Psalm 10 (9)
Continuation of the preceding psalm.
1 Why, O Lord, do you stand afar? Why hide from us in times of distress?
2 The wicked are in power; the weak suffer harassment; the poor become victims of evil schemes.
3 Exploiters boast in their po wer and greed; the covetous blasphemes and defies God.
4 In their pride the wicked say, “There is no God.” They see no further.
5 The wicked prosper in their ways, your laws are far from their minds; haughtily they sneer at their rivals,
6 all of them saying in their heart, “Nothing will trouble me. I am secure, powerful and happy.”
7 Their mouths are filled with curs ing, deceit and threats; spite and mischief are under their tongues.
8 They lie in ambush near the villages, murdering the innocent and the un fortunate, spying upon their next victim.
9 The evil one lurks in secret, like a lion in its covert, waiting to seize his prey and drag him off in a net.
10 Lying prone or crouching, he waits and the unfortunate falls into his power.
11 He thinks to himself: “God has forgotten; he has hidden his face and will never see this.”
12 Rise, Lord, O God, raise your hand, do not forget the lowly.
13 Why do the wicked revile God and say, “He can not make me account”?
14 But you see those in misery, O God, and you take it in hand. The un fortunate commits himself to you; the orphan turns to you for help.
15 Break the power of the wicked – seek out their wickedness till there is none to be found.
16 The Lord is king forever and the pagans have vanished from his land.
17 For you hear, O Lord, the long ings of the lowly, and you strength en their hearts;
18 you give heed to the orphans and the oppressed. Let no human raise from earth and strike terror.
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Comments Psalms, Chapter 10
• 10 The rich and the powerful may think that God is far away, that he is passive, and that perhaps, he does not exist. But God hears the cry of the oppressed. It is very easy to become rich in spirit in a consumer world: every Christian must ask himself to what extent he is not responsible for the injustice and discrimination which we witness.