AUTHOR:  This psalm, like the first and second and many others, offers no title and attributes its origin to no man in particular; though from its content and placement we may safely assume it to be Davidic.

OCCASION:  We cannot know certainly what occasioned this composition, but many ancient manuscripts link this with the ninth psalm, making no distinction between them, even numbering the remaining psalms one number below our present system.  This leads us to believe that the tenth psalm is dealing with the same set of circumstances as the ninth.

TITLE:  There is no title affixed to this Psalm, as most ancient versions join it with the ninth Psalm.

OUTLINE:  This Psalm naturally divides itself into two sections, the first of which (verses 1-11) concerning the character of the enemy faced by the Psalmist, and the second (verses 12-18) is an appeal to God to interpose and deliver him from the schemes of his enemies.

1     WHY STANDEST THOU AFAR OFF, O LORD?  The idea is that  of one who shows indifference to the suffering of others.  The psalmist cannot seem to understand why his God had failed to come near (as opposed to standing afar off) and deliver him from his troubles.  WHY   HIDEST THOU THYSELF As though God had concealed Himself, choosing not to reveal Himself to the afflicted.  IN TIMES OF TROUBLE?  Of course the particular trouble referred to was that occasioned by the enemies of the psalmist, but the word in general means affliction, sorrow, persecution.  The psalmist counts God as missing, failing to act, and therefore considers himself in dire circumstances.

2     THE WICKED IN HIS PRIDE  The marginal reading is preferred:  IN THE PRIDE OF THE WICKED HE DOTH...  Pride, ambition, lust, self-serving egotism, and etc. is set forth as the source of the sin of the wicked in this instance.  DOTH PERSECUTE THE POOR  "Persecute" carries with it the idea of burning after, hotly pursuing, afflicting with a burning zeal.  "Poor" is literally here to be taken as "afflicted, crushed, downtrodden, in circumstances of poverty and humiliation".  The wicked in his zealous anger is afflicting the poverty-stricken.  LET THEM BE TAKEN IN THE DEVICES THAT THEY HAVE IMAGINED  In the scheme which they have forged for the ruin of the downtrodden, let the wicked be overcome.  Let them die in the same was as they had planned the death of their innocent enemies.

3     FOR THE WICKED BOASTETH OF HIS HEART'S DESIRE  That is, he is a "bragger".  AND BLESSETH THE COVETOUS  Rather, THE COVETOUS BLESSETH HIMSELF.  WHOM THE LORD ABHORRETH  Rather, ABHORS THE LORD.  The idea is that the wicked under consideration brags on himself, blesses himself, and abhors the Lord.  "Abhor" is taken to mean "curse, hate, despise, and condemn."

4     THE WICKED, THROUGH THE PRIDE OF HIS COUNTENANCE  The pride of the wicked is here given as the motivation, or reason, for his sin, and the reference to "his countenance" indicates the area wherein pride is most easily seen:  one's attitude as outwardly demonstrated concerning others.  The wicked, in this verse, is basically described as "stuck up".  WILL NOT SEEK AFTER GOD  "After God" is supplied by the translators, and rightly so.  The idea is that the wicked will not seek out proofs concerning God's existence, he will not seek His aid in prayer, and in general, he will not seek to do His will.  GOD IS NOT IN ALL HIS THOUGHTS  Or, rather, IN ALL HIS THOUGHTS HE THINKS, THERE IS NO GOD.   The wicked, though in error, thought and lived as though there was no God.

5     HIS WAYS ARE ALWAYS GRIEVOUS  His, (the wicked), course, his manner of life.  "Grievous" means defiled, hard, filthy.  The manner of life lived by the wicked is firmly set in filth.  THY JUDGMENTS  The laws of God, or the principles by which He governs man.  ARE FAR ABOVE OUT OF HIS SIGHT  In his firmly set filthiness, the wicked is unable to see or recognize the laws of God.  The fault is not laid at the feet of God, but rather at the feet of the wicked, as he chose the course of wickedness.  AS FOR ALL HIS ENEMIES, HE PUFFETH AT THEM  He acts as though he was invincible to any threat his enemies might make against him.  In his arrogance he defies all who oppose him, including God.  "Puffeth" comes from a word meaning "to breathe, to blow", and the idea is that the wicked considered himself so powerful as to be able to overcome his enemies with a breath, or that he was able to send them away with a puff of air from his mouth.

6     HE HATH SAID IN HIS HEART  "He hath said" indicates that the wicked was set on this course, he had considered it and decided to pursue it.  It was not a passing thing; it was a drawn conclusion.  "In his heart" indicated that this was his purpose, his true desire.  I SHALL NOT BE MOVED  He was so set on his present course that he would not forsake it in the light of any evidence or under the force of any development.  He was "bent" on doing these wicked deeds.  FOR I SHALL NEVER BE IN ADVERSITY  These wicked ones considered themselves and their families and their future generations safe from any harm that might arise from the present wicked course.  They counted themselves powerful enough to defeat any and all enemies, including God.

7     HIS MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING  Verse 6 spoke to the depraved condition of the heart of the wicked, and verse 7 speaks  to his open acts of wickedness.  "Cursing" here means profaneness, blasphemy against God.  AND DECEIT  The margin is correct in offering the plural "deceits".  He was filled with lies, and possibly these lies were backed up with oaths on the name of God, the God whom he rejected.  AND FRAUD  The things he requires of others, the things he commands others to do, are unjust and unreasonable and oppressive.  UNDER HIS TONGUE  Beneath what he says is wickedness and harm.  The unseen motive of the wicked is to inflict harm.  IS MISCHIEF  What he says causes trouble, sorrow, labor.  AND VANITY  Literally, iniquity is the meaning of vanity as used here.  There seems to be an allusion to the serpent, under whose tongue lies the poison that brings death to a man.  Though the tongue of  the serpent may appear to be harmless, it conceals that which is most harmful; and so with the wicked, his words may appear harmless, but they are motivated by and will produce great harm.

8     HE SITTETH IN THE LURKING PLACES OF THE VILLAGES  As a thief he hid himself near the dwellings of other people.  IN THE SECRET PLACES DOTH HE MURDER THE INNOCENT  From his hiding place he springs forth and kills those who have done him no wrong.  He practices his wickedness on those who have not wronged him.  HIS EYES ARE PRIVILY SET  That is, he conceals his true intent, he hides himself and his motives and acts in secret to do his evil deeds.  AGAINST THE POOR  Literally, against the defenseless.  He "sneaks up on" those who are unable to defend themselves.

9     HE LIETH IN WAIT SECRETLY  The illustration here makes plain the point of verse 8, the wicked hides as would a lion.  AS A LION IN HIS DEN  As the lion lies in his den, hidden and seemingly peaceful, he is ever on the lookout for passing prey.  So does the wicked.  He may appear harmless in his hiding place, but given the chance (a chance, by the way, for which he constantly longs), he will, as the lion, bring death to the passerby.  HE LIETH IN WAIT TO CATCH THE POOR  The helpless and defenseless.  HE DOTH CATCH THE POOR, WHEN HE DRAWETH HIM INTO HIS NET   Instead of the lion, the wicked now becomes a hunter.  He brings death to the defenseless by trickery and deceit, as a hunter fools his prey into a trap.

10    HE CROUCHETH  Rather, he breaks in pieces, he destroys.  AND HUMBLETH HIMSELF  Rather, he humbles, or brings down to destruction, the defenseless.  THAT THE POOR MAY FALL  Literally, the poor do fall.  They do come to harm at the hands of these wicked who have so carefully and deceitfully laid their trap.  BY HIS STRONG ONES The wicked is here described as the leader of a band of strong men, men who are as evil as their leader and who will do his bidding.

11    HE HATH SAID IN HIS HEART, GOD HATH FORGOTTEN  He conducts himself as though God had forgotten or was ignoring what was happening on earth.  It is as though, in his mind, God does not care about his wickedness.  HE HIDETH HIS FACE  That is, God has hidden His face.  The meaning seems to be that the wicked considered God as having covered His eyes so as to be unable to see the condition of man on earth.  HE WILL NEVER SEE IT  That is, not only does God not now see the wickedness of man, there will never come a time in the future when He does.  The wicked, in this flawed reasoning, shall meet with success both now, and in the after awhile.

12    ARISE, O LORD  This begins the second division of the psalm, turning our attention from the character of the enemy to the pleas of the psalmist for God to deliver the righteous.  O GOD, LIFT UP THINE HAND  That is, Raise your hand, as one about to strike another, in retaliation.  FORGET NOT THE HUMBLE  The idea is that David is calling God to remember the afflicted, afflicted being the literal meaning of the Hebrew rendered "humble" herein.

13    WHEREFORE DOTH THE WICKED CONTEMN GOD?  Why does the wicked hate God?  Why does he despise Him, and treat him with contempt?  HE HATH SAID IN HIS HEART  This is the third time this phrase is used in the psalm under consideration, and again it indicates that the wicked has thought the matter over, come to a conclusion, and is now openly and publicly declaring it.  THOU WILT NOT REQUIRE IT  Or, God will never require me to pay for my sins.  The meaning of the verse in total, then, is: WHY DOES THE WICKED HATE GOD?  HERE IS WHY:  HE HAS DETERMINED IN HIS HEART THAT GOD WILL NEVER CALL HIM INTO ACCOUNT FOR HIS ACTIONS.

14    THOU HAST SEEN IT  Though the wicked considered themselves and their actions hidden from God, David affirms that God has seen their evil deeds.  FOR THOU BEHOLDEST MISCHIEF  God sees all that is done on earth, specifically what was troubling the psalmist.  AND SPITE  God had seen all of the hot anger of the wicked, specifically such as was  hurled  against  their  enemies.   TO REQUITE IT WITH THY HAND That is, God has seen their evil and will repay them accordingly.  THE POOR COMMITTETH HIMSELF UNTO THEE   The defenseless, oppressed, and helpless one leaves his cause with, or relies on for protection, God.  THOU ART THE HELPER   OF THE FATHERLESS  God is the One to whom the helpless (characterized by the word 'fatherless') turns for help.  Such is the nature of God, to make himself available to help the helpless.

15    BREAK THOU THE ARM OF THE WICKED  The arm was the means of inflicting the hurt, and the psalmist prays that God would break the arm, or render useless the instrument of harm.  AND THE EVIL MAN Whoever he may be, if he is wicked and evil render him unable to do further harm.  SEEK OUT HIS WICKEDNESS TILL THOU FIND NONE That is, search out and discover any and all wickedness and destroy it, punish it, till it be vanquished from the earth.

16    THE LORD IS KING FOR EVER AND EVER  There will never be a time when God is not the Ruler.  He is eternal, whereas:  THE HEATHEN ARE PERISHED OUT OF HIS LAND  As the Lord and His Goodness are eternal, so the wicked shall surely come to naught.  The victory of righteousness and the defeat of evil is here pointed to.

17    LORD, THOU HAST HEARD THE DESIRE OF THE HUMBLE  That is, Lord, you are aware of the needs of the afflicted.  THOU WILT PREPARE THEIR HEART  God will allay the fears which plague them, He will satisfy their desire for deliverance.  THOU WILT CAUSE THINE EAR TO HEAR  He would make himself available to the oppressed, as a deliverer.

18    TO JUDGE THE FATHERLESS AND THE OPPRESSED  He would vindicate those who wrongly suffered at the hands of evil men.  THAT THE MAN OF THE EARTH  The worldly man, the wicked.  MAY NO MORE OPPRESS  The righteousness of God was such as to forbid the final victory of the wicked.  He would consider the matter of  the wrongly treated and grant them victory over their oppressors.

QUESTIONS:  PSALM TEN

1. Who is thought to be the writer of this psalm? ________________
2. In ancient manuscripts, where is this psalm placed? ___________
3. What is the occasion of this psalm? ________________________
4. What is the title to this psalm? ____________________________
5. When was God said to have hidden himself? _________________
6. What did the wicked, in his pride, do? _______________________
7. In what did David pray they would be taken? _________________
8. What does "boasteth of his heart's desire" mean? _____________
9. What does "blesseth the covetous" mean? ___________________
10. What does "whom the Lord abhorreth" refer to? ______________
11. Does the wicked acknowledge God? _______________________
12. What does "grievous" mean? _____________________________
13. To what did "thy judgments" refer? ________________________
14. What does "puffeth" mean? ______________________________
15. "He hath said in his _______________, I shall not be _________: for I shall _____________ be in _________________________."
16. Of what is "his mouth" full? _______________________________
17. What does "cursing" mean? ______________________________
18. What does "deceit" mean? _______________________________
19. What does "fraud" mean? ________________________________
20. What does "vanity", as used in verse 7, mean? _______________
21. Where does the wicked "sit"? _____________________________
22. Where does he "murder the innocent"? _____________________
23. What does "his eyes are privily set" mean? __________________
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24. What does "poor" as used in verse 8 mean? _________________
25. What does "croucheth" mean? ____________________________
26. Who is "humbled" in verse 10? ____________________________
27. Literally, what does "that the poor may fall" mean? ____________
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28. To what did "his strong ones" refer? _______________________
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29. What had the wicked said in his heart? _____________________
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30. What did "lift up thine hand" mean? ________________________
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31. What is the literal meaning of "humble" in verse 12? ___________
32. Why did the wicked contemn God? ________________________
33. What does "contemn" mean? _____________________________
34. What did "thou wilt not require it" refer to? __________________
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35. What does "mischief" (verse 14) mean? ____________________
36. What does "spite" mean? ________________________________
37. To what did "requite it with thy hand" refer? _________________
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38. What did "break thou the arm of the wicked" mean? ___________
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39. What would God do to the heart of the humble? ______________
40. "To __________ the ____________________ and the _________
that the ______ of the __________ may no more ___________."