Introduction

God, where are You? Why are you allowing things to happen this way? Do You even care?

If we are honest, we have all asked ourselves these questions at times as we have been watching the news, using our BBC News app, or just looking around at our own circumstances. We look around and see those opposed to God thriving in business, politics and in the culture at large. We see God’s People mistreated and God’s ways rejected.

All too easily we can become oppressed, depressed or obsessed with what is going on- wondering where God might be and wondering what God is up to. This was where David was as he penned the words of Psalm 10. And as we read Psalm 10 we see there is a:

Plea to Recognise

Portrayal to be Heeded

Prayer to be Imitated

Portrait to Behold

David wrestles in prayer with God- wondering where God as the wicked appear to prosper. Then we see David look to God and see Him as He really is- the God who is present to help the helpless and bring justice for the oppressed.

In Christ we see this reality most wonderfully and we rejoice that He will bring about His perfect justice in His perfect time. And as our vision of God, and His work in the Gospel, increases we are given a proper perspective of life and God’s Will for His People.

So, turning to Psalm 10 we see there is first a… Plea to Recognise.

‘It’s not fair!!’

Living in a home with three boys we hear this phrase more often than I would like. It is the cry that life is not as it should be- an apparent evil or injustice has occurred.

Essentially, as we turn to verse 1, we are witnessing the Psalmist cry out to God: It’s not fair! He says:

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

The psalmist is pleading with God to recognise his deep concern- he wants to know why God is allowing evil and injustice to succeed and why the wicked seem to suffer no consequences for their actions.

David is deeply concerned by the fact that the wicked seem to prosper, the righteous suffer. He effectively asks God: God, where are You and do You even care about what is happening?

The Psalmist, posing a question that will not be answered until the end of the Psalm, is confused and concerned because things are not the way they are supposed to be. Davd expected things to be the way God promised. The Psalmist is well aware of God’s promises in Psalm 1 and of verse 6 in particular:

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.

And remember, the Psalmist has just declared in Psalm 9:

 The Lord reigns forever;
he has established his throne for judgment…

…For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.

The Psalmist has taken God at His Word and so cannot grasp why God appears to be distant and unmoved by distress. David is amazed at God’s apparent inactivity on the part of His People and so he comes to God in prayer.

So, as we ponder these words, let us recognise, firstly, that we can take our concerns and confusion to God when our world seems upside down and God seems distant. And, secondly, let recognise that David’s deep concern here is because he took God’s promises and God’s Word seriously. David took God at His Word and was completely immersed in the truth of God’s Word. David lived believing God’s Word was true and it was the very Word of God- that God said it and that would settle it.

So let us consider: day by day do we see ourselves, our church and our world through the lens of God’s Word? And are our prayers fuelled by a desire for God’s purposes or our own?

The Psalmist teaches us that we must bring all of our lives under the authority and truth of God’s Word. The way we think and act and speak must be continually shaped by what God has said in His Word. The way we interact with the world must not be shaped by what we see on our screens or read in the papers- God’s eternal truth, not man’s finite perspective must guide us.

Here is a suggestion: rather than watching the news every night spend more time in God’s Word and seek the guiding of His Spirit in prayer. This is how God equips us to respond to our circumstances, discern the times, and live in a way that honours Him.

We must recognise the plea of the Psalmist is legitimate and laudable. David sees that all is not as it should be, it causes him deep concern and he takes that concern to God in prayer. We see this in verses 2 to 11; here we must understand that there is a… Portrayal to be Heeded.

In verses 2 to 11 David uses profound words and penetrating pictures to describe the wicked. From the language used it is clear that the people the Psalmist describes were familiar with God, but they have openly rejected the godly way of life in favour of their sinful desires. There is a warning here for us today: any of us can have our hearts turned away from God if we do not carefully focus upon what is right and true and find our true joy and satisfaction in God alone.

In the rich and varied portrayal of the wicked we see the arrogance, aggression and apparent prosperity of the wicked. The key point to note in all of this is found in verse 4:

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

The wicked view themselves as self-made men and are consumed by self-importance. And in their arrogance, they have nothing but contempt for God and reject His Way.

The wicked have actively rejected God and chosen to live without Him. In effect, they have exchanged worship of God for worship of self. Now their chief end is to avoid God and selfishly pursue their own desires.

Like David, we might assume that someone who openly rejects God would be struck down by God. But the reality is that these people prosper. And because they have laughed at God and have still been successful, their arrogance grows. They assume that they must be invincible. And so, in verse 6 we read:

He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”

In their pride the wicked believe a lie.

The wicked are not only arrogant and proud, but aggressive and violent too. They reject God in arrogance and this rejection of God expresses itself in aggression against God’s People. They turn on the poor and the helpless because they first turned against God.

First, in verse 7, their words are violent. Evil shows itself most often in verbal violence; as Jesus said: …out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks…’.

And from a violent heart comes violent actions. In verses 8 to 10 the psalmist pictures the wicked as wild beasts lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce on their helpless victim. The wicked are treacherous and cruel. They don’t care about the people they attack- all they do is use whatever power they have to exploit others for their own ends.

What compounds the Psalmist’s concern is that rather than face judgement from God they have grown prosperous, even at the expense of God’s People. And with the absence of God and His judgment the wicked have grown bolder- they mistake God’s patience for absence and no longer sense any accountability to God.

We see, then, that problems abound in the Psalmists portrayal of the wicked. However, we should not miss the fact that the real problem in these verses is the Psalmist’s perspective.

To the careful reader it seems as if the Psalmist’s view of God has been blocked or obscured by the oppression he feels and the apparent ‘bigness’ of the oppressor. David has become so obsessed with what the wicked are doing that he fails to see what His God is doing.

If we are honest, we too are often like David. We become so obsessed with seeing the evil and wickedness all around us that we lose sight of what is ultimately true. Our focus can so easily shift from what God has done at the Cross and what He promises to do in His perfect time.

We must pay attention to what David is expressing in these words- let us be careful not to lose sight of the glory of God and end up sharing the perspective of the ungodly. Instead, let us pursue a right vision of the glorious and gracious God we see displayed in the life and death and resurrection of Christ. May He always be the true source of our security and satisfaction.

And let us also see, in Psalm 10, that there is a… Prayer to be Imitated.

The Sun is the biggest object in our solar system. It’s about 100 times wider than Earth and you could fit 1.3 million Earths inside it. And yet, you can block it from your view simply by placing your hand in front of your eyes. It is all about perspective.

Often during troubling times we find ourselves losing perspective. We fail to see God as He really is- glorious and gracious. We fail to recognise how God is always at work in our lives and in the world. We minimise God. As a result we see the world through human eyes and fail to glorify God and enjoy Him.

The answer to this is to follow the Psalmist’s example and wrestle in prayer and bring the issue before God. We see the Psalmist do this in verses 12 to 15.

In verse 12 David cries out to God with a bold appeal for God to deal with the wicked:

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

This boldness in prayer comes from a new perspective as David remembers who God truly is.

In verses 14 and 15 the Psalmist declares His faith in God as One who is faithful and powerful. We see here that our God is the God who will work for His people and keep all His promises.

David has lifted His eyes to God and can now see beyond the wicked. He can once again see God as He truly is: powerful, just, merciful, compassionate and caring. With a renewed vision of God David patiently waits in prayer.

In our moments of distress, we must cry out to God in faith knowing that He is a God who will act on behalf of His People. When life and circumstances confuse, intimidate and oppress us we must remember that in Christ we have a God who has committed Himself to us so we can commit ourselves to Him.

As the song says: ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus…and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.’. In Christ, God has shown in the most awesome way that He hears and sees and considers the grief of His People.

At the Cross God has broken the arm of The Wicked Man and has broken the power of the Evil One. At the Cross our account is settled and we have peace with God- we are made His treasured possession. It is with this perspective that we face all other wickedness and oppression in our world and in our lives.

So we must keep a true picture of God before us, we must remember that we have a… Portrait to Behold.

If you have ever been to an art gallery or seen a program about artworks, you will know that when an artist paints a portrait there is usually intention to display the finished piece in all its glory.

In verses 16 to 18 David, after wrestling in prayer, finishes by painting a wonderful portrait of God. His intention is to display God in all His glory so that God’s People will see God as He truly is and be sustained in all their circumstances.

The Psalmist declares that God is King: He is the eternal, powerful ruler over all time and space. God’s reign is established forever and no one will ever overthrow Him.

And then David declares that the all-powerful God is also a God who draws close to His People and listens to them. What a wonderful thought that God hears His People; that God hears you and me!

And God is one who cares and acts for the oppressed and needy. God displays His awesome power, and the oppressors are defeated and flee never to strike terror again; they are mere humans, but He is the King!

Notice the contrast of this portrait with verse 1 where God appears distant and disinterested. We see that David has wrestled with God and come away with a fresh vision of who He is and how He works. David now sees beyond his current circumstances, and he can behold the glory of God and His eternal plans.

As God’s People today we need to remember that we are called to live through our present circumstances with an eternal, heavenly perspective. We remember that the Cross is the portrait we are to behold.

The Cross is the ultimate display of God’s power in weakness, of wisdom in foolishness.

The Cross is the ultimate display that God cares for justice.

The Cross is the ultimate display of how God acts for His People and establishes His eternal reign of grace and truth.

As God’s People we are to behold the Cross and all that was won for us there. All our circumstances and all that is happening in the world must be seen from the perspective of the Cross. Before we look out we must first look up and see that God displayed His desire to act for the good of His People and the glory of His Name.

Conclusion

Psalm 10 begins with a question: Are You there God? Do You care? Then the Psalmist wrestles with God in prayer until he regains a heavenly perspective on his circumstances and a clarified vision of the grace and glory of God. David finishes with a wonderful portrait of God as One who is powerfully present in the lives of His People and the wider world. In this portrait we are drawn to the Cross and the ultimate display of God’s majesty, sovereignty, love and grace. As God’s People in this time and place let our focus be on the Cross and Our God who is able and willing to work all things for our ultimate good and His unmatched Glory.