Psalm 10 Jan. 4 1Why do You stand far off, Yahweh? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble? 2In arrogance the wicked hunt down the weak. They are caught up in the schemes that they devise. 3For the wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings; he blesses the greedy, and condemns Yahweh. 4The wicked, in the pride of his face, has no room in his thoughts for God. 5His ways are prosperous at all times. He is proud, and Your laws are far from his sight. As for all his adversaries, he sneers at them. 6He says in his heart, I shall not be shaken. For generations I shall have no trouble. 7His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression; beneath his tongue is mischief and iniquity. 8He lies in wait near the villages. From ambushes, he murders the innocent, his eyes are secretly set against the helpless. 9He lurks in secret as a lion in his ambush. He lies in wait to catch the helpless. He catches the helpless, when he draws him in his net. 10The helpless are crushed. They collapse. They fall under his strength. 11He says in his heart, God has forgotten. He hides His face. He will never see it.  12Arise, Yahweh! God, lift up Your hand! Don’t forget the helpless. 13Why does the wicked person condemn God and say in his heart, God won’t call me into account? 14But You do see trouble and grief. You consider it to take it into Your hand to deal with. You help the victim and the fatherless. 15Break the arm of the wicked, as for the evil man, seek out his wickedness until You find none. 16Yahweh is King forever and ever! The nations will perish out of His land. 17Yahweh, You have heard the desire of the humble. You will prepare their heart. You will cause Your ear to hear, 18to judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that man who is of the dust may terrify no more.  

Commentary

 10:3 Condemns Yahweh- Not consciously, in so many words. But when we face God’s principles and decide whether or not we will live by them or believe them, we effectively place God in the dock, and by doing so the wicked condemn Him. But when He is condemned by human judgment, God overcomes at the last (Rom. 3:4).
10:4 Pride is a sin because it pushes God out of our consciousness, replacing Him with self.
10:7,8 These verses are clearly about the “wicked” who rebel against God; and yet before we shake our heads too disapprovingly, remember that they are quoted about us all  in Rom. 3:14. For at some times and in some ways, we are all this wicked- if we examine ourselves properly.
10:18 Man who is of the dust- One basic outcome of believing in man’s mortality and origin from “dust” is that we won’t fear people.