Psalm 10 Summary - 5 Minute Bible Study

Psalm 10 Short Summary:

The psalmist begins Psalm 10 expressing his frustration that the wicked flourish on the earth despite their rebellion against God and crimes against their fellow man. This is a natural frustration experienced by many people. At the end of the Psalm, the writer concludes that God is not indifferent to evil and He will certainly judge evil men, even if He doesn’t do it as swiftly as we might want or expect.

Psalm 10 Summary

AUTHOR:

• Unknown. Many ascribe this psalm to David.

NEW TESTAMENT REFERENCES:

• Romans 3:14

THEMES:

• Question: Why are wicked men allowed to live evil lives and still flourish on earth?

• Question: Is God blind to the evil in the world?

• Answer: God is not blind, and He will certainly judge evil men, even if He doesn’t do it as swiftly as we might want or expect.

OUTLINE:

• DO THE WICKED FLOURISH BECAUSE GOD IS ABSENT? (10:1-13):

  • The psalmist begins by asking God why He is hiding.

  • The psalmist doesn’t understand why God hasn’t responded to wicked men, and why those wicked men sometimes seem to flourish despite their wickedness.

  • He asks God why He is standing far away, as if God is so far removed from the earth that He’s unaware of what is going on.

  • He lists the actions of the wicked: they pursue the poor, boast in pride, they’re greedy, they mock the idea of the existence of God, they are full of mischief, they ambush the helpless, and murder the innocent.

  • The evil man thinks and behaves like “there is no God” (10:4).

  • He does not believe God will call him to account for his actions.

  • He says of his evil deeds, “God has forgotten, He has hidden His face, He will never see it” (10:11).

  • Evil men do all these things, and yet, they flourish. Why? This is the psalmist’s question to God.

• CONFIDENCE THAT GOD IS NOT ABSENT (10:14-18):

  • After posing these questions to God, the psalmist expresses his confidence that God is not absent.

  • That while it may appear that evil men are getting away with their wickedness, God is actually present, taking note of their “mischief.”

  • God has His reasons for delaying judgement on these men, but God is anything but blind to their actions.

  • The psalmist acknowledges that “the Lord is king forever and ever.”

  • He states his confidence that God will help the afflicted, give justice to the fatherless, and ultimately bring the weight of judgement down on those men who mocked His existence as they filled His earth with wickedness.
    

APPLICATION:

• This psalm contains the frustration of a man who isn’t capable of understanding God’s master work.

• It is also a psalm displaying how faith appropriately responds to that frustration.

• I think we’ve all felt the frustration of the psalmist. We see people who are trying to live godly lives struggling, and we see people who could care less about God succeeding.

• It is natural to ask “Why?”

• It is natural to be angry at injustice, to wonder why evil people flourish, and to wonder why God isn’t passing out punishment as swiftly as we would.

• This psalm lets us know we aren’t the only ones who have struggled with these questions.

• This psalm lets us know it isn’t wrong to express these frustrations to God.

• The Bible offers a lot of answers to these questions, but the psalmist concludes with a simple expression of faith in God.

• He knows God is on the throne, he knows God is in control, he knows God exists, so He confidently entrusts the execution of judgement to God and His timing.

• This is an appropriate conclusion for us to draw in application. We know God exists, we know He isn’t absent or blind to evil, so we should trust that “God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecc 12:14).