1.0 The Statement

Psalm 9 and Psalm 10 are so connected that some Ancient Versions, such as the Septuagint and Vulgate, have regarded them as one Psalm. Those who have accepted this unity of the two Psalms point to the fact that Psalm 10 has no title and that this implies continuity with Psalm 9.

There is, however, completeness in each of the Psalm which seems to suggest two separate Psalms, albeit by the same Psalmist (David). Psalm 10:1-11 is seen as an expansion of the brief Prayer with which Psalm 9 concludes. There are other instances of Psalms forming a pair, but which are, nevertheless, complete in them – Psalms 1 & 2, and Psalms 3 & 4. So, it is with Psalms 9 & 10.

• The Problem in Psalm 9 is the Enemy invading from Without.
• The Problem in Psalm 10 is the Enemy corrupting and destroying from Within.
• There were Wicked Nations around Israel – Psalm 9:5 “You has rebuked the Nations, You has destroyed the Wicked, and You has put out their Name forever.”
• There were also Wicked People within the Covenant Community of Israel – Psalm 10:4 “The Wicked, through the Pride of his Countenance, will not seek after God; God is not in all his thoughts.” People who claimed to know God, but whose lives proved otherwise – Titus 1:16 “They profess that they know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.”

The theme in Psalm 9 & Psalm 10 revealed the apparent impunity (freedom) with which Wicked Person goes, self-seeking way, regardless of God, allowing neither morality nor humanity to set limits to his methods/objectives. However, that perception is wrong as God is always in control of both man and situation. As in Psalm 9, we assume David’s Authorship in Psalm 10. Commentators describe Psalm 10 as a Communal Lament:

• Psalm 10 begins with a complaint about God’s Absence and the Wicked pride (Psalm 10:1-4).
• Psalm 10 then elaborated upon as the Wicked prosper at the expense of the Poor (Psalm 10:5-11).
• God is called to Intervene (Psalm 10:12).
• The Attitude of the Wicked towards God (Psalm 10:13).
• Judgement and Justice will be the result (Psalm 10:14-18).

The Prophetic import (significance) of Psalm 9 & Psalm10 must not be overlooked. Psalm 9 & Psalm 10 anticipated those days which are called by the Prophet: “the Time of Jacob’s Trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7 – 3½ Years of Great Tribulation), and this adds interest to that other expression which is to be founded in both Psalm 9 & Psalm 10, but nowhere else – “Times of Trouble” (Psalms 9:9; Psalm10:1). In these “Troubled Times” of the 3½ Years Great Tribulation the Lawless One – Antichrist (2Thessalonians 2:3-11) will persecute the Church until his (Antichrist’s) eventual destruction at the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ who will then restore Order and Reign unchallenged in Millennial Glory (Revelation chapter 20).

1.1 Questioning God?

Psalm 10:1 “Why stands You afar off, O LORD? Why hide You Yourself in times of trouble?” – The Psalmist begins with two bold questions:

• “Why stand You afar off, O LORD? Why hide Yourself in times of trouble?” These two questions (“the 2 why?”) reflect the heart-cry of the Psalmist (David). To the Psalmist (David) God appears to be watching from a distance:
• Why the LORD hides Himself in these times of trouble? The burden would be easier to bear if He (God) is near.
• Mary and Martha feel the same when they exclaimed through their tears: “Lord if You had been here” (John 11:21,32).
• Those who love the Lord Jesus once asked: “Master, care You not?” (Mark 4:38).

It is not so much the trouble, the Psalmist (David) faces, but rather God hides His Face and His standing afar off, that is perplexing to His (God’s) People. This human perception is also shared by:

• Isaiah – “Verily, You are a God who hide Yourself, O God of Israel, the Saviour” (Isaiah 45:15).
• Job – “On the left hand, where He does work, but I cannot behold Him; He hides Himself on the right hand, that I cannot see Him” (Job 23:9).

God hiding His Face, is called “the silent of God,” is to draw us to Himself – James 4:8a “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”  God hiding His face is a “need-be,” not only for trial, but for heaviness of heart under trial – 1Peter 1:6 “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold trials.” 

God’s delay is to encourage trust and to teach us that God has a greater plan for us (Romans 9:22-23). The Person who is facing problem must remember that if the Lord Jesus is seemed at times to be “silent,” it is not so – “He (God) is always a very present help in trouble” for His Saints and His hiding of Himself temporarily, is but part of His Plan and Purpose for our ultimate good.

The “time of trouble” (Psalm 10:1c) should be times of confidence; fixedness of heart on God would prevent fainting – “And He spoke a parable unto them to this end, that men ought to always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1). Spurgeon says: “The Refiner is never very far from the mouth of the furnace when his gold is in the fire.” The Lord Jesus may appear to be at a distance for several reasons:

• On the one hand, our sins may make Him seem distant when the real distance is our own doing.
• Our doubt may make Him seem distant, even Jesus could do no mighty work in Nazareth because of the People’s unbelief (Mark 6:5).
• On the other hand, God, for His own reasons, may choose not to act now. As we have seen in Psalm 9, He may be exercising His Passive Wrath by letting the Problem runs its course. Often, the matter is one of “timing,” and the Eternal God is not accountable to our schedule.
• The Psalmist’s (David’s) complaint about God’s distance is elaborated upon in the parallel half of Psalm 10:1 – “Why hides Yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1b). The noun “trouble” means “death, destitution.” In Jeremiah 14:1 the same word connotes “the time of drought.”

The Psalmist (David) wrestles with the age-old problem, “Why does not God does something about the prosperity of the Wicked” (Psalm 10:2-4,7,10,15) and “the misery of the Afflicted” (Psalm 10:2, 8-10, 12, 14, 17, 18). This age-old problem is also taken up in Psalms 13:1-3; Psalm 27:9; Psalm 30:7; Psalm 44:23-24; Psalm 73; and Psalm 88:13-15, as well as Job 13:24 and Jeremiah 14). In this context of Psalm 10, God seems distant:

• The Wicked Prosper (Psalm 10:5).
• Prayers go “unanswered” (Psalm 10:1).
• There is no Justice (Psalm 10:2-5).
• Where is God? (Psalm 10:1).

The Wicked are marching through the Land, but the Lord Jesus seems to be distant and unconcerned (Psalm 10:1-5). During the past century, millions of Godly People have lost their homes, jobs, possessions, families and even their lives because the ruthless deeds of Wicked Leaders, and where was God? The unfolding of the “drama” is recorded in Psalm 10:1-18.

1.2 The Portrait of the Wicked

Psalm 10:2-11 “The Wicked in his pride does persecute the Poor; let them be taken in the devices (schemes or plots) that they have imagined. For the Wicked boasts of his heart’s desire, and blesses the Covetous, whom the LORD abhorred. The Wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God; God is not in all his thoughts. His ways are always prospering; Your (God’s) judgements are for all his enemies, he sneers at them. He has said in his heart, ‘I shall not be moved; I shall never be in adversity. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue is trouble and iniquity (lawlessness). He sits in the lurking places of the villages; in the secret places he murders the innocent; his eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless. He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den; he lies in wait to catch the Poor; he catches the Poor when he draws him into his net. So, he crouches, he lies low, that the helpless may fall by his strength. He has said in his heart, ‘God has forgotten; He (God) hides His faces; He will never see.”   

There is no other Psalm that describes the mind, the manners, the works, the words, the feelings, and the fate of the Wicked (Evildoer) with so much propriety, fullness, and light, as Psalm 10. These find their root in pride (Psalm 10:2) and boasting (Psalm 10:3).

There is a contrast between the Wicked (Evildoer) and the Poor (Weak, Helpless, Defenceless). Psalm 10:2-11, the Psalmist (David) paints a portrait of the Wicked (Evildoer) Person:

1.2.1 Prideful

Psalm 10:2a “The Wicked (Evildoer) in his pride.” – The Wicked Person is controlled by his own Passions – “Pride” (Psalm 10:2a); “boasts” (Psalm 10:3a); “blesses the Covetous” (Psalm 10:3b); “does not seek God” (Psalm 10:4a); “God is not in his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4b). The Wicked has “no thoughts” on God and thus enthroned his own ego.

• Pride is common to a human being. It is a trait that prompted Lucifer, later called Satan, to rebel against God, with the “5 I wills” (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19).
• Pride is the trait that causes the Person to follow his own will rather than God’s Will (Ephesians 2:3) describes the Believer before he received the Lord Jesus as his Lord and Saviour as “carrying out the desires of the body and the mind.” Isaiah 53:6 points out that “all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned – everyone – to his own way.”  

1.2.2 Persecutes the Poor

Psalm 10:2b “The Wicked in his pride does persecute the Poor.” In his Pride, the Wicked (Evildoer) persecuted the Poor (Weak, Helpless, Defenceless) – Throughout human history, there have been evil Person who deliberately target the Poor, the defenceless, and the Weak to take advantage of them.

In the Bible, “Poor” does not necessarily mean without money or poverty-stricken. Poor is more likely to mean that the Person is “weak,” “Helpless” and “defenceless” (lacks power). Sometimes the three go together.

• The term “persecutes” means “hotly pursues.” The Psalmist (David) evokes the feeling of hunting: Targeting and running down “the Prey.” Not only does the Evil Person target the Poor (Weak, Defenceless), but he also applauds himself for doing it – “In his pride does persecute the Poor” (Psalm 10:2a). The Wicked violently and actively engaged in crushing those who are Helpless.
• The Evildoer (Wicked) is the Prideful Person, who persecutes (hotly pursues after), suggesting that the Prideful Person (Wicked, Evildoer) takes advantage of the Poor (Weak, Helpless, Defenceless), indifferent to the Poor (Weak, Helpless, Defenceless), of to the Poor’s (Weak, Helpless, Defenceless) needs.
• The Prideful Person (Wicked, Evildoer) adept (skilful) with crafty and malicious plan manipulate the Poor (Weak, Helpless, Defenceless) for his own ends/gains.
• In Pride, the Wicked (Evildoer) hunts down the Poor (Weak, Helpless, Defenceless). This portrays the Wicked (Evildoer) as an Individual exhibits pride, self-importance, and a lack of empathy. He uses his power and influence to exploit and oppress those who are vulnerable, marginalized, or defenceless. Instead of using his position for the benefit of others, he seeks to exert control and preys upon the Weak (Poor, Helpless, Defenceless).

The Accusation: “The Wicked in his pride does persecute the Poor,” divides itself into two distinct charges – Pride and Tyranny; the one the root (Pride) and cause (fruit = tyranny) of the other. Richard Hooker states: “Pride is a vice which cleaves so fast unto the hearts of men, that if we were strip ourselves of all faults one by one, we should undoubtedly find it the very last and hardest to put off, Pride.”

1.2.3 Wicked Ensnared

Psalm 10:2b “Let them be taken in the devices (schemes or plots) that they have imagined. The Psalmist (David) prays in Psalm 10:2bfor God to catch evil Schemer in his own doings (Psalm 37:14-15). The Psalmist (David) desires God to “turn the tables” on the evil Person.

• The Book of Esther discloses wicked Haman’s scheming against righteous Mordecai. Haman even planned to hang Mordecai, but his scheme backfired, and he was hanged on the gallows he had built for Mordecai (Esther 7).
• The Psalmist’s (David’s) Petition reminiscent of Psalm 9:15-16. This demonstrates the common theme that God exercises His judgement through the moral order of life itself.
• The Wicked Person in planning the fall of others, really plan his own fall (Psalms 5:10; Psalm 7:14-16; Psalm 19:15). It is also true that the Person’s sin will find him out (Number 32:23).
• The phrase: “The Wicked is caught in the schemes that he devises” suggests that the Wicked eventually becomes “entangled and ensnared” by his own wickedness.
• The Wicked schemes and manipulative actions, intended to benefit himself at the expense of others, ultimately lead to his downfall. The Evil’s arrogance blinds himself to the consequences of his actions, and he (Wicked) becomes trapped in the web he himself has woven.

Story: In a recent move against the Mafia’s control of the Fulton Fish Market in New York City, the case was broken open when Investigators discovered that the Mob Boss had transferred $168,000 from a high interest fund to a low interest bank account so that he could get free bonus TVs. Why would a man who was squeezing millions in cash payoffs from the fish market bother with free TVs? The answer is greed – and his greed trapped him (Donald Williams, “Mastering the Old Testament – Psalms 1-72” pg.92).

1.2.4 Boastful

Psalm 10:3a “For the Wicked boasts of his heart’s desire.” – The Psalmist (David) continues his exhortation by pointing out that the Wicked Person even “Boasts of his heart’s (soul’s) desire” (Psalm 10:3a), of pride and self-indulgence.Bragging Wicked Person is the worst and most contemptible of human being.

• The Wicked openly expresses and celebrates his evil desires and intentions, without remorse or consideration for the harm he causes to others.
• The Wicked Person lives to please himself and fulfil his selfish desire, and then brag about his sins (Psalm 10:3b). The Wicked words and actions are driven by selfishness and greed.  

1.2.5 Wicked Rejects God

Psalm 10:3b “He (Wicked) blesses the greedy and renounces the LORD.” – The Wicked Person not only engages in sinful behaviour but also encourages and supports others who share his corrupted values of “greediness.”

• The Wicked applaud and encouraged the People who pursue personal gain and material wealth at the expense of justice and righteousness.
• The Wicked reject and disregard God’s Person and Authority – Psalm 10:3b “Renounces the LORD,” by his (Wicked) actions and attitudes, renouncing the LORD.   

Summary – Psalms 10:2-3

Describes the characteristics and actions of the Wicked. He is characterised by pride, exploits the Weak (Poor, Helpless, Defenceless), and devising schemes that ensnare the Weak (Poor, Helpless, Defenceless).

• Psalm 10:2-3 shows forth the Wicked Person’s boast of his evil desires and supports the greedy while rejecting God and His Authority.
• Psalm 10:2-3 serves as a reminder of the temporary nature of the Wicked apparent prosperity and the ultimate justice that God will bring upon him (Wicked).
• Psalm 10:2-3 encourages the Righteous to trust in God’s Sovereignty and Trustworthiness, even in the face of wickedness and injustice.
• Psalm 10:2-3 reflects the lament and frustrations at the apparent prosperity and success of the Wicked, despite his unrighteous deeds and actions.
• Psalm 10:2-3 serves as the reminder that actions of the Wicked may seem triumphant in the present, but his fate is in the hands of God. The Psalmist (David) seeks solace in the Knowledge that God is Just and will eventually bring His Judgement upon the Wicked.

1.2.6 An Atheist

Psalm 10:4 “The Wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.” – The Wicked Person David described in Psalm 10:3 is too proud to acknowledge God exists – Psalm 10:3b “Renounces the LORD.” The Wicked believes he has no need of God. He even denies God’s existence.

• The Wicked “turns up his nose,” in his proud countenance (Psalm 10:4a), denying God’s Existence – Psalm 10:4 “The Wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.”
• The Wicked denies the existence of God, and thus, disregards the sanctity of human life. Because the Wicked thinks there is no God, he sees no reason to value human life. Therefore, such the Person is willing to prey on the Poor (Weak, Helpless, Defenceless), for his own gain (Psalm 10:2).
• The Wicked, as a Prideful Person, sneers at the idea of God, such an Individual reflects the attitude of Lucifer (later called Satan – Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19).
• The Wicked, by declaring that “there is no God,” the Wicked Person takes a position, which is inherently foolish – Psalm 14:1 “The Fool says in his heart, there is no God.” – Psalm 14:1 declares such the Person as “atheistic Fool as corrupt Worker of abominable deeds.”
• The Wicked describes in Psalm 10:11, imply that God forgets or does not notice his sinful deeds – Psalm 10:11 “He (Wicked) has said in his heart, ‘God has forgotten; He (God) hides His face; He will never see.” 

The Wicked, in his Pride and Self-sufficiency, will not seek God because “God is not in his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4b). A literal translation renders this phrase, “God is not there in the whole of his desire.” The Pride of the Wicked is the Principal Reason why he will not seek after God:

• Pride consists in an unduly exalted opinion of Oneself.
• Pride is, therefore, impatient of the Rival, hates the Superior, and cannot endure a Master.
• Pride deceives and lulls Person into a false sense of security. This in turn causes him not to seek God but to rely upon his own thoughts instead of seeking the LORD’s Guidance.

It is evident that nothing can be more painful to the proud heart than the thought that he needs God. It is not in man to direct his ways (Jeremiah 10:23); therefore, we must continually seek the LORD for His (God’s) Wisdom in all matters, great and small.

Bonhoeffer states: “When Jesus calls a man, He bids him come and die.” Only with the death of the ego will the Person truly seeks God. For the Wicked Person, however, not only is God not the object of his search, but God does also not even enter his mind. Thus, the Psalmist says: “God is in none of his thoughts” (Psalm 10:4b).   

1.2.7 Grievous Person

Psalm 10:5 “His (Wicked) ways are always prospering (grievous); Your (God’s) Judgements are far above, out of his sight; as for all his enemies, he (Wicked) sneers at them.” – The word “prospering” could be termed as, “grievous,” which is contexture to Psalm 10:5. The word “grievous” means “to pain; be pained” (Young’s).

First – the Wicked Person who neither fears God causes grievous pains to the People around him – Psalm 10:5a “His (Wicked) ways are always prospering (grievous).”

Second – , the Wicked Person is not able to discern God’s judgements and not aware of God’s judgement – Psalm 10:5b “Your (God’s) judgements are far above, out of his sight.”

• In the Wicked Mind, God is forgotten (Psalm 10:4b), so are His (God’s) Judgements (Psalm 10:5b).
• The Wicked entertains the notion that God is not concerned on how he behaves/acts. The absence of immediate punishment upon his wrongdoings is always a strong argument for the Wicked Person to continue with his Wrongdoings. 
• The Wicked does not believe God will intervene on behalf of the Poor (Helpless, Weak, Defenceless) and does not foresee the calamity of his ways.
• The Wicked fails to see the Avenging Hands of God and feels free to do what he likes and goes his own way. “Out of his sight and out of his mind.”
• The Wicked, is the more he sins, the less he knows of God. God does not become part of his experience, as his heart is hardened.
• The Wicked fails to see that this is part of God’s Judgement (C/F Pharaoh’s hardened heart in Exodus).

Third – Sneering – Not only is God absent from the Wicked Person’s Experience, but his Enemies are also too weak to dent his ego – Psalm 10:5c “As for his enemies, he puffs (sneers) at them.” The word “puffeth” (sneered) literally means “puff, blow and snort.” The picture is that of a charging bull, panting in anger. The Wicked treats his enemies with contempt, blowing them in derision (scorn). The Wicked “sneers” at his enemies with contempt (Psalm 10:5c).

• Asaph describes the grievous Wicked in Psalm 73:8, as scoffing and speaking with malice and threatening oppression. The Wicked blaspheme God (Psalm 73:9). However, the Wicked will come to a disastrous end. God will make them fall to ruin, and He will sweep them away utterly by terrors (Psalm 73:18-19).
• The Wicked Person assumes that God does not see what he is doing (Psalm 10:11), or God does not exist to see his (Wicked) sinful deeds (Psalm 10:4), therefore, no punishment is to be expected. That false sense of security causes the Wicked to breathe out contempt for all his Enemies – Psalm 10:5b “He sneers at them.” 

1.2.8 Prideful Confidence

Psalm 10:6 “He (Wicked) has said in his heart, ‘I shall not be moved; I shall never be in adversity.”

First, the Wicked has said in his heart – The phrase, “he has said,” means that this is deliberate and settled character. What is described is not the freak of passion; it is a deliberately formed prideful confidence. The phrase “in his heart,” means that the Wicked has purposed this; he has said this to himself in the spirit of self-promotion and prideful confidence.

Second, “I shall not be moved.” (Psalm 10:6b) – The Wicked is confident in his present condition, and he sees no changes, into the future. The idea of continuance is instinctive in the human mind – Ecclesiastes 1:9 “The thing that has been, it is that which shall be.” The Wicked has formed his plans so wisely, that he believes that he has nothing to worry, not now or in the future.

Third, “I shall never be in adversity” (Psalm 10:6c) – Margin, “Unto Generation and Generation,” expresses the correct rendering.  The idea of the Wicked, as expressed is that he and his family would continue in the present stage, of prosperity, in all Generations. That the permanent foundation is laid for success is affirmed in all future Generations.

The Wicked who leave out God in his thought (Psalm 10:4b) and in his life (Psalm 10:3b, 4a), often expresses Prideful-Confidence (Psalm 10:6).

• The Wicked assumes that his character and deeds (actions) are free from consequence – Psalm 10:6 “He (Wicked) has said in his heart, ‘I shall not be moved; I shall never be in adversity.” The Wicked thinks that he is impervious to harm, and God’s judgement.
• The Wicked who always “get-his-way,” expects the same “happenings,” in the future; he has no anticipation of God’s judgement that he will face- Psalm 10:5b “Your (God’s) judgements are far above (the Wicked), out of his (Wicked) sight.”
• The Wicked thinks that “to-morrow will be as today, and much abundant” (Isaiah 56:12).
• The Wicked thinks that he will be exempted from “adversity.” – Psalm 10:6b “‘I shall not be moved.” I shall never be in adversity.”
• The Wicked, falsely secure against both God and his Enemies, the Wicked Person inwardly boasts in arrogance, saying in his heart: Psalm 10:6b “I shall not be moved; for I shall never be in adversity.”
• The Wicked fears no Adversity and Adversaries. In His arrogance he boasts that there is no Adversary that can move against him. In other words, he believes, “nothing can touch him.” Indeed, he holds himself to be the Captain of his Fate. Here is the evident of the functional atheism, the ego eclipsing God. The Wicked Attitude is in contrary to God’s Word:
• The Wicked boasts “I shall not be moved” (Psalm 10:6b) is contrasted with Isaiah 40:6-7 “All flesh is grass…….the grass withers…….surely the People are grass.”
• The Wicked boasts that “I shall never be in adversity” (Psalm 10:6c), but Jesus warns: “A foolish man who built his house upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it” (Matthew 7:26b-27).

God is longsuffering; the Wicked thinks that he can get away with his Wickedness – Ecclesiastes 8:11“Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Peace and Prosperity give him a false sense of security that will end very suddenly (Luke 12:13-21; 1Thessalonians 5:1-3). Jesus warns that the rich man who builds bigger barns for a more prosperous life forgets one thing – his own mortality – “You fool! This night your soul will be required of you” (Luke 12:20).

Storey: “Pompey, when he had in vain assaulted the City and could not take it by force, devised this stratagem in way of agreement: he told them he would leave the siege and make peace with them upon condition that they would let in a few weak, sick, and wounded soldiers among them to be cured. They let in the Soldiers, and when the City was secure, the Soldiers let in Pompey’s Army” (Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Treasury of David,” pg. 47).

1.2.9 Destructive Evil

Psalm 10:7 “His (Wicked) mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue is trouble and iniquity (lawlessness).” – Psalm 10:7 speaks forth three accusations against the Wicked – Profanity – “Mouth is full of cursing;” Lies – “And deceit;” and Abuse – “Oppression.”

First, the Wicked Person is “Troublesome lawless Person” in his speech (“tongue is trouble”) and behaviour (“Iniquity – Lawlessness” – Psalm 10:7b). Whenever the Wicked speaks – “Deceit and evil {trouble},” are expressed in his life.

Second, the Wicked exposes his heart through his mouth – Matthew 12:34b “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” – This is not a “little” evil but a mouthful of it (threefold: “Cursing, deceit, fraud”). To begin with, he is “full of cursing and deceit (lies) and fraud (oppression= threats)” (Psalm 10:7a; Romans 3:14). Whenever the Wicked opens his mouth, his words are not blessings but cursing, lie and oppression:

• The word for “cursing” here when used in Legal and Covenantal Settings means “Oath.” In the mouth of the Wicked Person, however, it is an Oath gone badly. 
• “Deceit” (or “treachery”) is crafty speech, hiding truth for evil ends.
• The word for “fraud” (Oppression) comes from the root meaning “to tread under foot, overcome.” The Wicked Person uses his mouth to intimidate, to mislead, and to force submission. The Wicked Person in his Pride persecutes the Poor (Helpless – Psalm 10:2). Here the context is “Oppression” = Fraud = Threats (Psalm 10:7a).   

What a catalogue of vices! There may be an allusion (reference) to a poisonous Serpent. The venom is in his mouth and under his tongue. It is the character of Person who, himself, is called “that old Serpent” (Revelation 12:9; 20:2).

Third, Devious (Deceitful) – There is more, however: Psalm 10:7b “Under his tongue is mischief (trouble) and vanity (evil).” The Phrase “under his tongue” represents things that the Wicked Person relishes (tastes). He keeps them under his tongue trouble and evil. The word “trouble” means “toil” or “labour.” The same word in Jeremiah 20:18 “Why came I forth out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?” Is parallel to sorrow.

The Wicked Person brings to pass purposes through devious and deceitful schemes. When Apostle Paul appeals to the Old Testament in Romans 3:10 to prove that “there is none righteous, no, not one,” he quotes from Psalm 10:7 of this Psalm’s comprehensive picture of evil.

1.2.10 Vicious Person

The Wicked Person is a Vicious Person – Psalm 10:8 “He (Wicked) sits in the lurking places of the villages; in the secret places he murders the innocent; his eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.” – The Psalmist (David) indicted (charged) the Wicked Person for preying on the Poor (Weak, Helpless, Defenceless) for his own gain (Psalm 10:2-3). In Psalm 10:8, continues that sense of predatory evil.

• The Wicked comes to the place where he will stop at nothing to further his purposes, even the “murder” of Helpless (Psalm 10:8); the “murder,” is not the physical, but attitudinal of cruelty. The Wicked Person has deception on his tongue, and now he finds the Helpless from which to deceive him (Helpless).
• The Wicked “murders (attitudinal),” the Helpless in a dark alley. This reflects his cruelty rather the actual murder – The Wicked is a Callous (Heartless) and Cruel Person – “Murder of the Helpless.” 
• The Psalmist (David) turns from what the Wicked Person thinks and says in Psalm 10:5-7 to what the Wicked does – Psalm 10:8 “He (Wicked) sits in the lurking places of the villages; in the secret places he murders the Innocent; his eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.”

The Downward Plunge of the Wicked takes them from being Prideful (Pride – Psalm 10:2) to Boasting (Psalm 10:3-4), and then to Cursing (Psalm 10:7), and all manner of Deceit (Psalm 10:7b), to predatory evil (Psalm 10:8) – he makes deliberate effort to surprise and attack, hiding until he finds someone weak enough to easily overcome.

The depravity of the Wicked Person’s action is highlighted through the term rendered “helpless,” (Heb: “he’lekah”), and refers to the Person to be pitied, often the Person who is Poor (Weak, Defenceless). 

1.2.11 Ruthlessness

Psalm 10:8b “His (Wicked) eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.” – The Wicked (Evil) Person feels free to be depraved and arrogant, assuming there is no God to judge him. Like Predator, he ambushes the Helpless Person. The Wicked seeks out the Helpless as his target and turns his “radar” on them: Psalm 10:8b “His (Wicked) eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.” In a Series of Poetic Picture, the Psalmist turns from what the Wicked Person thinks and says to what he does.

1.2.12 Ambushes

In Psalm 10:9a the metaphor changes: He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den; he lies in wait to catch the Poor.” The ambush (“lurking places”) in the village now becomes the Lion’s den or covert. The emphasis continues to be on secrecy and deception, as the “Innocent” and “Helpless” of Psalm 10:8 is “the Poor” of Psalm 10:9. This imagery of hunting, surprise and ambush is common in the Book of Psalms when referring to the Wicked (Evil) Person to harm others (Psalm 17:12; Psalm 37:32; Psalm 56:6; Psalm 59:3; Psalm 64:4).

Apostle Peter shows Satan as a lion that hunts for someone to attack and kill (1Peter 5:8). Peter exhorts the Believers to be serious minded and alert to the Devil’s modus operandi. He also speaks to the Believers how to avoid falling victim to the Devil. He (Peter) writes “Resist him (Devil), firm in our faith” (1Peter 5:9). The Faith Peter refers to is “the body of doctrine” in God’s Written Word (the Bible). Knowing what the Bible teaches is indispensable to the life of victory.

1.2.13 Ensnaring

Sustaining the theme of the hunt, the Psalmist switches image to that of the Trapper at the end of Psalm 10:9b: “He lies in wait to catch the Poor; he catches the Poor when he draws him into his net.”The Poor (weak, Helpless, defenceless) man is ensnared like a bird. The Psalmist (David) speaks with astonishment, at the wickedness of the Wicked, and at the patience and forbearance of God. God prepares the heart for Prayer, by kindling our desire, and strengthening our faith, fixing the thoughts, and raising our affections, and then God graciously intervened for the greater good.

1.2.14 Deception

Psalm 10:10 “So, he (Wicked) crouches, he lies low, that the Helpless may fall by his Strength.” – Psalm 10:10 summarises the various descriptive terms used: “So he crouches, he lies low, that the Helpless may fall by his strength.” Continuing this comparison of the Wicked with the Posture of the Lion when he seeking to pounce upon his prey. The Psalmist speaks of his crouching in a grovelling (smarmy) sense.

The Wicked is waiting to fall upon the Helpless, even using his companions to further his Purposes. The result is the same: the Helpless (Poor) falls, overpowered by the Wicked Person: 

• Why this Evil?
• Why do Dictators rise with a Machiavellian (deceitful) contempt for human life?
• Why do Corporations exploit cheap labour and natural resources in Third World, leaving Land and People stripped bare?

Evil Person feels free to be depraved and arrogant, assuming there is no God to judge him. Like Predators, these wicked people ambush helpless people. Despite their wrong assumptions, God keeps His Promises. He will judge the Wicked and defend His people.

1.2.15 God Overlooked

Psalm 10:11 “So, he has said in his heart, ‘God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see it.’”  –  The Psalmist (David) concludes: “(The Wicked) has said in his heart, God hath forgotten, He hides His face; He will never see it” (Psalm 10:11). The denial of God leads to the denial of Humanity. To lose the Knowledge of who God is to lose the Knowledge of who we are:

• The expression “to say in his heart” is to adopt a mental attitude and conviction.
• “God has forgotten” signifies, in other words, that God is not Omniscient. He has a memory lapse. He does not keep records and I am not accountable to Him.
• “God hides His face;” that is, God is not Omnipresent. He cannot see what we do, and, therefore, we can do as we please.
• “God will never see;” that is, the future is ours, not His. As the Sovereignty of God is reduced, the supposed freedom of Humankind is increased. The drama of Eden becomes a tired rerun.

Totally blinded by his Pride, the Wicked believes that God will forget, hide His face, and not know his evil acts.

Although historically there were many domestic Oppressors in David’s Reign to who Psalm 10:8-11 can be applied, nevertheless it can be inferred that these Verses prophetically describe the deceitful time of the Antichrist. Through Pride and Boasting, the Antichrist will attempt to deceive the Whole World, oppressing the Righteous, lurking in hiding places for the Saints (Revelation chapters 13 to19).

• Psalms