Psalm 10

1   Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?
    Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2   In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—
    let them be caught in the schemes they have         devised.
3   For the wicked boast of the desires of their         heart,
    those greedy for gain curse and renounce the         LORD.
4   In the pride of their countenance the wicked         say, “God will not seek it out”;
    all their thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5   Their ways prosper at all times;
    your judgments are on high, out of their         sight;
    as for their foes, they scoff at them.
6   They think in their heart, “We shall not be         moved;
    throughout all generations we shall not meet         adversity.”
7   Their mouths are filled with cursing and         deceit and oppression;
    under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.
8   They sit in ambush in the villages;
    in hiding places they murder the innocent.
        Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9     they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert;
  they lurk that they may seize the poor;
    they seize the poor and drag them off in their         net.
10   They stoop, they crouch,
    and the helpless fall by their might.
11   They think in their heart, “God has         forgotten,
    he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
12   Rise up, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand;
    do not forget the oppressed.
13   Why do the wicked renounce God,
    and say in their hearts, “You will not call us to         account”?
14   But you do 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.
15   Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers;
    seek out their wickedness until you find none.
16   The LORD is king forever and ever;
    the nations shall perish from his land.
17   O LORD, you will hear the desire of the         meek;
    you will strengthen their heart, you will         incline your ear
18   to do justice for the orphan and the         oppressed,
    so that those from earth may strike terror no         more.

Daily Prayer (based on Psalm 10:1)

Dear Lord, these are the million dollar questions. These are the ones that just don't make sense to us. There is perhaps no greater challenge to our faith than when terrible things are happen, and You seem to be standing far off. Why, dear God, do you seem to be hiding? It's hard to believe in You when Your actions don't measure up to our expectations. We confess You to be a good, loving, kind, and gracious God. And so often we experience these aspects of Your character. But then there are the other times, when Your goodness seems to have vanished, when innocent children suffer with cancer, when Your ordained servants abuse children, when tsunamis, hurricanes, and earthquakes devastate millions of lives. What choice do we have, Lord? To give up on You? That's really no choice since it betrays so much of what we have known of You. To hold on in spite of what seems to us so inconsistent with Your nature? To trust you, even when we doubt? To cry out, "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner?" Yes, this is our choice. Help us, Lord!

Postscript

One of the things I love about the Psalms is their honesty. The psalmists don't mince words. They don't tidy everything up for God. They don't pretend. Rather, they open their hearts. They say what they really think, even when it seems too brash, even theologically questionable. By their openness the psalmists give us permission and courage to tell the Lord exactly what's on our minds and hearts, without holding back or cleaning up the messiness of our souls.

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Except for the Scripture text, all material of The Daily Psalm Copyright © 2006 by Mark D. Roberts

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The Scripture text used in The Daily Psalm is from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved