Psalms 10:12-18: God’s Intervention

This is a continuation of Psalm 10 1-11: The Portrait of the Wicked

1.3 Call for God’s Intervention

Psalm 10:12-13 is the call for God’s intervention to address the afflictions of the Helpless (Poor). The Psalmist prays for the LORD to act on behalf of the Helpless (Poor), who are the victim of the Wicked. The Psalmist expresses confidence that God will not forget the Helpless (Poor – Weak, defenceless). The Psalmist expresses confidence that God will forget the Helpless (Poor – Weak, Defenceless). Instead, that God will see their troubles.  

1.3.1 Arise O God

Psalm 10:12a “Arise, O LORD! O God, lift up Your hand!” –  Having fully described the words, deeds, and behaviour of the Wicked (Psalm 10:1-11), the Psalmist now abruptly calls upon God to intervene. The Psalmist uses two different Names for God:

  • The LORD (Jehovah), the God of the Covenant.
  • El and Elohim (God), the God of Power.

The Wicked boasts that God will not ask him to give an account of his (Wicked) deeds and attitudes or judge them (Psalm 10:11), but God says: “Be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). The LORD keeps His Covenant Promises to His People, and there will be the Day of Reckoning. 

David in Psalm 7:6 states: “Arise, O Jehovah!” This exclamation: “Arise, O LORD, O God” (Psalm 10:12a), is like that of Numbers 10:35b “Rise up, LORD” and the triumphant march of the Nation of Israel.  The Psalmist in faith calls out to God to Arise. If God does not act, human cruelty will triumph, and the Innocent Poor (Helpless) will suffer.

1.3.2 The Pleads

Psalm 10:12b “Do not forget the humble.” – The Call for God’s Intervention is immediately followed by the Plea to the LORD: Psalm 10:12b “Do not forget the humble.” The Psalmist pleads with God to remember the evil that has been perpetrated against the Humble (Poor/Helpless). The charge that “God has forgotten” will be answered when God Avenges those who have been abused. The word “humble” is the same word translated as “Poor” in Psalm 10:2; or “Helpless” in Psalm 10:10. 

1.3.3 Give Account


First, the question: Psalm 10:13a “Why do the Wicked renounce (reject) God?” The Wicked despises God, or treat God with disregard, by not paying respect to God’s Word, His (God’s) Presence and God’s Character. The Wicked violates God’s Laws, and spurns God’s counsels and entreaties, not fearing God’s judgement., The same thought has already appeared in statement in Psalm 10:3b “The Wicked renounces the LORD.”  


Second, “the Wicked has said in his heart.” (Psalm 10:13b) – This expression is repeated for the third time in Psalm 10 (see Psalm 10:6; Psalm 10:11). The idea is that the rebellious nature of the Wicked comes from within “his heart.” 


Third, “You (God) will not require an account.” (Psalm 10:13c) – The Hebrew is simply “You will not seek:” the idea is, that God would not make an investigation on the Wicked Person’s conduct/actions. The Wicked has the audacity (boldness) to revile (despise) God and think that He will not require himself to give an account of his evil acts against the humble (Poor/Helpless) – The verb “require” is used in Legal Contexts for interrogation or investigation. The Wicked Person thinks that God would not make an investigation/take action on his (Wicked) actions. The Wicked Person acts as if he is not responsible to God, and as if it is a settled point that he would never be called to give God an account.

God will not tolerate that puny man should despise Him. The Wicked has boasted in his presumption that the LORD will not require an account of what he (Wicked) has done. Though God appears to have forgotten, it is not so: “God requires that which is past” (Ecclesiastes.3:15). The LORD sees, knows, and remembers, and will eventually requite (take reprisals for). 

1.4 The Consequences

Psalm 10:14-15 “But You have seen, for You observe trouble and grief, to repay it by Your hand. The Helpless (Poor) commits himself to You; You are the Helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the Wicked and the Evil Man; seek out his wickedness until You find none.” – In contrast to the Wicked, the Psalmist (David) trusts the Living God, even in times of His (God’s) Silence. While the Wicked claims God’s Ignorance and Absence, he (Wicked) knows otherwise.

God has seen the Pride (Psalm 10:2), the Boasting (Psalm 10:3), the greed (Psalm 10:5a), the murderous spirit (Psalm 10:8), and the oppression and grief of the Poor (helpless – Psalm 10:9-10). The word “spite” (grief) includes “vexation and anger.” The Helpless (Poor) is vexed by the injustice he received. He grieves at his oppression and loss:

1.4.1 God sees

Psalm 10:14a “You (God) have seen.” – The LORD is not standing afar off from the Oppression, for “You (God) have seen” (Psalm 10:14a)

  • This is the most emphatic contradiction that was possible to the Wicked Person’s “He (God) will not see it” (Psalm 10:11). God sees, notes, bears in mind, and never forgets every act of wrongdoing that the Wicked Person commits, and especially acts of oppression.
  • This offers the rebuttal to the Wicked Person who claims God does not see his deeds. That arrogance comes from the assumption God is not interested in his deeds (Psalm 10:11).
  • In the ancient era, orphaned children were arguably the weakest, most vulnerable members of society. Also, in a difficult position were widows. Speaking of God as one who actively helps “the fatherless” refers to His (God’s) immense love and care for even “the least” of mankind. Apostle James encourages his Readers to practice true religion by “visiting orphans and widows in their affliction.” (James 1:27).

However, the Psalmist (David) states that God sees (Psalm 33:13). He (God) grasps every detail of the trouble and grief the Wicked inflicts on the Helpless. The two Hebrew words translated “trouble and grief” combines to cover the physical and emotional suffering. God is not only aware of what evil Wicked Person does; He (God) also knows the anguish the Wicked Person causes.

1.4.2 God’s Justice

Psalm 10:14b “For You observe trouble and grief, to repay it by Your hand.” God is on the side of the Innocent (Poor = Helpless). The Psalmist (David) knows that God will bring justice – Psalm 10:14c “The Poor commits himself unto You (God).”

  • As the Righteous Judge, God is the Helper of the fatherless – Psalm 10:14d “You (God) are the Helper of the fatherless.” 
  • Spurgeon says: “God is the Parent to the Orphans.”
  • Hosea says: “In You the fatherless finds Mercy” (Hosea 14:3). 

Despite the Wicked Person’s arrogance, God has the situation under control (Job 42:2). The Helpless can trust in Him.

  • Peter, in his first epistle to the persecuted and exiled Jewish Christians, he (Peter) encourages his Readers to cast all their anxieties on God, because He (God) cares for them (1Peter 5:7).
  • In Romans 8, Paul assures Believers that nothing can separate us from God’s Love revealed in Christ Jesus. The Believers can depend on the truth that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).

God will eventually requite (revenge) – When, at last assize (tried by judge), the Books are open (Revelation 20:11-15), there will be the Divinely accurate account of all that the Wicked has done and God will judge accordingly – “For You (God) behold mischief (trouble) and spite (grief), to requite (consider) it with Your hand” (Psalm 10:14b). God will render justice to the Perpetrator (Wicked Person) of Evil.

1.4.3 Power Broken

Psalm 10:15a “Break the arm of the Wicked and the evil man.” – The Psalmist (David) now turns from the Promise of Mercy for the fatherless to judgment upon Oppressors (Wicked). The Psalmist (David) Prays: “Break the arm of the Wicked and evil man” (Psalm 10:15a). The Arm is a symbol of Strength and Power. The metaphor of “breaking the arm” of the Wicked means rendering him Powerless. If the Arms of the Wicked Person are broken, he cannot continue his attack on the Helpless (Poor).

1.4.4 Final Accounting

Psalm 10:15b “Seek out his wickedness until You (God) find none.” – The Psalmist (David) not only cries that the Strength and the Power of the Wicked be broken but that the LORD would search out every trace of evil in the Wicked Person and judged them, until nothing remains – Psalm 10:15b “Seek out his wickedness until You (God) find none.” As in Psalm 10:13, the verb for “seek” is used in the Legal Sense, “require an account.” When the LORD arises (c/f Psalm 10:12) He (God) will repay the Wicked with judgement and help the fatherless.

God’s apparent distance and silence will be broken, and the question of Psalm 10:1“Why do You stand afar off, O LORD?” will be answered. The persecuted Believer should pray in faith for the LORD to avenge him and cause the Wickedness of Evil Person to be dealt with.

Psalm 10 demonstrates “the whole value system.” The Wicked Person pursues the Helpless (Poor), the Innocent, the Helpless, the Humble, the Orphan (fatherless), while the LORD saves the Helpless (Poor), and Innocent. God is on the side of the defenceless (fatherless), He (God) breaks the alienated of this world. He stands with the “Outsider,” and “Underdog.” 

1.5 Declaration

Psalm 10:16-18 “The LORD is King forever and ever; the Nations (Gentiles) have perished out of His Land. LORD, You have heard the desire of the Humble (Poor = Helpless); You will prepare their heart, You will cause Your ear to hear. To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may oppress no more.” – As Psalm 10 draws to the close, the Psalmist expresses his Full Confidence that God is in Control. In these final three verses (Psalm 10:16-18), David again used three key terms which he used in Psalm 10: “The Oppressed” (Psalm 10:18); “Do justice” (Psalm 10:16-18); and “the fatherless” (Psalm 10:18). Psalm 10:16-18 is set in the present, entreating God to intervene. 

1.5.1 God’s Sovereignty

Psalm 10:16a “The LORD is King forever and ever.” – The Psalm begins on a note of concern (Psalm 10:1) and concludes on the note of confidence and triumph (Psalm 10:16-18).

First, Psalm 10 ends with a ringing declaration: “The LORD is King forever and ever” (Psalm 10:16a; Psalm 29:10; Psalm 146:10):

  • The LORD Reigns as King. Revelation 4:8, the four Living Creatures cry day and night, “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” This Eternal Character of God also applies to the Lord Jesus Christ. He states in Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega….who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
  • The LORD’s Sovereignty is for all Eternity, is seen throughout all of Scripture.
  • Moses sang the same refrain after Pharaoh’s defeat at the Red Sea: “The LORD shall reign forever and ever” (Exodus 15:18).

The Psalmist’s (David’s) declaration of the LORD’s Kingship expresses not only the Psalmist’s (David’s) confidence in the LORD to vanquish His Enemies but is also declares Israel’s confidence in the LORD. 

Second, the result of God’s Reign: Psalm 10:16b “The Nations (Gentiles) are perished out of His Land.” There is no room in the realm for rebellious Person/Nation:

  • Refers in its immediate context to the expulsion of the Gentiles (góyim) from Palestine.
  • In that day of Messiah’s Glory His Angels will gather out of His Kingdom “All things that offend and them which do iniquity” (Matthew 13:41).

In the O.T., the term “the Nations” is often used as a reference to Gentiles (góyim): those not part of the Nation of Israel. Symbolically “the Nations” represents the separation between those who belong to God and those who defy Him. Since God said that certain lands would belong to Israel (Genesis 12:7; Genesis 15:18-21), The Psalmist (David) is confident opposing Nations would be displaced. Ultimately, this will be fulfilled in the Judgement of Unbelievers and the Gathering of the Redeemed into God’s Eternal Kingdom (Revelation 20:4, 6).

1.5.2 Adoration

Psalm 10:17a, the Psalmist turns confession to adoration: “LORD, You have heard the desire of the Humble” (Psalm 10:17a). With great confidence, the Psalmist (David) now declares that the LORD has heard the Prayer of the Humble (Poor = Helpless). The same word used for “humble” here is translated “Poor” (Helpless) in Psalm 10:9. God knows the need of the “Humble” (“Poor, Helpless”) for intervention and deliverance.

1.5.3 The Lord Strengthen

The Psalmist continues: Psalm 10:17b “You will prepare their heart.” The LORD strengthens the heart of the Humble (Poor = Helpless) to believe that His (God’s) Ear will hear his Prayer and give him the desire of his heart. Here “prepare” means “to establish, make firm, secure.” God both hears and acts and makes the heart of the Poor (Helpless = Humble) secures in Him – Hebrews 11:6“God is the Re-warder of those who diligently seek Him.”

1.5.4 God hears

God inclines His ears to the Prayers of the “Humble” (Poor = Helpless) – Psalm 10:17c “You will cause Your ear to hear.” God graciously bends to hear the cry of the Humble (Poor = Helpless). Even when God does not answer immediately, resulting in the Person’s frustration (Psalm 10:1), Believer can rest in the knowledge that He does, in fact, heard the Believers.  Knowing that God hears us should bring encouragement and strength.

1.5.5 God Judges

The Result is that God will “do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may oppress no more.”” (Psalm 10:18):

  • God will vindicate His People and do Justice to the fatherless and the Oppressed – Psalm 10:18a “To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed.” The word “judgement” means “justice” – toward the Orphans and the Humble (Poor = Helpless).
  • The time will come when the “man of the earth” will no longer oppress God’s People. God’s judgement to the Oppressors is destruction – “May oppress no more.” God Reigns, Peace Reigns and His (God’s) Land are restored to the Humble (Poor = Helpless).
  • The phrase “man of the earth” (“them that dwell on the earth”) is found often in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 3:10; Revelation 6:10; Revelation 8:13; Revelation 11:10; Revelation 12:12; Revelation 13:8, 12, 14; Revelation 14:6; Revelation 17:2,8) and describes not only where these Unbelievers live but what they live for – the things of the earth. The “Earth-Dwellers” may seem to have the upper hand today, but at the Day of Judgement, they will be the “Sorry-Group-of-People.”
  • Let God’s People rest in this, that the ultimate triumph of the LORD is assured and one day the Oppressor will be no more.

God is always Presence even at times when it seems that the Wicked is triumphing over the Humble (Poor = Helpless). Psalm 10 ends on the Note of Thanksgiving. The LORD in the Greatness of His Everlasting Kingship Reigns: 

  • The Wicked will not oppress us forever, for the LORD will take away the Cup of Trembling from our hands and cause our Oppressor to drink from it (Isaiah 51:22-23).
  • “Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, saith the LORD” (Romans 12:19).

We are not to faint in the time of adversity, as in due time we will see God acting in our behalf against our Enemies. Praise the LORD!

Bibliography

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