Psalms

Psalm 10:1

Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

Now, we need to understand that this is being written from David’s perspective.

We’ve been learning the past several weeks that God in fact is not distant and is

not a god that is indifferent about the things that transpire in our lives. The truth

is, is that He is close. What’s happening here in this opening verse is what many if

not all of us have felt at one time or another.

Have any of you thought and felt this way? It’s trying to make sense of what we

know to be true and trying to reconcile it with our present circumstances and

sometimes they don’t always line up. “God, I know you’re there. I know you care.

But, I just don’t feel like you are and I don’t feel like you do.” “Why do you feel so

distant God?” “Why can’t I see you? I need you now and I can’t see how you’re

involved in all of this. I just need to know you’re there.”

Now, these things are things that we say and feelings that we feel and they are

very real, but hear me when I say this. They do not represent the truth. And that

is not the way the world thinks about this. A worldly way of thinking says, “show

me proof. If you’re there, show me.” The worldly will say, “If I can’t see you, you’re

not real.” “If I can’t experience you, you don’t exist.” “If my mom or if my dad isn’t

healed then there is no God.”

Let me take us back to Job for a moment. Job is my favorite book of the Bible

(many of you know this). Here’s why.

Many of us who have been around children or have children of their own can

testify to the fact that they love to ask this one question…”Why?” And it’s not just

the question itself, because asking for answers due to curiosity and learning aboutthe world around us is a very valuable tool to employ, but it is the kind of asking

that demands an answer of the one being asked which is in view here. Here’s why

I love the book of Job. Job asks God, why? Why God? Why me? Is it something I’ve

done?

Here's just a taste of how God responds.

Job 38:4-11

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?

Tell me, if you have understanding.

5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!

Or who stretched the line upon it?

6 On what were its bases sunk,

or who laid its cornerstone,

7 when the morning stars sang together

and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

8 “Or who shut in the sea with doors

when it burst out from the womb,

9 when I made clouds its garment

and thick darkness its swaddling band,

10 and prescribed limits for it

and set bars and doors,

11 and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,

and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?

God is not anyone’s lackey. He answers to no one. To demand an answer from God

is stepping out of our station as the “created” thinking we are on level ground

with the Creator.

Now you may say, well Mark, we’ve read several psalms where David is asking this

question “Why?”. Here’s my response. Yes, Job asked “Why.” Yes, David asks,

“Why.” Yes, your preacher has asked God “why” before. But we must always bear

in mind what we find in the book of Job. There’s nothing wrong with asking God

why something is happening or why we are experiencing a hardship but, we are in

no place to demand answers from God. E.g. “God, explain yourself!” Friends, Goddoes not need to explain himself to me. If I do not receive an answer or the

answer I get is not to my liking, it is no reason for me to turn my back on God.

Romans 8:28

28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,

for those who are called according to his purpose.

Now pay attention…whose purpose? His (God’s) Purpose. And sometimes God’s

purpose is not all that glamorous. Go ahead and look up how the Apostles met

their end.

Let’s look at what Hebrews says of those who had been faithful.

Hebrews 11:35-38

Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a

better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and

imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with

the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted,

mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts

and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.

And look what it says next,

Hebrews 11:39-40

9 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was

promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us

they should not be made perfect.

These people spoken of here, did not live to see the fulfilment of the arrival of the

Messiah. But God had something better planned, that through Jesus’ death and

resurrection, they would have a heavenly home to enjoy for all eternity.The worldly thinks, “If I can’t see you, you’re not real.” The Christian thinks, “I

know you’re there, I trust you.” The Christian should know that there is much

more to the reality that we live in than merely the things we can observe with our

eyes and feel with our hands. There is more to this world than we can see, feel,

taste, touch and hear. We must switch out our worldly lenses and put on our

spiritual lenses. Trust me, you will see everything and everyone completely

different.

It's kind of funny to me that we hear an awful lot about the foolishness of

believing or trusting in someone we cannot see when it comes to God and the

Christian faith. However, we don’t hear much of anything when it comes to going

under with general anesthesia during a surgery. Most people are comfortable with

faith then. Or flying on an airplane, while in your seat there is no view of the pilot.

But you trust his competency even during times of turbulence. We put our faith in

retirement fund managers to manage large sums of money even though we may

have never even seen their face. Why is it that people get squirrely when it comes

to having faith in God? That’s something to think about.

Here's one takeaway that I would like you to leave with today. Do not confuse

feelings for the truth. Simply because we don’t see God working in our lives does

not mean he isn’t there.

Proverbs 28:26

Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool,

but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.

The following verses in Psalm 10 clue us in as to why David is feeling the way he

does. When he looks out at the world around him, he see injustice and evil

thriving. And he’s asking God, where are you?

Psalm 10:2

In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;

let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.This brings to mind the story of Esther and Haman. Haman was an evil and a

wicked man. Haman made a gallows meant for Esther’s uncle to be hanged upon.

Esther reveals this wicked plan to the king and the ultimate uno reverse card was

played and the gallows that Haman had made, ended up being the instrument of

his own execution. “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose

of the Lord that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21)

Psalm 10:3-11

3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,

and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the Lord.

4 In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;

all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

5 His ways prosper at all times;

your judgments are on high, out of his sight;

as for all his foes, he puffs at them.

6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;

throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”

7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;

under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

8 He sits in ambush in the villages;

in hiding places he murders the innocent.

His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;

he lurks that he may seize the poor;

he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.

10 The helpless are crushed, sink down,

and fall by his might.

11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,

he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

David is giving us a description of what he sees when he looks out into the world

and sees the wicked. The wicked are arrogant and say there is no God. They’re

successful and take all the credit for themselves. I saw a social media post one

time where it expressed contempt for people praying at restaurants thanking God

for their food. Here’s the original poster’s viewpoint. “Why would anyone pray to

God and thank Him for the food, when it was the waiter or waitress taking theorder, the cooks preparing it and the waiter or waitress serving them the food

when it’s ready. If anyone is to thank, it’s them and not God.”

A lot of people think this way. And even some Christians think this way. We

graduate from high school or we graduate from college and we think, “I did that.”

“Look at me,” With little or no thought to God’s role in the success. Or we rise

through the ranks at work through promotions and we get all puffed up thinking

we are something. Christians as well as non-Christians struggle with pride. I

struggle with pride (some days more than others). It’s always knocking at the door

of my heart and I have to fight to resist it. In order to keep me based and

grounded, I wrote a song that has these words in it.

“If I ever start feeling proud, I’ll remember where I’m from. I was just a kid in an

orphanage with my brother by side, bound to a life of poverty but the Lord had

something else on His mind.”

I am where I am today only because God has allowed it. I am where I am today

because of God’s mercy and grace in my life. I cannot and will not boast in myself

but I will make my boast in the Lord my Creator and Sustainer. And because of

that, my worst days are still my best days because no matter the circumstance, if

someone asks me, “How are you?” My response will always be, “better than I

deserve.”

If I ever find myself bedridden for the rest of my life, my response would still be,

“better than I deserve.” I know what my life would have been like without God

working in my life. Bedridden with the hope of everlasting life in Jesus, is far better

than working in rice fields in Vietnam and praying to Buddha.

You see, the wicked in David’s time payed no such attention to their lack of

acknowledgement toward God for their successes. “I’ve gotten this far without

God. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

We may even be like David and think to ourselves, “God, why do you let so and so

down the road who doesn’t pay you any mind or even live according to your

statutes live so easily and so successfully? And here I am, giving my whole life to

you, and I’m suffering and life is grueling.”Several months ago, I drove my car to the Church office and parked it and went

about my day. At the end of the day, I turn my key to start the car and it doesn’t

start. I try again, and it starts but the car starts shaking and then shuts off. And

then it just wouldn’t start altogether. And I was puzzled. JJ and I had had this car

for several years. We drove it all the way out to North Dakota and back for

vacation one year. I continued to drive it to and from work year after year and

then all of a sudden, it just wouldn’t work. How could this be?

I had the car looked at at a car shop and they said to me, I don’t know if you knew

this, but you had the wrong pistons installed. I obviously didn’t know. Before then,

the car had been working perfectly. No signs of issues and no warning lights on

the dashboard, then all of a sudden, the car stopped working.

Just as having the wrong pistons installed in your engine block can work for a

while without any signs of anything going wrong, so too is the person who lives

their lives without acknowledging God. Things may be going great and smooth,

but only for a time. Then one day, there will be a reckoning. We will be called to

account. Unfortunately, a lot of people keep living in rejection of God because in

their minds, they don’t need Him. Why would they? (In their perspective).

Proverbs 14:12

There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way to death.

That is where we come in. As Christians, we carry the hope of the gospel with us.

And there are many people all around us who need to hear the hope that Jesus

brings. The gospel is hope. It is power, and it is life. So, let’s continue to live boldly

and courageously in serving God and joining in the work of building up His

kingdom.

So if someone comes to you and says, “I’ve been trying to do this on my own and I

just can’t do it anymore,” you can look at them with compassion and hope and

love in your eyes and you can say with all confidence, “I have a solution for you

and His name is Jesus.”And all of us here in the room today, and those of you who are watching at home

in your living room couch can say that, Jesus changes everything. It’s not just a

catchy phrase. It’s the truth. Jesus changes everything.

Let’s get back to David.

Psalm 10:12-15

Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;

forget not the afflicted.

13 Why does the wicked renounce God

and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?

14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,

that you may take it into your hands;

to you the helpless commits himself;

you have been the helper of the fatherless.

15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;

call his wickedness to account till you find none.

Just as we have seen in previous weeks, David is calling upon God to move in a

way that stops the evil from carrying out their wicked plans. “Break the arm” is

not to be taken literally, but it is an idiom that expresses the desire to have the

wicked lose their means of oppressing the righteous. And he appeals to God to

call the wicked to account. And we know, that there will come a day when

righteous judgment will befall the wicked.

Here's another thing I’d like to point out. There are many non-Christians who see

what we see. Evil is alive and well. And some may think, well why doesn’t God do

something about it? Why doesn’t God just wipe out all the evil in the world, surely

He is able to do that. And they are correct. God can do that. What that means for

the non-Christian is that they would be wiped out as well. There is no one

righteous, no not one. Only those made righteous by the blood of Jesus can stand

before a Holy God. And so what could be perceived by many as inaction on God’s

part, is in actuality, God’s longsuffering, his patience for those who still need to

come to faith in Jesus.

Let no one confuse God’s patience for indifference.2 Peter 3:9

9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient

toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach

repentance.

Psalm 10:16-18

The Lord is king forever and ever;

the nations perish from his land.

17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;

you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,

so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

Again, as we have seen in previous chapters, no matter the circumstances, David

comes back to acknowledging who God is. He is Lord forever and ever. He does in

fact concern himself with what happens here. He hears our prayers, he hears our

cries. He sees us while we’re in distress. He strengthens our hearts and sustains

us day by day. Even though evil may prevail today, Justice is coming and there will

be a day when evil will end once for all.

If you have been feeling discouraged lately, I want you to know that God is on the

throne. He’s got this. Trust Him. Lean on Him. He’s with you and he cares for you.