Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
‘He won’t call me to account’?
But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.The Lord is King for ever and ever;
(Ps. 10:12-18 NIV)
the nations will perish from his land.
You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
In the first part of this Psalm we saw a vivid description of time of trouble. This description is not just a mere lament, it is a lament made to God. In verse 12 the Psalmist turns his prayer to pleading with God to act. The strength to act lies alone with the LORD. The strength and power of the LORD is demonstrated by lifting up His hand. The Psalmist describes himself as helpless and he asks the LORD not to forget the helpless. They are not able to do anything without the LORD. The enemy is also God’s enemy because they have reviled God and boasted about God not ever calling them to account. After lament and prayer the Psalmist has a sense of confidence. He acknowledges that God does see the trouble of the afflicted and that God will take the matter in hand to bring deliverance and justice. God is not just seen as one option, He is the only option and the victims commit their way to the LORD. The weakest of the weak are the fatherless. Even they have been exploited. The Psalmist is still exposed to the enemy, circumstances haven’t changed but as he explores the facts of faith he is emboldened in the Lord. The Psalmist calls for the arm of the wicked man to be broken. He wants the power of the persecutor to be broken and their ability to do their evil acts stopped. The hand of God v12 is to be raised in power to break the arm of the wicked v15. The evildoer has boasted that he will not be called to account. The Psalmist wants God to do exactly that, because otherwise the evildoer will get away with his evil.
The covenant LORD is the eternal King and ruler over all the nations. In the New Heavens and the New Earth God will rule supreme. All wickedness and evildoers will perish. The kingdom of God will be established. Like the Psalmist we can have confidence in the Lord. Every person, every religion, every government that has opposed the Lord’s people will one day face their mortality. They may have claimed invincibility but the Lord listens to the cries of His people.
In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
(1 Pet. 1:6-9 NIV)
The oppressor may feel that they have the upper hand. We are not told if the Psalmist lived to see deliverance. What gives meaning to his existence is his relationship with God.
Prayer
Lord, the world is filled with so many injustices. The Church of Christ has enemies without and within. Many plot to corrupt the Gospel message. Lord come to the aid of your people. Help us to place our trust in You, for Christ the Saviour’s sake. Amen