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Psalm Ten
New King James Version (NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 10
This
psalm in the Septuagint version, and those that follow it, is a part and
continuation of the preceding psalm, and makes but one with it; hence in these
versions the number of the following psalms differ from others, and what is the
eleventh with others is the tenth with them, and so on to the hundred
fourteenth and one hundred fifteenth, which also are put into one; but in order
to make up the whole number of one hundred and fifty, the hundred sixteenth and
the hundred forty seventh are both divided into two; and indeed the subject of
this psalm is much the same with the former. Antichrist and antichristian times
are very manifestly described; the impiety, blasphemy, and atheism of the man
of sin; his pride, haughtiness, boasting of himself, and presumption of
security; his persecution of the poor, and murder of innocents, are plainly
pointed at; nor does the character of the man of the earth agree to well to any
as to him: his times are times of trouble; but at the end of them the kingdom
of Christ will appear in great glory, when the Gentiles, the antichristian
nations, will perish out of his land, Psalm 10:1.
Psalm 10:1 Why
do You stand afar off, O Lord?
Why do You hide in times of trouble?
YLT
1Why, Jehovah, dost Thou
stand at a distance? Thou dost hide in times of adversity,
Why standest thou afar off, O Lord?.... This psalm begins
with a complaint which proceeds on two general heads; the one is with respect
to God, his distance from his people, and desertion of them in times of
trouble, in this verse; and the other is with respect to the wicked in some
following ones. God by his infinite essence and power is everywhere, and is
never far off from any of his creatures; and though his glorious presence is in
heaven, which, with respect to us on earth, is a land afar off, yet this
hinders not but that there is often great nearness between God and his people;
and when he stands afar off from them in their apprehensions, it is when he
withdraws his gracious presence from them, and defers help and assistance to
them, and does not immediately and directly come and visit them: this they
cannot bear, they complain; they wonder that, seeing they are the objects of
his love, this should be his manner of conduct towards them; they expostulate
with him, and inquire for what end and upon what account he should so use them,
and most earnestly desire that he would haste and come unto them and help them;
see Psalm 22:1;
why hidest thou thyself
in times of trouble? when God seems to take no notice of his people, does not look
upon them, but turns a deaf ear to them, he is said to hide his face, his eyes
and ears, from them: and this is sometimes the case of the best of saints, as
it has been of Job, David, Heman, and others; and though this is done in a
sovereign way by God, who comes and goes when he pleases; for sensible communion
with him as much depends upon his sovereign pleasure as the gift of his grace
itself does; yet, generally speaking, the denial or withdrawing of his gracious
presence is by way of resentment for some disagreeable conduct and behaviour of
his people; and is consistent with his everlasting and unchangeable love to
them, but is what fills them with grief and sorrow; nor can they: forbear
making mournful complaints upon it; and this is aggravated when it is a time of
trouble with them, either of soul trouble, by reason of the prevalence of
unbelief, and the force of Satan's temptations; or of bodily affliction; though
times of trouble here seem to design times of persecution, as may be concluded
from the connection of these words with the following; and antichristian times
are times of persecution: during the reign of antichrist, in which he is
suffered to make war with the saints and overcome them; and during the church's
being in the wilderness the space of one thousand two hundred and sixty days or
years, God may seem to stand at a distance, and to hide himself from her.
Psalm 10:2 2 The wicked in his
pride persecutes the poor; Let them be caught in the plots which they have
devised.
YLT
2Through the pride of the
wicked, Is the poor inflamed, They are caught in devices that they devised.
The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor,.... The
"poor" is the good and gracious man, who is commonly poor in this
world's things, and is sensibly poor in spirit, or sensible of his spiritual
poverty; or he is so called because "afflicted", as the word
signifies; and he is afflicted because he is poor: these two characters
generally go together. The "wicked" man is the wicked one, the
lawless one, the man of sin, and son of perdition, antichrist, the great persecutor
of Christ's poor saints and faithful witnesses, more or less, ever since he has
been in power; and which arises from the "pride" of his heart, not
bearing that any should refuse to pay homage to him, contradict his will, or
dissent from him. The wordF19ידלק
"fervide persequitur", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator;
"ferventer", Gejerus; so Ainsworth. signifies to follow after, to
pursue, as Jarchi, Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and Ben Melech, interpret it; and
"to pursue hotly", as it is rendered in Genesis 31:36; and denotes the vehemence
and heat of his wrath and fury, with which antichrist persecutes the followers
of the Lamb; hence persecution is compared to the heat of the sun, Matthew 13:6; Some render the words,
"through the pride of the wicked the poor is burned", or "the
poor burns"F20"Incenditur", V. L. "ardet",
Tigurine version, Muis, Cocceius. : which may be understood either literally,
of the burning of the martyrs of Jesus by antichrist, as here in Queen Mary's
days; and which was foretold, that some of the saints should fall by flame, as
well as by sword, captivity, and spoil; and to which that part of the
description of Christ answers, whose feet are said to be like fine brass, as if
it burned in a furnace; and which is prefaced to the epistle to the church at
Thyatira, which is an emblem of the apostate church: see Daniel 11:33; or figuratively, of the poor
saints burning with grief at the pride and wickedness of the man of sin, and
with zeal for the honour and glory of God; see 2 Corinthians 11:29, Song of Solomon 8:6;
let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined: we read the
words as a petition; and so the sense is, let the wicked persecutors be taken
in the wicked and crafty schemes which they have devised for the hurt of
others, as they are, or will be; see Psalm 9:15. But the psalmist is not yet
come to petitions, nor does he until Psalm 10:12; but is all along describing
the wickedness of the wicked one. It seems better therefore to render the words
as do the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin versions, "they are taken in the
devices that they have imagined": and the meaning is, that the poor, who
are persecuted by the wicked, are taken by their crafty schemes they lay for
them, as Jarchi interprets it, and are put to death by them. So these words
show the issue and event of persecution: and this sense best agrees with the
boasted success of the wicked man Psalm 10:3.
Psalm 10:3 3 For the wicked boasts of
his heart’s desire; He blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord.
YLT
3Because the wicked hath
boasted Of the desire of his soul, And a dishonest gainer he hath blessed, He
hath despised Jehovah.
For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire,.... As
antichrist does of his universal power over all bishops and princes, which his
heart was long desiring after; of his being Christ's vicar, Peter's successor,
and head of the church; and of having power in heaven, earth, and hell: he
boasts of his wealth and riches, of the righteousness and merits of saints, of
works of supererogation, a stock of which he pretends to have in his hands to
dispense to others: he boasts of his own holiness and infallibility, and of
miracles, signs, and lying wonders done by his creatures, and of his great
success in destroying those that oppose him; see Revelation 18:7. The words may be rendered,
"the wicked praiseth himself for the desire of his heart"F21כי הלל רשע
על תאות נפשו
"nam laudat improbus animam suam in desiderio ipsius", Junius &
Tremellius; so Michaelis. , so the Chaldee paraphrase; to which agrees Jarchi's
gloss,
"wicked
Esau praiseth himself, because he hath obtained the desire of his soul:'
and
thus it is usual for proud, haughty, wicked men, as the Assyrian monarch,
Nebuchadnezzar, and so the man of sin, to ascribe whatsoever they have or do to
their own power and prudence; see Isaiah 10:12, Daniel 4:30. Or they may be rendered,
"he praiseth the wicked for his heart's desire"F23"Quoniam
laudat ipsium pro desiderio animi sui", Tigurine version. ; or for his
lusts, for his indulging them: for a wicked man not only delights in committing
sin himself, but he also takes pleasure in those that do it; and some of the
antichristian party have even wrote in commendation of the most unnatural
lusts;
and blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth: the covetous
man is one that makes no use of what he has but for himself; and oftentimes
withholds that which is meet from himself, as well as from others; and who
makes use of unlawful ways to get, retain, and increase wealth, and is never
satisfied: such an one God abhors, because he is an idolater, he has other gods
before him; he worships his gold, be sets his affection on it, places his
confidence in it, and expects protection and security from it, to a neglect of
divine Providence; and yet the wicked man blesses him, calls his covetousness
frugality and good husbandry; ascribes what he has to his diligence, care, and
industry, and bestows gifts upon him. The words may be rendered, "the
covetous man blesses himself"F24ובוצע
ברך "et avarus benedicit sibi", Piscator;
so Ainsworth. ; with the good things he has laid up for many years; he
pronounces himself blessed, and promises himself a great deal of happiness, in
futurity; and ascribes all he has to his own hands. Or, "the covetous man
curses, he abhors the Lord"F25"Avarus maledicit sive
blasphemat Jehovam", Tarnovius, Hammond; so some in Michaelis. ; for the
same word in the Hebrew language signifies to bless and curse, Job 1:5, which Aben Ezra on the place
observes; and it is applicable enough to antichrist, who opens his mouth in
blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, his tabernacle, and them that
dwell in heaven; see Revelation 13:6.
Psalm 10:4 4 The wicked in his proud
countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.
YLT
4The wicked according to the
height of his face, inquireth not. `God is not!' [are] all his devices.
The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after
God,.... We supply it, "after God"; as do the Targum and
Kimchi on the place: the sense is, he will not seek to God for counsel or
assistance, he will not pray unto him; which is the character of every
unregenerate man, Romans 3:11; or, he will not inquire into
the will of God, to know what is right or what is wrong, but will do what seems
best in his own eyes: and this arises from the pride of his heart, which shows
itself in his countenance, in his proud and haughty look. It is said of the
little horn, who is antichrist, that he has a look more stout than his fellows,
Daniel 7:20. The words may be rendered,
"the wicked inquires not into the height of his anger"; so Ainsworth
observes; that is, of God's anger; he is not concerned about it; he neither
fears God nor regards men. Jarchi's sense of the words is,
"all
his thoughts say unto him, God will not inquire into everything that I shall
do, for there is no judgment.'
God is not in all his thoughts; nor in any of
them, for they are evil continually; and if he does at any time think of him,
his thoughts of him are wrong; he thinks he is altogether such an one as
himself: or, "all his thoughts are, there is no God"F26אין אלהים כל
מזמותיו "non Deus, omnes cogitationes
ejus", Montanus, Vatablus, Muis; "nullum esse Deum hae sunt omnes
cogitationes ejus", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Ainsworth. : though
he does not choose to say so, he thinks so; at least, he wishes it may be so;
and he works himself into such impiety and atheism as to deny the providence of
God, and thinks that he does not govern the world, nor concern himself with
what is done below; that he takes no notice of men's actions, nor will call
them to an account for them; and that there will be no future state or
judgment, in which secret as well as open things will be made manifest: or, as
the Chaldee paraphrase glosses it, "that all his thoughts are not manifest
before the Lord".
Psalm 10:5 5 His ways are always
prospering; Your judgments are far above, out of his sight; As for
all his enemies, he sneers at them.
YLT
5Pain do his ways at all
times, On high [are] Thy judgments before him, All his adversaries -- he
puffeth at them.
His ways are always grievous,.... To God and to his
people; or, "his ways cause terror"F1יחילו
"terrent", Cocceius. , so Aben Ezra; make men fear; as antichrist has
made the whole world tremble at him, Revelation 13:4; or, "his ways are
defiled", as the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin render it; for to him is
nothing pure, his mind and conscience being defiled, Titus 1:15; or, "his ways always
remain"F2"Permanent sive perdurant", Lutherus,
Gejerus. ; they are always the same, there is no change in them for the better:
or they "prosper"F3"Prosperantur", Musculus,
Calvin, Ainsworth, Piscator. as Jarchi interprets it; and this is sometimes
stumbling to the saints, Jeremiah 12:1;
thy judgments are far above, out of his sight: meaning
either the laws, statutes, and commandments of God, which are not taken notice
of by him; but his own decrees or orders are set in the room of them; or the
examples of punishment inflicted on wicked men, as on the old world, on Sodom
and Gomorrah, the Egyptians, and other nations; these are not regarded, when they
should be a terror to him;
as for all his
enemies, he puffeth at them; who are the poor saints, and are looked
upon by antichrist as feeble creatures, and all their efforts against him and
his kingdom are treated with contempt: he blows upon them, and suggests that he
can cause them to fall with the breath of his mouth, or strike them down with a
straw or a feather; see Psalm 12:6.
Psalm 10:6 6 He has said in his heart,
“I shall not be moved; I shall never be in adversity.”
YLT
6He hath said in his heart,
`I am not moved,' To generation and generation not in evil.
He hath said in his heart,.... To and within himself,
he thought in his own mind; for the thought is the word or speech of the mind, λογος ενδιαυετος;
I shall not be moved; from his prosperous and
happy condition, abounding: with riches and honours; from his seat of empire,
over kings, princes, and the nations of the world; flattering himself that it
would never be otherwise with him than it is: even "to generation and
generation", I shall not be moved; so the words may be rendered;
for I shall never be in adversity, or "in
evil"F4ברע "in malo",
Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Cocceius, Gejerus; so Ainsworth. :
meaning either the evil of sin; so asserting his innocence, wiping himself
clean of all iniquity, claiming to himself the title of "holiness"
itself, and the character of infallibility; giving out that he is impeccable,
and cannot err; when he is not only almost, but altogether, in all evil; and is
ο ανομος, the lawless
and wicked one, the man of sin, who is nothing but sin itself. The Targum
paraphrases the whole thus; "I shall not be moved from generation to
generation from doing evil"; and so it is a boast of impiety, and that
none can restrain him from it, no one having a superior power over him; see Psalm 12:4. Or the evil of affliction, or
calamity; wherefore we render it "adversity", so Jarchi and Aben Ezra
understand it: the note of the former is,
"evil
shall not come upon me in my generation,'
or
for ever; and the latter compares it with Numbers 11:15; Kimchi and Ben Melech
interpret it of long life. It is a vaunt of antichrist, promising himself a
continuance of his grandeur, ease, peace, and prosperity; in which he will be
wretchedly disappointed. The language and sense are much the same with that of
the antichristian Babylon, Revelation 18:7.
Psalm 10:7 7 His mouth is full of
cursing and deceit and oppression; Under his tongue is trouble and
iniquity.
YLT
7Of oaths his mouth is full,
And deceits, and fraud: Under his tongue [is] perverseness and iniquity,
His mouth is full of cursing,.... Or, "he has
filled his mouth with cursing"F5אלה פיהו מלא. God and good men, his
superiors, himself and others. The word signifies "an oath"; and may
design either a profane oath, taking the name of God in vain; or an oath on a
civil account, a false oath, taken with a design to defraud and deceive others,
as follows, and intends perjury; and this, as applicable to antichrist, regards
his mouth speaking great things and blasphemies against God, and uttering
curses and anathemas against the saints, Revelation 13:5;
and deceit and fraud; such as flattery and
lying, which are both used by him with an intention to impose upon and deceive.
The apostle, in Romans 3:14; renders both these words by
one, "bitterness"; which may be said of sin in general, which is a
very bitter thing; though it is rolled as a sweet morsel in the mouth of a
wicked man, yet in the issue it is bitterness to him: and it is applicable to
sinful words, which are bitter in their effects to those against whom they are
spoken, or who are deceived and imposed upon by them: and, as they refer to
antichrist, may have respect to the lies in hypocrisy spoken by him, and to the
deceitfulness of unrighteousness, by which he works upon those that perish, 1 Timothy 4:2;
under his tongue is mischief and vanity; alluding to
serpents, who have little bags of poison under their teeth; see Psalm 140:3; Kimchi and Ben Melech observe,
that the heart is under the tongue, being lower than it, and so denotes the
wickedness which that is full of, and devises continually, and is latent in it
until discovered; and is mischievous iniquity, injurious to God, and the honour
of his law, and to fellow creatures; and especially to the saints, whose
persons, characters, and estates, are aimed at; but in the issue it is all
vanity, and a fruitless attempt, being blasted by God, and overruled for good
to him; see Isaiah 54:17;
Psalm 10:8 8 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.
YLT
8He doth sit in an ambush of
the villages, In secret places he doth slay the innocent. His eyes for the
afflicted watch secretly,
He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages,.... Which
were by the wayside, where thieves and robbers harboured, and out of which they
came, and robbed passengers as they came by. The wordF6חצרים αυλας,
Symmachus in Drusius; "atriorum", Munster; so Hammond, Ainsworth,
& Michaelis. signifies "palaces" or "courts": and so it
is rendered by the Chaldee paraphrase and Syriac version; and so the allusion
is not to mean thieves and robbers, but to persons of note and figure. Hence
the Septuagint and Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, render it,
"he sitteth in lurking places with the rich"; and may be fitly
applied to the pope and his cardinals. Antichrist sits in the temple of God,
and by his emissaries gets into the villages, the particular churches and congregations
of saints, where they lie in ambush to do mischief, to corrupt their faith,
worship, and manners; and like thieves and robbers enter in to steal, kill, and
destroy;
in secret places doth he murder the innocent; the harmless
lambs and sheep of Christ; who, though they are not without sin in themselves,
yet are innocent with respect to the cause and the things for which they
suffer: these are the saints and prophets and martyrs of Jesus, whose blood is
shed by antichrist; and the taking away of their lives is reckoned murder with
God; and is so styled in the Scriptures, Revelation 9:21; though the antichristian
party call it doing God good service, and impute it to zeal for the good of
holy church; and yet this they choose to do in secret, by private massacres, or
by the inquisition; which having condemned men to death, delivers them over to
the secular power to execute the sentence on them: just as the Jews delivered
Christ to the Roman governor, to shift off the sin and blame from themselves;
murder being what no one cares to be known in, or chargeable with;
his eyes are privily set against the poor: the word חלכה, rendered "poor", is used nowhere but in
this psalm, in which it is used three times, here, and in Psalm 10:1; and in the plural number in Psalm 10:10. It is translated
"poor" both in the Chaldee paraphrase and Septuagint version, and in
those that follow them. In the Arabic language it signifies "black"F7"Chalae,
valde niger fuit", Golius, col. 646. , and may design such who are black
by reason of persecution and affliction, who go mourning all the day long on
account of sin, their own and others; and because of the distresses and
calamities of the church and people of God. These the eyes of the wicked watch
and observe, and are set against them to do them all the mischief they can;
their eyes are full of envy and indignation at them, though it is all in a
private and secret way. The allusion is to thieves and robbers, who hide
themselves in some secret place, and from thence look out for them that pass
by, and narrowly observe whether they are for their purpose, and when it will
be proper to come out and seize upon them.
Psalm 10:9 9 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.
YLT
9He lieth in wait in a
secret place, as a lion in a covert. He lieth in wait to catch the poor, He
catcheth the poor, drawing him into his net.
He lieth in wait secretly as a lion,.... The first beast in Revelation 13:2; is said to have a mouth
like a lion, and the second beast in Psalm 10:11; spake like a dragon; and both
design one and the same, antichrist, in his twofold capacity, civil and
ecclesiastical; this metaphor of the lion lying in wait secretly for his prey
denotes the insidious methods used by antichrist to destroy the faithful
witnesses of Christ; who lies like a lion
in his den, in the temple of God, now become a den of thieves;
he lieth in wait to catch the poor: to snatch and carry them
away captive as his prey; see Revelation 13:10;
he doth catch the poor when he draweth him into his net; this metaphor
is taken from fowlers, who spread nets, into which they allure and draw the
birds and catch them. The allurements, snares, and nets, which antichrist lays
to catch the poor saints and people of God in, are the riches and honours of
this world, great pretensions to holiness, devotion; and religion, and many
lying signs and wonders.
Psalm 10:10 10 So he crouches, he lies
low, That the helpless may fall by his strength.
YLT
10He is bruised -- he boweth
down, Fallen by his mighty ones hath the afflicted.
He croucheth and humbleth himself,.... As the
lion before he leaps and seizes on his prey, and as the fowler creepeth upon
the ground to draw the bird into his net and catch it; so the antichristian
beast has two horns like a lamb; though he has the mouth of a lion, and speaks
like a dragon, he would be thought to be like the Lamb of God, meek, and lowly,
and humble, and therefore calls himself "servus servorum", "the
servant of servants"; but his end is,
that the poor may fall by his strong ones; the word for
"poor" is here used, as before observed on Psalm 10:8, in the plural number, and is
read by the Masorites as two words, though it is written as one, and is by them
and other Jewish writersF8Jarchi, Kimchi, & Ben Melech in loc.
interpreted a multitude, company, or army of poor ones, whose strength is worn
out; these weak and feeble ones antichrist causes to fall by his strong ones;
either by his strong decrees, cruel edicts, and severe punishments, as by
sword, by flame, by captivity and by spoils, Daniel 11:33; or by the kings of the earth
and their armies, their mighty men of war, their soldiers, whom he instigates
and influences to persecute their subjects, who will not receive his mark in
their right hands or foreheads, Revelation 13:15. It is very observable,
that those persecuted by antichrist are so often in this prophetic psalm called
"poor"; and it is also remarkable, that there were a set of men in
the darkest times of Popery, and who were persecuted by the Papists, called the
"poor" men of Lyons: the whole verse may be rendered and paraphrased
thus, "he tears in pieces", that is, the poor, whom he catches in his
net; "he boweth himself", as the lion does, as before observed;
"that he may fall", or rush upon; with his strong ones, his mighty
armies, "upon the multitude of the poor".
Psalm 10:11 11 He has said in his heart, “God
has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see.”
YLT
11He said in his heart, `God
hath forgotten, He hath hid His face, He hath never seen.'
He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten,.... Meaning
either his own sins, because they are not immediately punished; wherefore he
hopes to go on for ever with impunity, but will be mistaken, for God will
remember the iniquities of Babylon, and render to her double, Revelation 18:5; see Amos 7:17; or else the poor ones he
oppresses; for though they seem for a while to be forgotten by God, they are
not, a book of remembrance is written for them;
he hideth his face; that is, from his poor saints, which is
true oftentimes; but then the use the wicked one makes of it is bad, namely, to
insult them on that account, and to imagine that it is grateful to God, and
doing him good service, to afflict and persecute them; and that God will never
regard them, nor return to them more, as follows;
he will never see it; or them; he will never
more look upon the poor, he will no more regard them, and take notice of them
and their afflictions; than which nothing is more false; for though he hides
his face for a moment, yet with everlasting kindness will he gather them to
himself; and he beholds all their oppressions and afflictions, and not as a
bare spectator; he sympathizes with them, and delivers them out of them. Or
"he will never" the wickedness committed by the wicked; which is a
very foolish thought, since what is done in the dark, and in the most secret
manner, is seen by God, the darkness and the light are alike to him; he is
all-seeing and ever-seeing, and everywhere seeing; and he it is that has made
the eye, and shall not he see? Psalm 94:5; the sense of the whole in
general is, that God takes no notice of good men or bad men, nor of what is
done by either of them; he does not concern himself with the affairs of this
world, which is an impious denial of divine Providence; see Ezekiel 9:9.
Psalm 10:12 12 Arise, O Lord! O God, lift
up Your hand! Do not forget the humble.
YLT
12Arise, O Jehovah! O God,
lift up Thy hand! Forget not the humble.
Arise, O Lord,.... See Psalm 3:7;
O God, lift up thine hand; either on the behalf of
his people, to help and deliver them; his hand may be said to be let down when
their enemies prevail, and to be lifted up or exalted when it does valiantly,
and works salvation for them; so when Moses's hands were let down Amalek
prevailed, and when his hands were lifted up Israel prevailed, Exodus 17:11; or against their enemies, to
strike them, to inflict punishment upon them, as God's hand is said to be
stretched out against the Egyptians, and to lie upon them, when he sent his
plagues among them, Exodus 7:4; and a dreadful thing it is to
fall both into and under the hand of the living God, and to feel the weight of
the lighting down of his arm with indignation. The Targum understands it as a
gesture of swearing; see Genesis 14:22; and paraphrases it,
"confirm the oath of thine hand"; either sworn in wrath against his
enemies, or in love to his people; either of which is sure and certain, and
according to the immutable counsel of his will;
forget not the humble; the followers of the
meek and lowly Jesus, the Lamb of God, by which character the saints are
distinguished from the antichristian party, Revelation 14:4; these are such who are
made so by the Spirit of God, who in conversion brings down the pride and
haughtiness of man, that Christ and his grace may be alone exalted; these have
the meanest thoughts of themselves, and the best of others; their motto is,
"less
than the least of all saints, and the chief of sinners;'
they
envy not the gifts and graces of others, and ascribe all they have and are to
the free grace of God; they are not easily provoked, they patiently bear
injuries, and quietly submit to the adverse dispensations of Providence: the
word in the original text is read "humble", but written "afflicted":
both characters generally meet together in the people of God; See Gill on Psalm 9:12; this prayer for the humble is a
prayer of faith; for though the humble may seem to be forgotten by God, they
are not, they are precious in his sight; he dwells among them, he gives more
grace unto them, he comforts them when disconsolate, he feeds them when they
are hungry, he teaches and guides them when they want direction, he lifts them
up when they are cast down, and beautifies them with salvation.
Psalm 10:13 13 Why do the wicked renounce
God? He has said in his heart, “You will not require an account.”
YLT
13Wherefore hath the wicked
despised God? He hath said in his heart, `It is not required.'
Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God?.... God may
be said to be contemned or despised, when his being, perfections, and
providence are denied, or called in question, or abused, Psalm 10:9; when his word is derided, the
great things of his law are counted as a strange thing Hosea 8:12, and the truths of his Gospel
are reckoned foolishness; and instead of these, the decrees, doctrines, and
traditions of men, are set up, as by antichrist; and when his ministers, and
especially his Son, are treated with disdain, Luke 10:16;
he hath said in his heart, thou wilt not require it, or "seek
it"F9לא תדרוש
"te non inquisiturum", Piscator, Michaelis; so Ainsworth. ; or
inquire after it, his iniquity; the sense is, that God will make no inquiry
after sin, and bring it into judgment, unto account, and under examination; or
will not make inquisition, that is, for blood, for the blood of the saints and
martyrs of Jesus, shed by antichrist; or will not require it at his hands, or
recompense vengeance for it: all which is false and vain; the contrary to it
will be found true.
Psalm 10:14 14 But You have seen, for You
observe trouble and grief, To repay it by Your hand. The helpless
commits himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.
YLT
14Thou hast seen, For Thou
perverseness and anger beholdest; By giving into Thy hand, On Thee doth the
afflicted leave [it], Of the fatherless Thou hast been an helper.
Thou hast seen it,.... Though the wicked
say God will never see, Psalm 10:11; he sees all things in general,
all men and all their actions; all are manifest and open to him, and everything
in particular, especially the wickedness of men; even that which is said or
thought in the heart;
for thou beholdest mischief and spite; that mischief
which arises from spite or malice in the heart; God beholds the inward
principle from whence it proceeds, as well as that itself; the mischief devised
in the heart, on the bed, and which lies under the tongue, designed against the
people of God, either to the injury of their characters and estates, or to
their bodies, and even to their souls, as much as in them lies, proceeding from
implacable malice and enmity to them;
to requite it with thy hand: of power, to retaliate
it upon their own heads, to render tribulation to them that trouble the saints,
which is but a righteous thing with God: or "to put it in thy
hand"F11לתת בידך
"ut ponas in manibus tuis", Vatablus, Cocceius. ; and the sense is,
that God looks upon all the injuries the wicked out of spite devise to do to his
people, and puts them in his hand, that they may be ever before him, and always
in his sight, and he will take a proper opportunity of avenging them. The
Targum interprets it of God's rewarding good men, as well as punishing the
wicked, paraphrasing the whole thus,
"it
is manifest before thee that thou wilt send sorrow and wrath upon the wicked;
thou lookest to render a good reward to the righteous with thy hand;'
the poor committeth himself unto thee: his body, and
the outward concerns of life, as to a faithful Creator; his soul, and the
spiritual and eternal welfare of it, as to the only Saviour and Redeemer; he
commits all his ways to him, as the God of providence and grace; and at last he
commits his spirit to him at death, as to his covenant God and Father: the
words may be rendered, "the poor leaveth upon thee"F12עליך יזוב חלכה
"super te relinquit pauper", Montanus, Gejerus, Michaelis; so
Cocceius. ; that is, he leaves himself and his upon the Lord; he leaves his
burden on him, he casts all his care upon him, as he is advised and encouraged
to do; he leaves his cause with him to plead it for him, who will plead it
thoroughly and maintain it: the phrase is expressive of the poor's faith and
hope in God; hence the Chaldee paraphrase renders it, "on thee will thy
poor ones hope"; for the supply of their wants, and for help and
assistance against their enemies;
thou art the helper of the fatherless; God is the
Father of them, provides for them, supplies, supports, and defends them; nor
will he in a spiritual sense leave his people orphans or comfortless, but will
visit and help them; see Psalm 68:5;
Psalm 10:15 15 Break the arm of the
wicked and the evil man; Seek out his wickedness until You find
none.
YLT
15Break the arm of the wicked
and the evil, Seek out his wickedness, find none;
Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man,.... His power
and strength, so that he shall not be able to hold the sword, to strike a blow,
or do any hurt to the people of God; see Ezekiel 30:21. This prayer is in some
measure already fulfilled in antichrist, the man of sin, or pope of Rome;
though his kingdom is not broke to pieces; as it will be when Christ's kingdom
shall be more visibly set up, to which reference is had in Psalm 10:16; see Daniel 2:44; yet his strength is weakened,
his arm is broken, he has not the power he had, nor can he tyrannise and do the
mischief he once did: "but as for the evil man"F13ורע "improbum quod attinet, requiras", &c.
Gejerus; so Michaelis. , for so the words should be read, there being an
"athnach" under the word "wicked", which ends the
proposition there:
seek out his wickedness till thou find none; which designs
a thorough search after sin, full punishment of it, and the entire ruin and
destruction of the wicked; and the sense is, that God would make a strict
inquiry into the wickedness of the man of sin, which he promised himself he
would not, Psalm 10:13; and that he would punish him
and his followers to the uttermost for it, until there should not be one of the
antichristian party found upon earth; with which sense agrees Psalm 10:16; see Psalm 104:35.
Psalm 10:16 16 The Lord is King
forever and ever; The nations have perished out of His land.
YLT
16Jehovah [is] king to the
age, and for ever, The nations have perished out of His land!
The Lord is King for ever and ever,.... Christ
was King from everlasting, and during the Old Testament dispensation he was
promised and prophesied of as King; and he had a kingdom when he was here on
earth, though not of this world; nor was it with observation. At his ascension
to heaven, and session at the right hand of God, he sat down upon the same
throne with his Father, and was made or declared Lord and Christ, and appeared
more visibly in his kingly office; and in the latter day it will be yet more
manifest that he is King of saints, and when indeed he will be King over all
the earth, and his kingdom will be an everlasting one: he will have no
successor in it, nor will any usurper obtain any more; the devil, beast, and
false prophet, will be cast into the lake of fire; all antichristian states
will be destroyed, and all authority, rule, and power, put down; nor can his
kingdom ever be subverted, he must reign till all enemies are put under his
feet; he will reign to the end of the present world, and with the saints a
thousand years in the new heaven and earth, and in the ultimate glory to all
eternity; nor will his government cease when he shall have delivered up the
kingdom to the Father, only the mode of the administration of it. Here begins
the song of praise; the reign of Christ is matter of joy; see Psalm 97:1;
the Heathen are perished out of his land: not the seven
nations which were driven out of the land of Canaan, to make way for the people
of Israel, that was long ago; nor the wicked and degenerate Jews, called the
Heathen, Psalm 2:1; compared with Acts 4:27; on whom, and on whose temple,
city, and nation, Christ's native land, wrath is come to the uttermost; and
they are perished out of it: nor hypocrites out of churches, which are Christ's
property; but the antichristian party out of the world, which is Christ's land
by creation, as God, and by the gift of his father to him, as Mediator. The
followers of antichrist are called Gentiles, and the nations of the earth, Revelation 11:2; and these will be no more;
they will be utterly destroyed, when the man of sin shall be consumed with the
breath of Christ's mouth and the brightness of his coming. The seventh vial
will clear the world of all the remains of Christ's enemies: this also is cause
of rejoicing, Psalm 132:16.
Psalm 10:17 17 Lord,
You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will
cause Your ear to hear,
YLT
17The desire of the humble
Thou hast heard, O Jehovah. Thou preparest their heart; Thou causest Thine ear
to attend,
Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble,.... See Psalm 10:12; for the coming of Christ's
kingdom, and that the kingdoms of this world may become his; for the
destruction of antichrist, and for the avenging the blood of the saints. The
prayers of God's people sometimes lie in inward and secret desires of the soul,
and are not expressed in words; and these desires are all before the Lord, and
are well known unto him; yea, such prayers of the heart, and which come from
it, are principally regarded by him; they being his own preparation, as is
suggested in the next clause, and the breathings of his Spirit; and especially
the desires of humble souls are regarded, whose prayers he never despises, nor
sends them away empty, but fills with his good things;
thou wilt prepare their heart; for prayer, by pouring a
spirit of grace and supplication on them, impressing their minds with a sense
of things to be prayed for, and drawing out the desires of their souls unto
them, and making intercession for them with groanings according to the will of
God, and so helping their infirmities; and it is God's work to prepare the
heart for prayer, as well as to put words into the mouth, Proverbs 16:1; or "thou wilt direct
their heart"F14תכין לבם "dirigis", Vatablus; "diriges",
Tigurine version. ; to the object of prayer, himself, and to the things to be
prayed for, for they know not what to pray for, nor how as they should; and to
what may encourage to it, as the love of God, the covenant of grace, the
person, blood, and righteousness of Christ: or "confirm" or
"establish their heart"F15"Confirmas", Piscator,
Gejerus, Michaelis; "confirmes", Cocceius; "confirma",
Junius & Tremellius. ; strengthen and fix them, that they be not wavering
and doubtful, but certain and assured of success, believing that their desires
will be fulfilled in God's own time;
thou wilt cause thine ear to hear; God has an ear to hear
the prayers of his people, nor is his ear heavy that it cannot hear; his ears
are open to the cries of righteous ones; nor will he ever turn a deaf ear to
them, but will give an answer in his own time and way; which is an instance of
his sovereign grace and goodness. These words express the faith of the psalmist
in God being a God hearing and answering prayer, particularly in things
relating to the ruin of antichrist and his followers, and to the kingdom and
glory of his son Jesus Christ.
Psalm 10:18 18 To do justice to the
fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more.
YLT
18To judge the fatherless and
bruised: He addeth no more to oppress -- man of the earth!
To judge the fatherless and the oppressed,.... That is,
God will cause his ear to hear the cries of his people, so as to avenge the
wrongs done to the fatherless, and them that are oppressed by the man of sin;
see Revelation 11:18;
that the man of the earth may no more oppress: or
"terrify"F16לערוץ
"perterrefacere", Piscator; "terrere", Musculus, Vatablus;
so Ainsworth. , the dear children of God, and faithful witnesses of Christ, as
he has done; for by "the man of the earth" is not meant carnal
worldly men in general, "the wicked of the earth", as the Targum
renders it; who are so called because their original is from the earth, and
they dwell in earthly tabernacles, and shall return to the earth again, and are
earthly minded men, and have much of this world's things; and are therefore
sometimes called the men and children of this world, and who, generally
speaking, are oppressors of the saints; and who shall cease to be so in the
latter day, when the kingdom shall be given to the saints of the most High; but
particularly the man of sin, the Romish antichrist, seems intended, who is the
beast that is risen up out of the earth, Revelation 13:11; and so the words may be
rendered here, "the man out of the earth"F17אנוש מן הארץ
"homines de terra", Pagninus, Montanus. ; whose kingdom and
government is an earthly one, and is supported by the kings of the earth, and
with earthly power and grandeur, and with earthly views and worldly ends: he
has been the great oppressor and terrifier of the poor people of God; but when
Christ comes to avenge them on him, he will no more oppress, he will be taken
and cast alive into the lake of fire; see Revelation 13:10. The words may be rendered
according to the accents thus, "to judge the fatherless and the oppressed;
he shall not add any more": for there is an "athnach" which
makes a proposition "under" עוד, "any
more": and the sense is, God shall so thoroughly avenge the injuries of
the fatherless and the oppressed, that there will be no need to add thereunto
or repeat the vengeance, it will be an utter destruction; and then follows
another distinct end of causing his ear to hear, namely, "to shake
terribly the man of the earth", or "to shake terribly man from off
the earth"F18So Jarchi from Aben Ezra. , the man of sin, as
before; see Isaiah 2:19; or, as Jarchi interprets the
words, "to beat and break in pieces"; that is, antichrist and his
kingdom; so Montanus.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》