insolence, which is pride unmasked. He is
haughty enough to differ from the Judge of all the earth, and
bless the men whom God hath cursed. So did the sinful generation
in the days of Malachi, who called the proud happy, and set up
those that worked wickedness (Malachi 3:15). These base
pretenders would dispute with their Maker; they would—
"Snatch from his hand the balance and the rod,
Rejudge his justice, be the god of God."
How often have we heard the wicked man speaking in terms of
honour of the covetous, the grinder of the poor, and the sharp
dealer! Our old proverb hath it,—
"I wot well how the world wags;
He is most loved that hath most bags."
Pride meets covetousness, and compliments it as wise, thrifty,
and prudent. We say it with sorrow, there are many professors of
religion who esteem a rich man, and flatter him, even though they
know that he has fattened himself upon the flesh and blood of the
poor. The only sinners who are received as respectable are
covetous men. If a man is a fornicator, or a drunkard, we put him
out of the church; but who ever read of church discipline against
that idolatrous wretch,—the covetous man? Let us tremble, lest
we be found to be partakers of this atrocious sin of pride,
"blessing the covetous, whom Jehovah abhorreth."
Verse 4. The proud boastings and lewd blessings of the wicked
have been received in evidence against him, and now his own face
confirms the accusation, and his empty closet cries aloud against
him. "The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will
not seek after God." Proud hearts breed proud looks and stiff
knees. It is an admirable arrangement that the heart is often
written on the countenance, just as the motion of the wheels of a
clock find their record on its face. A brazen face and a broken
heart never go together. We are not quite sure that the Athenians
were wise when they ordained that men should be tried in the dark
lest their countenances should weigh with the judges; for there
is much more to be learned from the motions of the muscles of the
face than from the words of the lips. Honesty shines in the face,
but villainy peeps out at the eyes.
See the effect of pride; it kept the
man from seeking God. It is hard to pray with a stiff neck and an
unbending knee. "God is not in all his thoughts:" he
thought much, but he had no thoughts for God. Amid heaps of chaff
there was not a grain of wheat. The only place where God is not
is in the thoughts of the wicked. This is a damning accusation;
for where the God of heaven is not, the Lord of hell is reigning
and raging; and if God be not in our thoughts, our thoughts will
bring us to perdition.
Verse 5. "His ways are always grievous." To himself they
are hard. Men go a rough road when they go to hell. God has
hedged-up the way of sin: O what folly to leap these hedges and
fall among the thorns! To others, also, his ways cause much
sorrow and vexation; but what cares he? He sits like the idol god
upon his monstrous car, utterly regardless of the crowds who are
crushed as he rolls along. "Thy judgments are far above out of
his sight:" he looks high, but not high enough. As God is
forgotten, so are his judgments. He is not able to comprehend the
things of God; a swine may sooner look through a telescope at the
stars than this man study the Word of God to understand the
righteousness of the Lord. "As for all his enemies, he puffeth
at them." He defies and domineers; and when men resist his
injurious behaviour, he sneers at them, and threatens to
annihilate them with a puff. In most languages there is a word of
contempt borrowed from the action of puffing with the lips, and
in English we should express the idea by saying, "He cries,
'Pooh! Pooh!' at his enemies." Ah! there is one enemy who will
not thus be puffed at. Death will puff at the candle of his life
and blow it out, and the wicked boaster will find it grim work to
brag in the tomb.
Verse 6. The testimony of the sixth verse concludes the evidence
against the prisoner upon the first charge of pride, and
certainly it is conclusive in the highest degree. The present
witness has been prying into the secret chambers of the heart,
and has come to tell us what he has heard. "He hath said in
his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in
adversity." O impertinence runs to seed! The man thinks
himself immutable, and omnipotent too, for he, he is never
to be in adversity. He counts himself a privileged man. He sits
alone, and shall see no sorrow. His nest is in the stars, and he
dreams not of a hand that shall pluck him thence. But let us
remember that this man's house is built upon the sand, upon a
foundation no more substantial than the rolling waves of the sea.
He that is too secure is never safe. Boastings are not
buttresses, and self-confidence is a sorry bulwark. This is the
ruin of fools, that when they succeed they become too big, and