17 Jehovah, thou hast heard the desire of the meek, thou hast established their heart: thou causest thine ear to hear,
For the needy one shall not be forgotten alway; the hope of the meek shall not perish for ever.
Jehovah, God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and direct their hearts to thee!
Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift comes down from above, from the Father of lights, with whom is no variation nor shadow of turning.
And the tax-gatherer, standing afar off, would not lift up even his eyes to heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, O God, have compassion on me, the sinner. I say unto you, This [man] went down to his house justified rather than that [other]. For every one who exalts himself shall be humbled, and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.
Because thy heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy garments and weep before me, I also have heard [thee], saith Jehovah.
And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
He fulfilleth the desire of them that fear him; he heareth their cry, and saveth them.
For when he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them; the cry of the afflicted ones hath he not forgotten.
And when he was in affliction, he besought Jehovah his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed to him. And he was intreated of him and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that Jehovah, he was God.
The hand of God was also upon Judah to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of Jehovah.
Likewise [ye] younger, be subject to [the] elder, and all of you bind on humility towards one another; for God sets himself against [the] proud, but to [the] humble gives grace.
Humble yourselves before [the] Lord, and he shall exalt you.
But he gives more grace. Wherefore he says, God sets himself against [the] proud, but gives grace to [the] lowly.
For through him we have both access by one Spirit to the Father.
And in like manner the Spirit joins also its help to our weakness; for we do not know what we should pray for as is fitting, but the Spirit itself makes intercession with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Peter therefore was kept in the prison; but unceasing prayer was made by the assembly to God concerning him. And when Herod was going to bring him forth, that night Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards before the door kept the prison. And lo, an angel of [the] Lord came there, and a light shone in the prison: and having smitten the side of Peter, he roused him up, saying, Rise up quickly. And his chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, Gird thyself, and bind on thy sandals. And he did so. And he says to him, Cast thine upper garment about thee and follow me. And going forth he followed [him] and did not know that what was happening by means of the angel was real, but supposed he saw a vision. And having passed through a first and second guard, they came to the iron gate which leads into the city, which opened to them of itself; and going forth they went down one street, and immediately the angel left him. And Peter, being come to himself, said, Now I know certainly that [the] Lord has sent forth his angel and has taken me out of the hand of Herod and all the expectation of the people of the Jews. And having become clearly conscious [in himself], he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was surnamed Mark, where were many gathered together and praying. And when he had knocked at the door of the entry, a maid came to listen, by name Rhoda; and having recognised the voice of Peter, through joy did not open the entry, but running in, reported that Peter was standing before the entry. And they said to her, Thou art mad. But she maintained that it was so. And they said, It is his angel. But Peter continued knocking: and having opened, they saw him and were astonished. And having made a sign to them with his hand to be silent, he related [to them] how the Lord had brought him out of prison; and he said, Report these things to James and to the brethren. And he went out and went to another place. And when it was day there was no small disturbance among the soldiers, what then was become of Peter. And Herod having sought him and not found him, having examined the guards, commanded [them] to be executed. And he went down from Judaea to Caesarea and stayed [there].
And they, having heard [it], lifted up [their] voice with one accord to God, and said, Lord, *thou* art the God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them; who hast said by the mouth of thy servant David, Why have [the] nations raged haughtily and [the] peoples meditated vain things? The kings of the earth were there, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. For in truth against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou hadst anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with [the] nations, and peoples of Israel, have been gathered together in this city to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel had determined before should come to pass. And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings, and give to thy bondmen with all boldness to speak thy word, in that thou stretchest out thy hand to heal, and that signs and wonders take place through the name of thy holy servant Jesus. And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke the word of God with boldness.
Blessed [are] the poor in spirit, for *theirs* is the kingdom of the heavens.
The fear of a wicked [man], it shall come upon him; but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is fixed confiding in Jehovah; His heart is maintained, he is not afraid, until he see [his desire] upon his oppressors.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Psalms 10
Commentary on Psalms 10 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
PSALM 10
Ps 10:1-18. The Psalmist mourns God's apparent indifference to his troubles, which are aggravated by the successful malice, blasphemy, pride, deceit, and profanity of the wicked. On the just and discriminating providence of God he relies for the destruction of their false security, and the defense of the needy.
1. These are, of course, figurative terms (compare Ps 7:6; 13:1, &c.).
hidest—Supply "thine eyes" or "face."
2. Literally, "In pride of the wicked they (the poor or humble, Ps 10:17; 12:5) shall be taken in the devices they (the proud) have imagined."
3. heart's—or, "soul's."
desire—that is, his success in evil.
and blesseth, &c.—he (the wicked) blesseth the covetous, he despiseth the Lord.
4. The face expresses the self-conceit, whose fruit is practical atheism (Ps 14:1).
5, 6. Such is his confidence in the permanence of his way or course of life, that he disregards God's providential government (out of sight, because he will not look, Isa 26:11), sneers at his enemies, and boasts perpetual freedom from evil.
7-10. The malignity and deceit (Ps 140:3) of such are followed by acts combining cunning, fraud, and violence (compare Pr 1:11, 18), aptly illustrated by the habits of the lion, and of hunters taking their prey. "Poor," in Ps 10:8, 10, 14, represents a word peculiar to this Psalm, meaning the sad or sorrowful; in Ps 10:9, as usual, it means the pious or meek sufferer.
8. eyes … privily—He watches with half-closed eyes, appearing not to see.
10. croucheth—as a lion gathers himself into as small compass as possible to make the greater spring.
fall by his strong ones—The figure of the lion is dropped, and this phrase means the accomplices of the chief or leading wicked man.
11. As before, such conduct implies disbelief or disregard of God's government.
12. (Compare Ps 9:19; 3:7).
the humble—(Compare Ps 10:17, and Margin.)
lift up thine hand—exert thy power.
13, 14. It is in vain to suppose God will overlook sin, however forbearing; for He carefully examines or beholds all wickedness, and will mark it by His providential (Thine hand) punishment.
14. mischief and spite—provocation and trouble of the sufferer (compare Ps 6:7; 7:14).
committeth—or, "leaves (his burden) on Thee."
15. arm—power.
till thou find none—So far from not requiting (Ps 10:11, 13), God will utterly destroy the wicked and his deeds (Ps 9:5, 6; 34:16; 37:36).
16-18. God reigns. The wicked, if for a time successful, shall be cut off. He hears and confirms the hearts of His suffering people (Ps 112:7), executes justice for the feeble, and represses the pride and violence of conceited, though frail, men (compare Ps 9:16).