Bird's-eye view
In these two verses, the psalmist pivots from a detailed description of the wicked man's character and apparent success to a direct, impassioned plea for divine intervention. This is not a cry of despair but a cry of faith, albeit a faith under immense pressure. The psalmist calls upon God to act in accordance with His own character, to rise up and bring His power to bear on the situation. The central issue is the foundational lie of the wicked heart: the assumption that God is an absentee landlord who will not hold His creatures accountable. The prayer, therefore, is for God to publicly and decisively refute this lie by bringing justice to the afflicted and judgment upon the arrogant. It is a raw, honest, and theologically profound appeal to the Judge of all the earth to do right.
The passage brilliantly contrasts the believer's address to God with the unbeliever's internal monologue about God. The psalmist speaks to God, acknowledging His power and authority. The wicked man speaks about God in his heart, dismissing that same power and authority. This section serves as the turning point in the psalm, moving from lament to a confident petition that anticipates God's ultimate vindication of His name and His people.
Outline
- 1. The Saint's Urgent Petition (Psalm 10:12)
- a. The Call for Divine Action (v. 12a)
- b. The Call for Divine Remembrance (v. 12b)
- 2. The Sinner's Arrogant Presumption (Psalm 10:13)
- a. The Question of Contempt (v. 13a)
- b. The Creed of the Wicked Heart (v. 13b)
Context In Psalms
Psalm 10 is often considered a continuation of Psalm 9, with some Hebrew manuscripts combining them. While Psalm 9 is a song of praise for God's past judgments, Psalm 10 is a lament and a petition concerning the present prosperity of the wicked. The psalm begins by questioning God's apparent distance in times of trouble (v. 1). It then provides a detailed and disturbing portrait of the wicked man: his pride, his greed, his practical atheism, and his predatory violence against the helpless (vv. 2-11). Our passage, verses 12-13, marks the crucial shift in the psalm's tone. The description of the problem gives way to a direct appeal to the only solution: God Himself. This petition then flows into a declaration of confidence in God's eternal kingship and His commitment to justice (vv. 14-18), bringing the psalm to a triumphant conclusion.
Key Issues
- The Problem of Theodicy (Why the wicked prosper)
- The Nature of Imprecatory Prayer
- Anthropomorphic Language for God (Arise, lift hand, forget)
- The Biblical Definition of the "Heart"
- The Doctrine of Final Judgment and Accountability
- Practical Atheism vs. Living Faith
The Creed of the God-Spurner
At the center of all human rebellion is a creed. It is not always spoken, and it is rarely thought through with intellectual rigor, but it is held with dogmatic tenacity in the heart. The psalmist here gives us the fundamental tenet of that dark creed: "You will not require it." This is the linchpin of all wickedness. It is the belief, deep in the control room of the soul, that there is no final exam, no ultimate accountability, no day when the books will be opened and a reckoning will be required. Every sin, from the petty lie to the bloody genocide, is made possible by this one damnable assumption.
The psalmist's prayer is therefore a request for God to demolish this creed. When he cries out, "Arise, O Yahweh," he is asking God to provide a public and irrefutable answer to the wicked man's sneering dismissal. He is praying for a demonstration of divine justice that will not only rescue the afflicted but will also vindicate the character of God Himself. He is praying that God would show the whole world that He is not an indifferent spectator, but a holy and just King who most certainly will require it.
Verse by Verse Commentary
12 Arise, O Yahweh; O God, lift up Your hand. Do not forget the afflicted.
The prayer begins with a series of urgent commands. Of course, the psalmist is not presuming to order God around. This is the language of impassioned, covenantal prayer. "Arise, O Yahweh" is a common biblical cry for God to move from His position of apparent rest or patience into one of decisive, world-altering action. It is a prayer for God to enter the courtroom and take the judge's seat. "Lift up Your hand" is a parallel request, a vivid anthropomorphism for God to unleash His power. The hand of God in Scripture represents His might and His capacity to execute judgment and salvation. The psalmist is asking God to stop holding back and to intervene forcefully.
The final clause, "Do not forget the afflicted," gets to the heart of the believer's fear in the midst of suffering. It feels as though God has forgotten. But again, this is the language of faith from a human perspective. God, being omniscient, cannot forget. The plea is for God to act on behalf of those He remembers, to demonstrate His faithfulness to the anawim, the humble and oppressed who have no other defender. It is an appeal to God's covenant love for His people.
13 Why has the wicked spurned God? He has said in his heart, “You will not require it.”
Here the psalmist puts his finger on the ultimate source of the problem. He asks a rhetorical question that he immediately answers. Why does the wicked man act with such contempt for God and such cruelty toward men? The reason is theological. He has "spurned" God, which means he has treated Him with utter contempt, as though He were irrelevant. This is not necessarily intellectual atheism; it is practical atheism, which is far more common and far more dangerous.
The psalmist then reveals the internal monologue, the secret belief that fuels this contempt: "He has said in his heart, 'You will not require it.'" The "heart" in Scripture is not the seat of emotion but the center of one's being, the seat of will, intellect, and desire. And in his heart, the wicked man has concluded that there will be no divine audit. The Hebrew for "require it" (darash) means to seek an account, to investigate, to demand a reckoning. The wicked man is betting his life, and the lives of his victims, on the belief that God does not do this. He believes sin is a consequence-free enterprise. This is the foundational lie of the serpent in the garden, "You will not surely die," repackaged for every generation of rebels.
Application
This passage presents us with two starkly different ways of relating to God, and we must see ourselves in both. First, we are called to be like the psalmist. We live in a world overflowing with injustice, where the wicked often seem to prosper. We are not called to a stoic indifference. We are called to cry out to God, to bring the raw, ugly facts of the situation before Him and plead with Him to act. We must pray, "Arise, O Lord!" This is not a sign of weak faith, but of true faith, for it takes our outrage to the only One who can do anything about it. We must pray for justice, for the vindication of the righteous, and for the downfall of arrogant evil.
Second, we must be vigilant against the creed of the wicked in our own hearts. Every time we are tempted to sin, the serpent whispers to us, "God will not require this. It's a small thing. No one will know. There will be no consequences." Every act of disobedience is rooted in a momentary belief that God is not a meticulous bookkeeper. This passage reminds us that He is. He sees all, and He will require an account for every idle word and every wicked deed. The good news of the gospel is not that God has lowered His standards, but that Jesus Christ has met them on our behalf. On the cross, God "required" of His own Son the payment for our sins, so that we who are in Christ will not face condemnation. But for those who persist in the arrogant belief that they can spurn God and get away with it, this psalm stands as a terrifying warning. God will arise. He will lift His hand. And He will most certainly require it.