Where Are You Lord Amid the Darkness?
“Where are you?” How often have we asked that question of someone or been asked that by our parents/guardians? It is a question that we have probably been asked nearly every day of our whole life: people looking at us and needing to know where we are or where we might be going. The simplest of questions is so common that we lose sight of how deep it can be.
Many years ago, I managed to get lost on a family holiday; the national park shut down because Andrew could not be bothered to listen to Mum and Dad’s instructions! I wanted to go and see the Butterfly, so I headed off on my own and never once thought of the devastation I would cause. Now, after I had seen them and been rather disappointed, I realised that I had to find my parents whom I had abandoned! I was completely lost, and my parents, the police and everyone searching the park thought I had been taken! I might not have listened to Mum and Dad, but I sure did listen to all those safety warnings in primary school: Never talk to strangers! I knew I had mucked up something serious as I walked around a park alone, trying to figure out what to do; I knew the one thing that I was not meant to do was to talk to strangers. It never dawned on me that all the strange voices that were calling my name might have been looking for me; I was so suspicious of the fact that all these strangers knew I was missing that I chose to go off the main paths and walk through the forest to try and find mum and dad! I was in enough trouble already, so I would not be caught talking to strangers. Consider in that context of lostness how different “Where are you?” Being asked by everyone looking for me. It was a searching question, a desperate question and a necessary Question. With that desperate desire, that depth of searching, and that fear, we hear the Psalmist asks the same question not of someone but of God.
Psalm 9 to 10
As we transition from Psalm 9 to Psalm 10, we are poised to delve deeper into the contrasts and continuities within the Psalms. Psalm 9 ends on a confident affirmation of God’s justice and care for the afflicted. It celebrates God’s sovereignty and righteousness as a testament to the enduring hope and trust in God, even amidst chaos and hardship. As we explore Psalm 10, we are reminded that the Psalms are not just isolated songs or prayers. Still, they often flow into one another, providing a tapestry of human experience and divine faithfulness.
In Psalm 10, we confront a different aspect of faith – the seeming absence of God in times of trouble and injustice. This Psalm gives voice to the anguished heart that feels abandoned, questioning God’s presence amid oppression and evil. However, what makes Psalm 10 powerful is its raw honesty in expressing doubt and fear and its underlying thread of hope. It echoes the sentiments of many who have felt forgotten by God, yet it also guides us back to the truth of God’s unchanging nature and His ultimate justice.
In bridging these two Psalms, we see a fuller picture of the journey of faith. It’s a journey that encompasses both the mountain peaks of assurance in God’s goodness, as seen in Psalm 9, and the valleys of despair and questioning, as voiced in Psalm 10. This progression reminds us that our faith is not static but dynamic, encompassing a wide range of human emotions and experiences. It challenges us to embrace an authentic and resilient faith that can withstand the oscillations of life’s circumstances, always anchored in God’s steadfast love and justice.
Thus, as we delve into Psalm 10, let us carry with us the lessons from Psalm 9 – the confidence in God’s justice, the recognition of His sovereignty, and the acknowledgement of our reliance on His unfailing love. These truths form a foundation that enables us to confront the questions and challenges posed in Psalm 10, guiding us towards a deeper understanding and trust in God’s purposes, even amid life’s perplexing trials.
Outline of Psalm 10
The Psalmist asks a searching question, one that has echoed through our walk in the Psalm over the last couple of weeks, as we have soared through the high moments of Pslam 9, as we have struggled through the valleys that David has found himself in – there was one thing that remained constant and sure in every season of Davids life – Yahweh! Regardless of the season that he found himself in, David was always assured of the presence of God:
But the LORD sits enthroned forever; He has established his throne for justice, – Psalm 9:7
David loves God and has walked with him his whole life, in all the good and all the bad, and those grey moments in between: David has always known the presence of God! It’s a beautiful picture of the assurance we should sense and feel daily as we walk with God in Christ. Yet, it should also give us a sense of just how powerful the question is from verse one at the start of this Psalm. David is lost and lonely, and in his lostness, he is searching for the only one he knows who can find Him – Yahweh. Have you ever felt that way, been in such a place in life that you feel like no one will ever be able to comprehend or understand the weight of worry that might be on your shoulders, the loneliness of stress that makes the nights feel that little bit darker, as one person reflected:
I’ve felt the sting of rejection,
burn from head to toe
I’ve handled the loneliness
by hiding in my own shadow. – Deborah Ann Bella1
David asks a deep and meaningful question that we should all admit we have asked over the years, in those dark moments of life when we have wondered where God is and if he is real. Yet, as ever, the Psalm that begins with searching does not leave us wandering around in circles; what is asked is answered with direction and hope. This Psalm answers the question posed in three ways:
- Real Life: Real Problems: the world we live in is evil. (1-11)
- Real World: Real Prayer, where is our hope and life (12-15)
- Real Hope: God will have his way. One day there will be Justice (16-18)
So we have a deep question that we can all relate to, but as we consider the Psalm, we also need to make sure we hear the answer.
1. Real Life: Real Problems: the world we live in is evil. (1-11)
“In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. He boasts about the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord. In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. His ways are always prosperous; your laws are rejected by him; he sneers at all his enemies. He says to himself, ‘Nothing will ever shake me.’ He swears, ‘No-one will ever do me harm.’” Psalms 10:2-6 NIVUK2
If in David we are someone whose life is shaped by God, they may not live perfectly, but they Know God is there, and after every bump on the road, they turn to Yahweh and want to live for Him: in verse 3, we see the opposite of it. It is not the life of an unbeliever; it’s not even of someone sinful. David here is not described as the worst person you know; it is something far more evil – he is painting the picture of someone who has chosen to live their life in opposition to God. In short, verse 3 begins to paint the picture of an enemy of God.. If the mark of faith is humility, that we know our need of God, then the enemy of God is marked by their arrogance. Those who are humble know their need of God, and the arrogance live not just as if there is no God, but as if they themselves are god!
That is the picture of arrogance in Psalm 10; in contrast to the God who will bring justice, the arrogance of the wicked person leads them to hunt down those whom the world has already battered. Such is the state of the world that the Psalmist is describing; there is no justice or law, as the enemy of God hunts and catches those who have been caught in schemes and devices that he has been free to set himself. So evil is the age, so evil is the enemy of God that he schemes evil in his thoughts and then receives its poisoned fruit. The Psalm paints a picture of Contrasts; as we remember the God who will bring justice here, we see what a world without God looks like, a world where one person hunts another and seeks to catch them in snares set for pleasure or profit.
The World in Which We Live Today
It is the picture of the individual world we live in today, a world that is still marked by the same evil, and if we are honest in our age, it is even more visible. Our normal is evil, and our ethics are individual; we clamber over one another to get to the top; we delight when those we dislike fall; we find some satisfaction when we hear about someone facing difficulty which might have caused us the problem.
Without Christ, we are the arrogant ones that the Psalmist points to here; we are those who will step over one another for the interest of self. In contrast, if we walk with Christ, our living should look radically different and communal even in an individualistic world. We are those who remember that Jesus is not just our saviour; he is our example; as disciples sitting at the feet of Jesus, we are listening to his teaching, and, watching his movements and interactions with the world. The disciple of Jesus remembers everything from Jesus: He is teaching the Kingdom and modelling it – the question is, are we walking his way?
Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, the thing that you did for the least of these you did for me.” The enemy of God says: “I tell you the truth, I will take from the least of you whatever I want.” So, in a world of individualism, striving and power, those in control rather than being the bringers of Justice and peace often act as the perfect example of the human heart! In a world that has been so corrupted and turned on its head, the question we should ask with the Psalmist is where we turn now. If the powerful are abusing the poor, and the poor are powerless, then who can act to do something about it?
A Hard Heart
An already Ugly picture of the world and the person the Psalmist is writing about descends into even deeper darkness as we begin not just to see how he lives in the world and treats those around – we get to see his heart. Proverbs 4:23 advises: “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” The heart is the centre of who we are, and its state affects how we see ourselves, the world, and how we live in it. If the heart is good, then our living will be good. The Lord said of David he was a man after my own heart because David’s heart belonged to God and delighted in serving and living for Yahweh. Now we see the opposite of that, and the opposite of compassion that Christ has touched as the Psalm, a heart that is hard to the things of Yahweh because it considers itself god. So deprived is this person that they boast about the evils their heart desires; literally, they sing their praises about how warped their heart has become. He is so selfish and individualistic that he delights in his iniquity because he can see no other way.
Then, as he delights in his sinfulness, he also speaks well of those who live like him as he moves about the day he “blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.” So warped has the one opposed to God become that he speaks well of what the Lord despises and despises with his same speech the only thing in the world that is only good – God. Folks, this is the picture of a heart that has been turned by sin and a mind that has come to the lies of the world: it calls evil good and good evil (Ish 5:20). The one whose heart belongs to the world by default is one who chooses to revile the Lord, literally to spurn or turn away from. The picture in this Psalm is extreme and radical because it is meant to capture your attention as a warning. Its point is clear: there are only two states of heart in the world – one that belongs to God and one that chooses its own way, like that famous CS Lewis Quote:
“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened.”
Sin is opposite to God; no matter how good we might think we are, if our hearts do not belong to Him, then our hearts are opposed to Him. So no amount of good deeds, Church, religious acts, pious thinking, moral speaking or considerate caring will affect how we stand before God in light of eternity. We live with Him and For Him by faith in Christ, or our hearts have no room as we trust our ways. As the Psalmist says (10:4), our pride leads us to walk our own way because our minds have no room for God and his ways. The way of the Cross is marked by humility for all who walk it and depend on Christ; the way of the world is characterised by stupid arrogance; they are so arrogant that they consider themselves invincible: “Nothing bad will ever happen to us! We will be free of trouble forever!” The world is often unfair, as those who do evil seem to be free from any sense of the law or justice; they get away with everything – we might say today, “Money talks!” It’s not even the fact that they get away with it; it is not even that they might think themselves above the law or more important than anyone else; they think they are invincible and free from trouble forever! It is the picture of arrogance and, thankfully, for all who long for Justice and mercy – a picture of stupidity.
A Picture expanded (7–11)
“His mouth is full of lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue. He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent. His eyes watch in secret for his victims; like a lion in cover he lies in wait. He lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength. He says to himself, ‘God will never notice; he covers his face and never sees.’” – Psalms 10:7-11 NIVUK
Over the following five verses, an already dark picture expands even more as we see just how evil the enemy of God is. Interestingly, Paul uses the Greek translation of this in Romans 3:14 to outline how all are under sin; here, we sin just as that sin is. As he is arrogant, boasts in his deceit, and thinks of himself as powerful as God and free from any threat or assault on his power, we see that all that comes from him is evil and full of deceit. His mouth is full of threats and lies; trouble hides under his tongue – no space in his body is free from darkness or ill intent; he is like a Lion that is hellbent on destruction as he takes life at will and for no reason, as he is so warped that he lies in wait to attack people!
There is no one free from his evil; if he is not murdering the innocent, then he is catching the helpless and dragging them off. It is a terrible picture and one that is quite hard to read of an enemy that has become so powerful that he can act as he wants when he wants, and in whatever way he wants. Nothing can stand against him as his victims are crushed, and all collapses under his strength.
Such is his arrogance that he now dares to speak in Judgment of God, claiming that God has somehow forgotten and turned away to not see all that is happening. In a mouth full of lies and threats, we know straight away that such a statement is untrue because it suggests that either God is incapable of acting or uninterested in the suffering of the helpless to do something about it; the cross tells us differently. Thus, this section closes with the greatest evil and deception of all – a lie about God. This might seem like the least of issues, but it is the pinnacle of sin! To trust in oneself and deny that Sovereignty, Glory and majesty of the God who made you! Even now, we can feel the depth of the searching question at the beginning of this Psalm; we can sympathise with them asking it because, from what has been described, it seems God has abandoned the helpless and the weak. Thus, at the point of mocking God, the Psalm begins to turn for a reason: hope.
Real World: Real Prayer, where is our hope and life (12-15)
“Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, ‘He won’t call me to account’? But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted; you consider their grief and take it in hand. The victims commit themselves to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked man; call the evildoer to account for his wickedness that would not otherwise be found out.” – Psalms 10:12-15 NIVUK
If we are to remember one thing from this passage, it is not just that God is not a forgetful God, nor is it the dismissal of the lie that Yahweh is not concerned with the plight of the helpless. Rather simply, it is the answer to the question that Begins now: God is here! We might never find ourselves facing such evil and darkness; our lives may be relatively comfortable for all the hours that we have on earth. Yet, we are reminded here as the Psalmist moves from painting his picture of the heart opposed to God to crying out – Arise!
Whatever situation we are in, whatever threat we might be facing – we can turn to God because we know in Christ, rather than having turned his face away from us, the helpless God delights in turning towards them. To the image of the crushed helpless, the Psalmist prays that the hand of God would be moved to act. It is a prayer for protection in action. The situation is dreadful, but the Psalmist is certain of the character, willingness, and ability of God as he asks God to be the defender of the defenceless and the distraught. It is a prayer said in desperation when there seems to be no hope in the world. Yet, it is not a hopeless prayer; we must see that the Psalmist is praying in expectation of the God who will act, specifically, a God who will work against the world’s injustice. Notice the language of these verses: the repetition of words like revile (v7), the repeating of the arrogance pondering of the man from before as he wondered if God would ever hold him to account. The Psalmist is praying and using words here to specify plainly for all to see that God’s response is a direct response to the injustices that have been done. God is good, and he will bring justice. God sees all that goes on; he has compassion for those in grief and will move to defend the orphan (the picture of someone helpless in a culture based on family).
Hence, in this prayer for the arm of God to move against such an oppressor, we get to see how powerful the work of God is; as the psalmist asks for the Lord to break the arm of the wicked evildoer, it is a prayer to make him powerless. The Psalmist is praying that God will act and bring justice to a world of Chaos, and the image given is not just of a God who acts against evil but rather a God who works entirely to defeat evil. Now, we have the beauty of hindsight; we look back through the Cross knowing that corruption has been defeated, yet we also look forward to (with hope) the Cross in expectation of that moment when the curse of sin will finally be removed, and evil will know its place. That is not just the evil that afflicts the world’s helpless, but every curse of sin will be removed: Death, sickness, darkness, and decay will all have their day. As Eugene Peterson says, “God’s grace and order wins; godlessness loses.” We know this is because of Christ.
Real Hope: God will have his way. One day there will be Justice (16-18)
“The Lord is King forever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.” – Psalms 10:16-18 NIVUK
The Psalm began with searching for God; The Psalm ends with certainty in God – The Lord is King forever and ever! This is no longer a cry for help, but rather, from that cry for help, a confident declaration of who God is! A psalm that began with uncertainty now concludes with sovereign assurance – God will act powerfully to bring justice to the oppressed. The statement in verse 16 about the Kingship of God is very similar to Exodus 15:18 and draws us into the image of God’s reign existing for no other reason than the sake of his people. Yahweh does not need to reign, but he chooses so that they who might follow Him can know peace and prosperity and live in the world according to his ways. As God acts to bring about justice, it is not just about removing evil – such is his goodness and mercy that he will work to strengthen the affluent; as his ear inclines his ear to them, he will also strengthen their hearts. They will know the closeness and protection of God as he responds to the injustice that has been done to them, as the evil that was described so vividly in the middle of this Pslam is death with; hear how Eugene Peterson phrases the final verse: “The Reign of Terror is over, the rule of the gang Lords is ended.”
Psalms 9 and 10 are companions honest about the world’s state, yet hopeful about the messiah to Come. However, Psalm 10 is marked by a deeper sense of despair and helplessness about the state of the world: a Psalm searching for God is still made by the truth that hope is found only in God. It is a Psalm that Longs for Emmanuel to come and fight for the poor, and as it finishes, the Psalm again finds hope in his vision of the coming Messiah! The messiah who will incline his ear to the ear of the oppressed, do justice for the fatherless (the most vulnerable of society), and one day return to reign as King forever. That Messiah is King Jesus. Thus, the question we must ask:
- Is he King over our lives?
- Is he King in this Church?
- “Are we living by the Way of the King as we seek to build his Kingdom?”
Atr Irwin 