Psalm 10:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

NIV: You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,

NASB: Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will make Your ear attentive

CSB: Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble; you will strengthen their hearts. You will listen carefully,

NLT: Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.

KJV: Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

NKJV: Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear,

Even when God does not answer immediately, resulting in our frustration (Psalm 10:1), believers can rest in the knowledge that He does, in fact, hear His people. Knowing that God hears us should bring encouragement and strength.

During His ministry on earth, Jesus heard the cries of the poor and afflicted, and He came to their assistance. Reading Scripture in the synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus announced, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor" (Luke 4:18–19).

As the believer's great high priest, Jesus is available today to provide mercy, grace, and help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14–16). Believers are encouraged to replace all their anxiety with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving to God (Philippians 4:6). In response to prayer is the promise: "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7).

Psalm 10:12–18 closes the song by asking God to avenge those harmed by wicked men. David trusts the Lord to hear the cry of the afflicted and end the persecution brought on by the wicked. These closing verses resemble the divine judgment Asaph predicted in Psalm 73:18–20, 27.

This song opens with a common question humanity asks in hard times: "where are you, God?" There follows a description of wicked people and their deeds and motives. Evil people feel free to be depraved and arrogant, assuming there is no God to judge them. Like predators, these wicked people ambush helpless people. Despite their wrong assumptions, God keeps His promises. He will judge the wicked and defend His people. Helpless people can trust God to make matters right. Someday, He will rid the earth of all sin and suffering. His justice will prevail, and His people will never again experience persecution.

According to some scholars, Psalms 9 and 10 might have been composed together, possibly even as one psalm. No title is affixed to Psalm 10, and it seems to continue the acrostic pattern of Psalm 9, starting each section with a successive letter from the Hebrew alphabet. The Septuagint and the Vulgate place the two psalms as one. However, the mood shifts from one psalm to the other. Psalm 9 focuses on judgment to come; Psalm 10 focuses on the presence of widespread injustice. Whether literally composed together, or separately, they deal with related issues using profoundly different tones.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.