1 Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.

3 He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.

4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.

5 His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies.

6 He says to himself, “Nothing will shake me; I’ll always be happy and never have trouble.”

7 His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.

8 He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent, watching in secret for his victims.

9 He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.

10 His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength.

11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees.”

12 Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless.

13 Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, “He won’t call me to account”?

14 But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out.

16 The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land.

17 You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

In the Hebrew, Psalm 9 and 10 are actually one acrostic poem. Each line (verse) begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

The problem in Ps 9 is the enemy invading from without, while the problem in Ps 10 is the enemy corrupting and destroying from within.

There were wicked nations around Israel (9:5), but there were also wicked people within the covenant community (10:4), people who claimed to know God, but whose lives proved they did not know God (Titus 2:1-6).

They know there is a God, but they live as though there is no God or no final judgment. They are “practical atheists” who are their own gods and do whatever they please.

Verse 1

· The Psalmist deal with an age-old question: “Why doesn’t God do something about the prosperity of the wicked and the misery of the afflicted?

Verses 2-13

· The Psalmist now goes on and describes what these evil people do. He sums up in four statements they believe. He knows they believe this because it determines their actions.

o “There is no God” vv 2-4

o “I will not be changed” vv 5-7

o “God doesn’t see me” vv 8-11

o “God will not judge me” vv 12-13

· Look at that again and see if that doesn’t describe lost people (people that don’t know Jesus in the forgiveness of sin). Perhaps, that could even describe people who claim to know God but are far from Him.

But the Psalmist answers these four attitudes in verses 14-18

Verses 14-18

· “God sees what is going on” v 14

o In fact, people’s belief or disbelief in the exist
ence of God is irrelevant. He lives!

· “God judges sin” v15

o Despite what people want to think, God is completely capable of breaking us and making us into His image.

o As believers, we have committed ourselves to Him and He loves us too much to leave us “messed up”.

o As far as those who are lost, God is able to alter circumstances to get their attention. How many times have people come to Christ because of some tragedy in their life? When they thought they were indestructible, the Lord humbled them and brought them to His.

· “God is King” v 16

o God existed before any of us (or any human!). He will outlive us (mortally speaking) and guess what? He has the authority to do whatever He wishes to do.

· “God defends His people” vv 17-18

o The Lord hears the cries of His people and is moved as a result.

o He protects us from harm so that we no longer have to fear!

Knowing that God sees what is going on, judges sin, is King, and defends us, here’s how we can pray for each other.