Out of Sight, Out of Mind (Psalm 10)

Psalm 10 gives us insight into the unrepentant mind. Verse 4 tells us that all the thoughts of the wicked are, "There is no God." He doesn't mean this literalistically; unrepentant people don't walk down the street thinking, "there is no God, there is no God, there is no God," like an atheistic little engine that could. He means that every one of the wicked's thoughts spring from the premise that God is not there—or at least that he isn't looking (10:11).

It is because of this foundational assumption that the wicked are able to do all that they do: oppression, boasting, theft, murder are all made possible by the belief that God is not there. Which means that in those moments when you and I slip into sin, we are slipping back into the same pagan way of thinking. God doesn't really care if I'm always kind to everyone. He isn't concerned that I should really be patient or forgiving (at least not in that circumstance). When we take God's mercy for granted—when we let his holiness and hatred for sin go unnoticed in our hearts—the result must be sin. Oppression. Murder.

Yet, though they thumb their nose at God, the wicked inevitably find themselves in positions of power and influence. Their way always seems to prosper (10:5). When we see that, something inside us can't help crying foul.

We live in a world full of injustice that we can't put right on our own. The psalmist recognizes this. And he tells us that God can and will set things right in the end: "O LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more" (10:17-18).

Faith in God's justice keeps me from seeking my own satisfaction here and now. It provides me the wherewithal to endure suffering and injustice in this life. It gives me the internal strength to embrace the position of the poor or oppressed, because I know that ultimately God will come to my aid. And I know that most truly because Christ himself came as a poor man, was oppressed till his dying day, and on the third day God the Father miraculously came to his aid. In Christ, God HAS come to my aid, and that proves he WILL come to my aid again. If I suffer injustice now, I'm getting a small taste of what it's like to wear my Savior's shoes. In the light of eternity, this momentary affliction looks surprisingly small. It almost even looks like a privilege.