A Brief Explication of the First Fifty Psalms, Psalm 10
PSAL. X.
This Psalme wanteth an inscription, and that in Gods wisedome, that being less restricted to a particular mans case, it may be of more general use, whensoever the godly find themselves in a condition whereunto this prayer may be sutable: and specially in time of general persecution. The prophet here complaineth to God and craveth justice against the persecuters of his people, because of the intolerable wickedness of the oppressor, ver. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Secondly, he prayeth for hastning of the deliverie of the Lords people, and for hastning of judgment upon the persecuters, for vindication of the glory of Gods justice against his enemies, and of his mercy to his people. Ver. 12, 13, 14, 15. Thirdly, he professeth his confidence that he shall be heard, and so glorifieth God, Ver. 16, 17, 18.
Ver. 1. WHy standest thou a far off, O Lord? why hidest thou thy self in time 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 hearts 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 wayes are alwayes grievous, thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he …uffeth 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 mischiefe and vanity.
8. He sitteh in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eys are privily set against the poor.
9. He lyeth in wait secretly as a lyon in his den, he lyeth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor when he draweth him into his net.
10. He croucheth, and humbleth himselfe, 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.
In this complaint he speaketh to God after the manner of men, in the termes of sense, and as matters did seem to him in outward appearance. Whence learn, 1. How far contrary to the word of promise, may Gods word and dispensation seeme to speak: the word saith, He will ever be with his owne, and not forsake them; and here his dealing with them seemeth to say, That he standeth afar off, and hideth himself in time of trouble. Sense may sometime speak contrary to faith. 2. In this case the speech of sense is not to be subscribed, but the truth of the word should be relyed upon; and the objection made by sense, or suggestion against the word, is to bee brought before the Lord in Prayer, that it may be discussed: as here the Prophet doth. Why standest thou afar off, &c? 3. Observe how homely an humbled soule may … God, and how far the Lord will be from mistaking of his people, when faith doth borrow senses tongue; The Lord will suffer such speeches and not take them in ill part, knowing that they proceede from faith and love, wrestling with sense; yea, and hee will suffer them to be registred in his Book, as here we see, for prudent use making of them, though they appear to challenge him, for standing al…ofe, and hiding himselfe. 4. Oft times it cometh to passe, that the godly are in a meane condition in the world, when their adversaries are in high places and power, and so bee able to oppresse them as their underlings. The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poore. 5. In respect that pride disdaineth what is apparantly good in a mean person, and overvalueth its owne worth, therefore pride is easily coupled with oppression and pride is able to raise persecution. The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poore. 6. What persecuters do devise against Gods people, may with good grounds be expected shal turne to be a snare unto themselves. Let them be taken in the devices they have imagined. 7. All the Politicians on earth cannot describe the vilenesse of the wicked, so wel as the Spirit of the Lord doth point it out, for he setteth him forth. 1. Hee is an arrogant, self-confident man, threatning to bring to passe what hee would have done, as if he were able in despight of God to effectuate it: Hee boasts of his hearts desire. 2. He accounts of no man, but such a one, as by hook and crooke is able to inhance honour and riches; He blesseth the covetous man. 3. Hee valueth not what God judgeth of a man, whether he be a man whom God loveth, and respects, or not; he setteth his opinion in opposition to Gods judgment of men, He blesseth the man whom God abhorreth. 4. The wicked man hath such a conceit of his own ability and perfection, as his countenance and carriage doth testifie that he scorneth to imploy God by prayer for any thing: Through the pride of his countenance hee will not seeke God. 5. For the rule of his life, he consulteth not what may please or displease God, what may honour, or dishonour God. He troubles not himself with such thoughts. God is not in all his thoughts. That is, as the Hebrew phrase doth mean, all his thoughts are, that there is no God: or none of his thoughts are upon God. 6. His waies are ever noysome, …ending especially to hurt the godly; His waies are alwaies grievous; or as his wayes prosper, they do vex others. 7. Hee feareth not Gods judgements, hee believeth not that they shal ever come; hee putteth them far … in his conceit: yea; and what the Lord hath set down in his word, as his judgment, hee apprehendeth it not; he is not capable of spiritual wisdome. The Lords …udgments are far above out of his sight. 8. He neither feareth God nor man, All his enemies he puffeth at them; as disdaining what they can do against him. 9. The wicked doe promise to themselves perpetuity of prosperity, and doe not feare evil, to see a change to the worse, He assureth himselfe never to be moved, nor to be in adversity. 10. For his words, he standeth not to blaspheme God, to lie, swear, and curse, if it may purchase him credit, and may help him to deceive others. His mouth is ful of cursing. 11. His fair promises are but vanity; and when hee minds a mischiefe, he hides it with pretences of best intentions, under his tongue is mischief and vanity.. 12. As thieves and cut-throats lie in wait about villages, to catch the stragling passengers, where there are few to help them, so do the wicked watch where they may oppresse those who have few to doe for them: He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages, in secret places doth he murther the innocent. 23. As an Archer in the hunting of his prey, so doth the wicked marke and spie out a poor man, to make advantage of him: His eyes are privily set against the poor. 14. As a Lion in his den, or some lurking place, lieth stil til the prey come by, and then he leapeth out upon it, when he is able to take it: so doth the wicked dissemble his malice, till he be Master over a man, and then doth what hee can against him. He lieth secretly in wait as a Lion. 15. As a crafty hunter spreadeth his net for a prey, and miskenneth it, til the prey be intangled, so doth the wicked lay some device to catch the poor, and taketh him. Hee doth catch the poor when he drawes him in his net. 16. As the Lion lieth low in the dust, as if he minded to do no harme at all; so doe the wicked men pretend themselves the most reasonable men that can be, and most observant of Law and equity till by their power they may have their intent of the poor. He crou…heth and humbleth himselfe, that the poor may fall by him, or his associates. 17. Present prosperity joyned with impurity maketh him perswade himselfe that God wil never take notice of him hereafter, or cal him to account, or punish him. He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten, he hideth his face, hee will never see it.
Ver. 12. Arise O Lord, O God, lift up thine hand… forget not the humble.
13. Wherefore doth the wicked contemne God? hee hath … in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
14. Thou hast seen it, for thou beholdest mischiefe and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee, thou art the helper of the fatherlesse.
15. Break thou the arme of the wicked, and the evil man: seek out his wickednesse til thou find none.
Thus hee hath given the character of the enemies of Gods people, and so made a Dittay for them. Now in the second place, he prayeth against them, that their Doome may be given out, and may be executed. Whence learn, 1. The more wee see Atheisme in the wicked, the more wee should draw neere to God: and albeit the godly conceive God to lye off, and sit stil from executing of justice; the godly being tempted with the tentations which overcome the wicked, yet they must not yeeld to the tentation, but pray against it, as here is done, Arise, O Lord, lift up thy hand. 2. The merciful respect and love which the Lord hath to his afflicted people, wil not suffer his justice against these persecuters, to be long quiet, For he will not forget the humble. 3. As the Interest which God hath in his owne people, doth engage him to fal on their enemies; so the vindication also of his own glory from the contempt which they doe to his Name, doth ingage him against them; for wherefore doth the wicked contemne God, &c? 4. The godlesse enemies of Gods people doe deny Gods providence, and deny Gods justice, yet his people are comforted under their saddest sufferings by the Lords seeing and marking thereof; for the godly say here, Thou hast seene it, and beholdest mischiefe. 5. Gods judgments on the wicked shall really refute the Atheisme of the wicked, and requite their opposition made to the godly. He beholds mischiefe and spite to requite it with his hand. 6. When a man hath laid forth his desires, and poured out his heart before God, he should quiet himselfe, and cast himselfe with his burden upon the Lord; for here the poor committeth himselfe to God. And when an humble believer hath casten his burden on the Lord, the Lord wil not faile to take care of what hee is trusted with, it is an engaging of God, that the poor hath committed himself to him. 7. As the Lords Office, Custome, and Nature is, so is his real work to do for them who imploy him, and are not able to do for themselves; Hee is the helper of the fatherlesse. 8. The power of persecuters cannot be so great, but God shal weaken and break it, so as they shall not be able to trouble his people. Breake thou the arme of the wicked. 9. Though the Lord reckons not with his enemies for their sins at first, yet he reckons for all at last; for lesse and for greater, for one and for all, and doth not passe a farthing of the debt of punishment un-exacted: But seeketh out their sinnes till hee find none. O how fearful a reckoning must it be, which the Lord maketh with the impenitent, who die unpardoned, and unreconciled with God, through the Mediator Christ Jesus!
Ver. 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 thine ear to hear.
18 To judge the fatherlesse and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppresse.
In the last place, the answer of the petition followeth, in a comfortable perswasion of the supplicant, concerning the grant thereof: Whence learn, 1. That the prayer of the persecuted shall not be rejected, because the kingdome of Christ in his Church is perpetual: earthly Kings cannot live still to helpe their friends, followers, or flatterers, or to persecute and molest Gods Church: But Christ is the Lord and King for ever and ever, to defend his people, and punish his foes. 2. The wicked within the visible Church, howsoever they have the external priviledges of Gods people, yet if they continue unreconciled, and do oppose piety, they shal be in Gods estimation, and in the day of his judging of them, counted, as they are here called, heathen, and shal be separate from the fellowship of God and Gods people, The heathen shall perish out of his land. 3. Its the Lords way to exercise his children with trouble, till hee humble them, and make them sensible of the neede of his help, til he turn their sense of need, into a desire of his reliefe, and their desire into a prayer, and then hee will in due time give answer: Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble. 4. Grace to pray, and the fixing of the heart in prayer on the Lord, is his gift, no lesse then the answer of the prayer: and where the Lord doth give the one grace, he wil also give the other: Thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear. 5. When God beginneth to shew his respect to the prayers of his people against their oppressors, then the helplesse and weake servants of God shal have deliverance from the power of oppressours, and their oppressours shal not be able to do any more harme, when the Lord causeth his ear to hear their prayer: the fatherlesse shal be judged, yea declared righteous, absolved and delivered; and the oppressour shall no more oppresse. 6. If there were no more comfort to the godly opressed, yet this may suffice, that their life, inheritance, and happinesse is in heaven; and that their oppressours, in opposition to them are declared here, to be but men of this earth, whose portion is no better, then what they have here in this World.