Psalm 10
Psalm 10
Why, O lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor-
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.
For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,
those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.
In the pride of their countenance the wicked
say, "God will not seek it out;"
all their thoughts are, "There is no God."
Their ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of their sight;
as for their foes, they scoff at them.
They think in their heart, "We shall not be moved;
throughout generations we shall not meet adversity."
Their mouths are filled with cursing and
deceit and oppression;
under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.
They sit in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places they murder the innocent.
Their eyes steadily watch for the helpless;
they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert;
they lurk that they might seize the poor;
they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.
They stoop, they crouch,
and the helpless fall by their might.
They think in their heart, God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will lever see it."
Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
do not forget the oppressed.
Why do the wicked renounce God, and say
in their hearts, "You will not call us to account?"
But you see! Indeed you note trouble and grief,
that you may take it into your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to you;
you have been the helper of the orphan.
Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers;
seek out their wickedness until you find none.
The Lord is king forever and ever;
the nations shall perish from his land.
O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek;
you will strengthen their heart,
you will incline your ear
to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,
so that those from earth may strike terror no more.
There is so much to feel helpless about right now. It is very easy to get angry at what's happening in the world around us. It is easy to feel like this sinful world is winning. That we are all succumbing to hate, hurt and hopelessness.
I decided to bold the last part of this passage to remind us all that God does rise up, He is our helper.
As the US struggles, as we become the nation with the most coronavirus cases, as we lose hospital beds and PPEs. As this virus becomes more widespread and affects more and more of us...it is crucial that we hang on to Him. It is vital that we pray and continue praying to Him.
Even now as I write this, I fell prey to alerts on my phone; spending far too much time getting angry and scared at what is happening around the world. Turning my focus away from Him. Focusing on the things of this world instead of eternity.
We must remember that He does see us. Every moment of every day. He hears us. He will fight for us. But we can't ignore Him. We can't pretend this isn't a big deal and go about our lives however we want. We must be still. We must turn to Him. We must commit to Him, stay home, be safe and spend this moment of quiet and stillness with Him.
He is seeking us out. He longs for us. We just have to listen. We have to remember that He is with us. We need to keep our gaze on Him and His eternal majesty.
Never have we had so much time on our hands. Time to be still and seek our Lord. Time to commit to Him and trust in Him. Time to submit; because He will deliver us (Psalm 32:7).
He hears us. He will strengthen our hearts if we keep putting Him first and seeking Him out. In the midst of all the pain and adversity in this world - He will bring justice. He will strengthen us and sustain us - for He has overcome the world (John 16:33).
He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no harm shall touch you (Job 5:19).
When evil surrounds us. When trouble abounds, He will strengthen us and deliver us when we seek Him first (Psalm 34:4). But we must seek Him to hear Him. We must be attuned to Him to come into a deeper knowledge of Him; but He promises those efforts won't be in vain and He will sustain us through anything, through His power alone.
Instead of an image, today I close with this passage - which has given me much peace in this moment of quite stillness:
Why, O lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor-
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.
For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,
those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.
In the pride of their countenance the wicked
say, "God will not seek it out;"
all their thoughts are, "There is no God."
Their ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of their sight;
as for their foes, they scoff at them.
They think in their heart, "We shall not be moved;
throughout generations we shall not meet adversity."
Their mouths are filled with cursing and
deceit and oppression;
under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.
They sit in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places they murder the innocent.
Their eyes steadily watch for the helpless;
they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert;
they lurk that they might seize the poor;
they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.
They stoop, they crouch,
and the helpless fall by their might.
They think in their heart, God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will lever see it."
Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
do not forget the oppressed.
Why do the wicked renounce God, and say
in their hearts, "You will not call us to account?"
But you see! Indeed you note trouble and grief,
that you may take it into your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to you;
you have been the helper of the orphan.
Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers;
seek out their wickedness until you find none.
The Lord is king forever and ever;
the nations shall perish from his land.
O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek;
you will strengthen their heart,
you will incline your ear
to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,
so that those from earth may strike terror no more.
There is so much to feel helpless about right now. It is very easy to get angry at what's happening in the world around us. It is easy to feel like this sinful world is winning. That we are all succumbing to hate, hurt and hopelessness.
I decided to bold the last part of this passage to remind us all that God does rise up, He is our helper.
As the US struggles, as we become the nation with the most coronavirus cases, as we lose hospital beds and PPEs. As this virus becomes more widespread and affects more and more of us...it is crucial that we hang on to Him. It is vital that we pray and continue praying to Him.
Even now as I write this, I fell prey to alerts on my phone; spending far too much time getting angry and scared at what is happening around the world. Turning my focus away from Him. Focusing on the things of this world instead of eternity.
We must remember that He does see us. Every moment of every day. He hears us. He will fight for us. But we can't ignore Him. We can't pretend this isn't a big deal and go about our lives however we want. We must be still. We must turn to Him. We must commit to Him, stay home, be safe and spend this moment of quiet and stillness with Him.
He is seeking us out. He longs for us. We just have to listen. We have to remember that He is with us. We need to keep our gaze on Him and His eternal majesty.
Never have we had so much time on our hands. Time to be still and seek our Lord. Time to commit to Him and trust in Him. Time to submit; because He will deliver us (Psalm 32:7).
He hears us. He will strengthen our hearts if we keep putting Him first and seeking Him out. In the midst of all the pain and adversity in this world - He will bring justice. He will strengthen us and sustain us - for He has overcome the world (John 16:33).
He will deliver you from six troubles; in seven no harm shall touch you (Job 5:19).
When evil surrounds us. When trouble abounds, He will strengthen us and deliver us when we seek Him first (Psalm 34:4). But we must seek Him to hear Him. We must be attuned to Him to come into a deeper knowledge of Him; but He promises those efforts won't be in vain and He will sustain us through anything, through His power alone.
Instead of an image, today I close with this passage - which has given me much peace in this moment of quite stillness:
"For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile." (Jeremiah 29:11-14).
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