A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.
10 Why do You stand afar off, O Lord?
Why do You hide [a]Yourself in times of trouble?
2 In pride the wicked [b]hotly pursue the afflicted;
[c]Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.3 For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire,
And [d]the greedy man curses and spurns the Lord.
4 The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him.
All his [e]thoughts are, “There is no God.”5 His ways [f]prosper at all times;
Your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.
6 He says to himself, “I will not be moved;
[g]Throughout all generations I will not be in adversity.”
7 His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.
8 He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
In the hiding places he kills the innocent;
His eyes [h]stealthily watch for the [i]unfortunate.
9 He lurks in a hiding place as a lion in his [j]lair;
He lurks to catch the afflicted;
He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net.
10 He [k]crouches, he [l]bows down,
And the [m]unfortunate fall [n]by his mighty ones.
11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand.
Do not forget the afflicted.
13 Why has the wicked spurned God?
He has said to himself, “You will not require it.”
14 You have seen it, for You have beheld mischief and vexation to [o]take it into Your hand.
The [p]unfortunate commits himself to You;
You have been the helper of the orphan.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
[q]Seek out his wickedness until You find none.16 The Lord is King forever and ever;
Nations have perished from His land.
17 O Lord, You have heard the desire of the [r]humble;
You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear
18 To [s]vindicate the orphan and the oppressed,
So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror.
There are plenty of wicked folks on this earth, that certainly hasn’t changed since the day this prayer was written. An interesting statement is seen in verse 4, that the wicked thinks, “there is no God”. We see elsewhere that “the fool has said in his heart, ‘there is no God'”. Sadly, too many have chosen to be foolish in their thinking.
They have chosen to ignore the reality in verse 16, that “The Lord is King forever and ever;” All creation testifies of His glory, and some folks choose to wallow in the mud with the pigs. There is a different path, and though we all have fallen short of God’s standard, He gives us an incredible opportunity to become like his Son, to become children of the Most High, and “joint heirs with Christ”.
But this isn’t a rescue mission to remove us from the world. We don’t get to sit in a comfy mansion and ignore the plight of our fellow man. Once redeemed, we must join in His rescue mission, we must strive to live like Jesus lived (and lives). He was a servant to all, and many would have called that foolish, yet that is what we are called to be.
We need to be the hands and feet of Jesus, showing His love and mercy both to the “unfortunate” who has been victimized, and also (even) to the wicked fool who is wallowing in the filth. Serve them as if you were serving God, because you are. Jesus was God incarnate, and He still chose to serve us instead of staying on his throne. You are a child of the King, live like the Child of the King.