Psalm 10:12 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand; forget not the afflicted.

NIV: Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless.

NASB: Arise, Lord; God, lift up Your hand. Do not forget the humble.

CSB: Rise up, Lord God! Lift up your hand. Do not forget the oppressed.

NLT: Arise, O Lord! Punish the wicked, O God! Do not ignore the helpless!

KJV: Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.

NKJV: Arise, O Lord! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble.

David calls upon the Lord to act on behalf of those who are oppressed (Psalm 10:2–3). The wicked man has regarded God as non-existent (Psalm 10:4), ignorant of the wicked's evil actions, and hiding His face from evil (Psalm 10:11). David's plea here is for God to come forward like a warrior and push back against such evil people.

In a similar mood, Revelation 6 depicts tribulation martyrs crying out loudly for revenge. They ask: "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" (Revelation 6:10). They are told to rest a little longer until their fellow servants and brothers were killed (Revelation 6:11). Under the sixth seal, the Lord judges everyone, even the kings, the great ones, the generals, the rich, and the powerful (Revelation 6:12–17).

God may not avenge His servants immediately, but in His good time He will avenge them dramatically and completely!

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.

Accessed 4/29/2024 9:43:29 AM