Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
2 The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor;
let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
3 For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire,
and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God;
God is not in all his thoughts.
5 His ways are always grievous;
thy judgments are far above out of his sight;
as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
6 He hath said in his heart, "I shall not be moved,
for I shall never be in adversity."
7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud;
under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
8 He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages;
in the secret places doth he murder the innocent;
his eyes are privily set against the poor.
9 He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den;
he lieth in wait to catch the poor;
he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.
10 He croucheth, and humbleth himself,
that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
11 He hath said in his heart, "God hath forgotten;
he hideth his face, he will never see it."
12 Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand;
forget not the humble.
13 Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God?
He hath said in his heart, "Thou wilt not require it."
14 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand;
the poor committeth himself unto thee;
thou art the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man;
seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
16 The LORD is King for ever and ever;
the heathen are perished out of his land.
17 LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble;
thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause cause thine ear to hear
18 To judge the fatherless and the oppressed,
that the man of the earth may no more oppress.
JW: David complains of and describes the wicked, ver. 1-15; prays to God to appear against them, and rejoices in the prospect of it, ver. 12-18.
[On verse 5:] 'Ar far' - He doth not regard or fear them; yea he despises them, being confident that he can blow them away with a breath. This is a gesture of contempt or disdain, both in scripture and other authors.
[On verse 7:] 'Tongue' - Under his fair and plausible speeches, mischief is hid and covered. 'Vanity' - or injury, the vexation or oppression of other men.
[On verse 10:] 'Croucheth' - like a lion which lies close upon the ground, partly that he may not be discovered, and partly that he may more suddenly and surely lay hold on his prey.
[On verse 13:] 'Contemn' - Why dost thou by giving them impunity, suffer and occasion them to despise thee?
[On verse 14:] 'Requite' - Heb. to give (to restore or pay the mischief which they have done to others) with thy hand, by thy own extraordinary providence, because the oppressed were destitute of all other succours. 'Fatherless' - of such as have no friend or helper, one kind of them being put for all.
[On verse 16:] 'Is King' - To whom it belongs to protect his subjects. Therefore his peoples case is never desperate, seeing he ever lives to help them.
[On verse 18:] 'To judge' - to give sentence for them, and against their enemies. 'The man' - earthly and mortal men, who yet presume to contend with thee their maker.
Where are the songs today that defend the cause of the poor? That take up the case for the fatherless? That cry for the justice of God to excise the wickedness that enslaves the oppressed? Jonathan Powers started this conversation on his blog a few months ago in this post, which includes some powerful lyrics by Charles Wesley about defending the cause of the poor.
What strikes me in this psalm is the discernment and awareness of the psalmist to the schemes of the enemy whose intent is to oppress, rob, and kill. We lack that precision of discernment today: we're either too quick to condemn something as evil that really isn't or we're too naive about the intents of 'the world.' If you give me the choice of being judgmental or naive, I think erring on the side of naivety is perhaps best because in the end God will bring justice in setting free those who have been enslaved and taken advantage of. Still, this psalmist has a keen eye toward the enemy's ploys. Maybe she had been robbed in the outskirts of town. Maybe her naivety was exploited by someone. That seems reasonable. So she cries for God to bring justice to this evil.
The ploy that stands out most to me at this point is what is said in verse 10. The King James Version (as above) notes that the enemy "humbleth" himself. That seems odd, doesn't it? Everything in the Bible I am aware of that speaks of humility is a positive thing that leads to goodness and holiness. But here the enemy is only appearing to be humble. That is dangerous! Very dangerous! What appeals to us more than a picture of innocence? Most English translations of the Bible use the word crafty or something similar to describe the serpent in Genesis 3.1. But did you know the Hebrew word there is the same as what is rendered naked in Gen. 2.25? (Hat tip to Lawson Stone from OT Intro on that point.) Eden pre-fall is the common picture for 'innocence' & the enemy uses this to its advantage. I'm not suggesting we look for a demon under every bush, but being aware of the abuse of the appearance of innocence will be key in practicing discernment in a world that is easily enslaved to and enslaves us to the enemy.
We have a somewhat violent image in verse 15, which calls upon God to "break the arm" of the wicked and evil. It's a metaphor, for "arm" symbolizes strength. Break the source of the strength that enslaves the poor, oppressed, and fatherless, God! Disarm the enemy! It is because of verses like these that I think that Christus Victor atonement speaks so strongly to an oppressed, enslaved, seemingly hopeless people. The cry for justice here is not just a pleading that God would find the oppressors guilty, but that God would actually set the oppressed free from their bondage. That's why it's important to speak not only of being set free from condemnation & guilt but also from sin's grip. (Think justification & sanctification. More importantly, allow God to make these realities in our lives.) Break the power!
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