Please read Psalm 10 (18 verses)

We have in this Psalm a character description of the wicked. It is comprehensive and far reaching. The psalmist remonstrates with the Lord to deal with the wicked for they persecute the poor and catch them in nets of deceit.

The wicked have no thought of God, indeed they renounce the Lord and bless the greedy. They do all they can to entrap other people in their schemes and lay in wait for the unwary like a lion waiting in his den. The predator believes that God will not see and they cannot be moved from their perceived lofty position. Their mouth is full of cursing, deceit and oppression, and trouble and iniquity are valued and enjoyed by them.

The psalmist knows that God sees everything and has observed the grief of the helpless. He knows that the Lord will help the fatherless and those who are unfortunate in their situations and he calls on God to destroy the works of the wicked and render them invalid. The writer acknowledges the Lord as king forever and recognises that the kingdoms of this world will ultimately perish by the hand of the Lord.

Only the Lord can save the hearts of the humble and fulfil their desires. Only the Lord can stop the oppression of the people of God from those who seek to rule over them and exploit them. The way of the Lord will prosper and He will sneer at all His enemies that seek the hurt of other people. He lifts up the poor and brings the rich into adversity by the motion of His hand and breaks the strength of the wicked.