Psalm 10
How Near Is God? (Psalm 10:1-11)
David was in trouble again. As you read the Book of Psalms, you see that David was in and out of trouble. Some people tell us that if you are a Christian and you really love the Lord, you’ll never be in difficult places. That wasn’t true of Moses. It wasn’t true of David. And it certainly wasn’t true of our Lord Jesus Christ! He ended up in the most difficult place of all–being crucified on a Roman cross.
Listen to David: “Why do You stand afar off, O Lord? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?” (v. 1). Here is that question once again: “Why Lord? Where are You?” Why do we think that God is far away from us? What makes us think that God has deserted us? In the first place, God is everywhere. We know that. And in the second place, God has promised not to forsake us (Heb. 13:5). David just felt as if God was far away. That’s a good lesson for us to learn. Don’t base your judgments only on your feelings. Now, don’t ignore your feelings. Feelings are important. God made us to be emotional. There is nothing wrong with showing emotions sincerely. But don’t build your life on emotion, lest you end up with commotion. Build your life on faith. Faith says, “I’m going to trust God no matter what I see, no matter what I think and no matter how I feel.” Faith does not mean that we are ignorant. Faith means that we are walking in the will of God because we know the Word of God.
Yes, David was in trouble. The proud and self-sufficient were after him. They were persecuting him and saying, “I shall not be moved.” They were saying, “God won’t see it.” They were saying, “God will not judge.” But David came to the Lord and said, “Lord, You know all about this, and You are going to take care of it.”
When it seems as if God is far away, remind yourself that He is near. Nearness is not a matter of geography. God is everywhere. Nearness is likeness. The more we become like the Lord, the nearer He is to us.
For what specific situation do you need to exercise faith–no matter what you see, think or feel? What Scripture verse can you calim for this situation?
© Warren Wiersbe
The Heart of the Problem (Psalm 10:12-18)
Verses 12-18 tell us that David cried out to God and said, “God, You’ve got to take care of the situation.” David was being persecuted. Keep in mind that, for a number of years, Saul was pursuing David. David compared himself to a flea that was being chased. Saul was listening to liars in his court. Those who wanted Saul’s favor, who wanted to be his buddies, were saying, “David wants your crown. He wants your throne. Now, Saul, David said this, and David did that.” They lied about him. And David couldn’t do a thing about it.
Keep in mind that you have very little control over the circumstances of life. You can’t control the weather or the economy. You cannot control what other people say about you or do to you. There’s only one area where you have control. You can rule the kingdom down inside. The heart of every problem is the problem of the heart. Once we have gotten to that throne room down inside and let God take over, then we don’t have to worry about that other crowd.
David prayed in verse 12, “Arise, O Lord! O God, lift up Your hand! Do not forget the humble.” That word “humble” is the key word. What is humility? You may say, “Humility is thinking poorly of yourself.” No, humility is simply not thinking of yourself at all. Humility means I cannot handle this problem myself. God is going to have to handle it by working in me and through me and for me. But before God can work for me He has to work in me. Before God can work through me He has to work in me. The Lord is king forever and ever. “Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble” (v. 17). God sees and hears. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. If you want to get on top of your circumstances, get beneath the feet of the Lord. Humble yourself, and He’ll lift you up.
In what area of your life is the Lord working? In what areas have you rejected His changes? What steps will you take to correct that?
© Warren Wiersbe
Dr. Warren Wiersbe (1929-2019) was an internationally known Bible teacher, author, and conference speaker. He graduated in 1953 from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard, Illinois. While attending seminary, he was ordained as pastor of Central Baptist Church in 1951 and served until 1957. From September 1957 to 1961, Wiersbe served as Director of The Literature Division for Youth for Christ International. From 1961 to 1971 he pastored Calvary Baptist Church of Covington, Kentucky south of Cincinnati, Ohio. His sermons were broadcast as the “Calvary Hour” on a local Cincinnati radio station. From 1971 to 1978, He served as the pastor of Moody Church in Chicago 1971 to 1978. While at Moody Church he continued in radio ministry. Between August 1979 and March 1982, he wrote bi-weekly for Christianity Today as “Eutychus X”, taught practical theology classes at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois, and wrote the course material and taught a Doctor of Ministry course at Trinity and Dallas Seminary. In 1980 he transitioned to Back to the Bible radio broadcasting network where he worked until 1990. Dr. Wiersbe became Writer in Residence at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids and Distinguished Professor of Preaching at Grand Rapids Theological Seminary. In his lifetime, Dr. Wiersbe wrote over 170 books—including the popular Be series, which has sold over four million copies. Dr. Wiersbe was awarded the Gold Medallion Lifetime Achievement by the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).
