Psa 10:7 | KingComments | STEP | In these verses, the psalmist tells why he cries out to the LORD in his troubles in . He wrestles with his faith, his faith is in conflict with what he sees. In these verses he gives a detailed description of the wicked in whom we again clearly recognize the antichrist. The antichrist is the wicked who has no regard for God. He lives in pure pride in rebellion against Him. The wicked shows his hatred of God by “hotly” pursuing the God-fearing “afflicted” ( ). “Hotly” means burning, a burning zeal to kill the God-fearing. He is helped in this by his followers. This is evident from the second line of . The psalmist cries out to God “to let them be caught in the plots which they have devised”. The followers of the antichrist are animated by the same demonic spirit and devise the same demonic plans. Further on, in , the execution of those cunning plans is vividly described. His murderous and predatory ways are “his heart’s desire” ( ). He behaves as if he were God ( ). Without any shame, he boasts of his sins. He “blesses the greedy man” as it also can be translated. The greedy man is the one who behaves like him. In contrast, he “curses [and] spurns the LORD”. He not only does not care about God, but deliberately turns against Him and deliberately speaks evil of Him. In the eyes of people he may be a good ruler, someone who does his best to make people’s lives more pleasant, but it is all pretense. The wicked is very much pleased with himself. In the haughtiness of his countenance and in his arrogance he believes that any seeking of God or any examination of what is good is unnecessary ( ). He himself determines what is good. He is his own standard. In his thoughts, “all his thoughts”, there is no room for God. He blasphemes God and banishes Him from his thinking. That there is no room for God in his thoughts, seems to bring success on his ways, because they prosper at all times ( ). But those who live without God, those who do not involve Him in their lives, can only cause pain and sorrow for others. There is no thought of the well-being of others. The wicked denies that he is accountable to God. As a result, he claims, he has a free pass to force his neighbor to accept his scheme. If his neighbor does not, he will remove him, as Cain did to Abel. God’s judgment is far above him, far from him, and it does not interest him at all. He puts it off (cf. ). “He snorts” at “all his adversaries”, those who disagree with him, he does not tolerate them in his presence and gets rid of them. There is not the slightest modesty or uncertainty with him about his actions. In his heart resides the greatest prideful self-assurance that he will not be moved ( ). Here, in his haughtiness, he appropriates a privilege that God has purposed for the righteous ( ). He sees himself surviving the generations and living on in prosperity, untouchable from misfortune. In his conceit and pride, he thinks: “I will not be in adversity.” The language his mouth spews out reflects what is in his heart and in his mind ( ). He does not curse, deceive and oppress just once in a while and is not crafty in his speaking just once in a while, but his mouth is full of it. There is no room for anything else. The smallest bit of truth is foreign to him. “Under his tongue”, which is also his weapon, “is mischief and wickedness”. His words conceal his real intentions. There is nothing sincere in him. In , the psalmist describes the wicked as a lion lying in ambush to ambush and devour his prey. His prey is called “the innocent”, “the unfortunate” ( ), “the afflicted” ( [2x]) and again “the unfortunate” ( ). They are no match for the mighty lion with his strong claws. The wicked targets those who live righteously before God and therefore brings his hatred upon them. Because God does not intervene directly, the wicked believes he can continue to do evil ( ; cf. ). He sees God’s patience as impotence. In his foolishness, he believes that God is forgetful and acts as if He does not care, that He even “will never see” evil.

‏ Psalms 10:7

What the Wicked Thinks, Does, and Says

In these verses, the psalmist tells why he cries out to the LORD in his troubles in Psa 10:1. He wrestles with his faith, his faith is in conflict with what he sees. In these verses he gives a detailed description of the wicked in whom we again clearly recognize the antichrist. The antichrist is the wicked who has no regard for God. He lives in pure pride in rebellion against Him.

The wicked shows his hatred of God by “hotly” pursuing the God-fearing “afflicted” (Psa 10:2). “Hotly” means burning, a burning zeal to kill the God-fearing. He is helped in this by his followers. This is evident from the second line of Psa 10:2. The psalmist cries out to God “to let them be caught in the plots which they have devised”. The followers of the antichrist are animated by the same demonic spirit and devise the same demonic plans. Further on, in Psa 10:8-10, the execution of those cunning plans is vividly described.

His murderous and predatory ways are “his heart’s desire” (Psa 10:3). He behaves as if he were God (2Thes 2:4b). Without any shame, he boasts of his sins. He “blesses the greedy man” as it also can be translated. The greedy man is the one who behaves like him. In contrast, he “curses [and] spurns the LORD”. He not only does not care about God, but deliberately turns against Him and deliberately speaks evil of Him. In the eyes of people he may be a good ruler, someone who does his best to make people’s lives more pleasant, but it is all pretense.

The wicked is very much pleased with himself. In the haughtiness of his countenance and in his arrogance he believes that any seeking of God or any examination of what is good is unnecessary (Psa 10:4). He himself determines what is good. He is his own standard. In his thoughts, “all his thoughts”, there is no room for God. He blasphemes God and banishes Him from his thinking.

That there is no room for God in his thoughts, seems to bring success on his ways, because they prosper at all times (Psa 10:5). But those who live without God, those who do not involve Him in their lives, can only cause pain and sorrow for others. There is no thought of the well-being of others.

The wicked denies that he is accountable to God. As a result, he claims, he has a free pass to force his neighbor to accept his scheme. If his neighbor does not, he will remove him, as Cain did to Abel. God’s judgment is far above him, far from him, and it does not interest him at all. He puts it off (cf. Amos 6:3). “He snorts” at “all his adversaries”, those who disagree with him, he does not tolerate them in his presence and gets rid of them.

There is not the slightest modesty or uncertainty with him about his actions. In his heart resides the greatest prideful self-assurance that he will not be moved (Psa 10:6). Here, in his haughtiness, he appropriates a privilege that God has purposed for the righteous (Psa 15:5 ; Psa 16:8 ; Psa 21:7 ; Psa 112:6). He sees himself surviving the generations and living on in prosperity, untouchable from misfortune. In his conceit and pride, he thinks: “I will not be in adversity.”

The language his mouth spews out reflects what is in his heart and in his mind (Psa 10:7). He does not curse, deceive and oppress just once in a while and is not crafty in his speaking just once in a while, but his mouth is full of it. There is no room for anything else. The smallest bit of truth is foreign to him. “Under his tongue”, which is also his weapon, “is mischief and wickedness”. His words conceal his real intentions. There is nothing sincere in him.

In Psa 10:8-10, the psalmist describes the wicked as a lion lying in ambush to ambush and devour his prey. His prey is called “the innocent”, “the unfortunate” (Psa 10:8), “the afflicted” (Psa 10:9 [2x]) and again “the unfortunate” (Psa 10:10). They are no match for the mighty lion with his strong claws. The wicked targets those who live righteously before God and therefore brings his hatred upon them.

Because God does not intervene directly, the wicked believes he can continue to do evil (Psa 10:11; cf. Ecc 8:11). He sees God’s patience as impotence. In his foolishness, he believes that God is forgetful and acts as if He does not care, that He even “will never see” evil.