010 Break The Arm Of The Wicked
Psalms 10
September 9, 2018
Well after reading the Psalm, and looking at the title,
You are certainly aware that we are yet again looking at
Another one of those imprecatory Psalms
Does it surprise you to find that there are so many of them?
• We are already learning that the saints of old had a great deal to say about the wicked in this world and how they wanted God to respond to them.
I’ll admit again, that these Psalms seem to hit us a little funny
Because our current cultural Christian views
Tell us that such sentiments are so wrong.
There is no doubt that we have developed a theology
That looks to a God who is never angry at anyone.
And so when we read from His inspired word
Of a song that the church is to sing
Which asks God to break the arm of the wicked,
We naturally do a little bit of a double-take.
It just seems backward.
But again, I have no problem with that.
I am well aware that one of the main purposes of Scripture
Is to address my thinking and how wrong I am about so many issues.
Paul wrote:
Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
That’s exactly what God’s word does.
It renews our mind.
Because of the fall we don’t naturally think right.
• Our mind, like our will is fallen.
• It’s backward.
That’s why the world calls evil good and good evil.
God’s word sets us straight on areas where we don’t think correctly.
And I’m convinced that this is one of those areas.
If I could sum it up here tonight, I would say it like this.
THE CHURCH HAS FAILED TO GRASP
JUST HOW DANGEROUS THE WICKED ARE.
Well, David is well aware, and this Psalm is about that.
Just for some backstory,
• For centuries the early church paired Psalm 10 with Psalm 9. In many cases they didn’t even recognize a break between the two.
They certainly fit in regard to theme.
They both deal with our struggle with the wicked.
The obvious difference is that where Psalm 9 is
A song of praise for God as our Avenger from the wicked,
Psalm 10 is a lament when God seems slow to answer our cry.
And as we work through this Psalm tonight, what I want you to see pick
IS THE THREAT THAT THE WICKED POSE
And why David thought it necessary to so boldly pray against them.
Let’s break this Psalm down into 3 points.
#1 DAVID’S CONCERN
Psalms 10:1-11
When you look at those first 11 verses
You will see that David has 2 main concerns.
One is the ENEMY’S AGGRESSION (that’s what you see in verses 3-11)
That is certainly a problem which we will look at.
The other is GOD’S ABSENCE or perceived absence in the midst of it.
That’s where David begins.
(1) “Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?”
It’s certainly not hard to recognize the fickle nature of David here.
Just last week in Psalms 9 we read:
Psalms 9:7-10 “But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment, And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will execute judgment for the peoples with equity. The LORD also will be a stronghold for the oppressed, A stronghold in times of trouble; And those who know Your name will put their trust in You, For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.”
• We remember that great statement of confidence as David recounted the past and all that God had done for Him.
• As David recounted all his victories he was filled with praise acknowledging that God never forsook him and was always “a stronghold in times of trouble.”
• That’s a good Sunday morning worship song from a believer in a good position.
In Psalms 10 however, we see the prayer of that same person
When they are in the middle of affliction.
“Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?”
We don’t believe for a second that either of those statements is true.
God doesn’t stand afar off
And God doesn’t hide Himself from His elect in their trouble.
BUT IT SURE CAN SEEM THAT WAY CAN’T IT?
That is all David is reflecting.
• The situation is worse than David wants
• And God’s response is slower than David wants.
It is just a statement frustration from a man
Who sees all the damage the wicked are causing
And who wonders why God allows it to continue.
And in case God has failed to understand what David is talking about, he says, “In pride the wicked hotly pursue the afflicted;”
I like David’s drama here.
It’s not just that the wicked pursue the afflicted,
But they “hotly pursue the afflicted” and they do it “in pride”.
You can feel David seeking to incite God here.
It’s as though David wants God to finally understand
Just how bad the situation is.
Furthermore David wants God to do something about it.
“Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.”
David wants God to do what He has commonly done.
Psalms 7:15 “He has dug a pit and hollowed it out, And has fallen into the hole which he made.”
Psalms 9:15 “The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made; In the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.”
You understand where David is coming from here.
God isn’t moving fast enough for his liking.
And David wants God to know why they deserve judgment.
(3-4) “For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire, And the greedy man curses and spurns the LORD. The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
David makes sure that God knows who the wicked are.
And at their very core they are those who do not trust God.
• They don’t submit to God’s sovereignty
• They don’t seek God’s direction
• They don’t acknowledge God’s presence
They just run around this world
Following the impulses of their own sinful hearts,
Doing whatever feels good
With no thought whatsoever regarding what God may think.
That’s why when we were lost we were called enemies of God.
• We didn’t care about what God wanted
• We didn’t care about what God said
• We didn’t care if God was watching
• We didn’t really even ever take God into consideration
That is what David means by “All his thoughts are, “There is no God”
It doesn’t mean that he spews atheism 24-7
It simply means that God’s will and God’s judgment
Never enters his thinking to motivate anything he does.
THAT IS THE WICKED IN THE WORLD.
These are the people that David is pointing out to God and asking that they “be caught in the plots which they have devised.”
Now certainly at this point we could venture off into the sovereignty of God and discuss WHY GOD ALLOWS THE WICKED TO ENDURE.
• We could talk about how God raised Pharaoh up so that later He could
demonstrate His power in him.
• We could talk about how God is not willing for any to perish, but for all to come
to repentance.
• We could talk about how God uses the wicked even to bring about His
sanctification in the righteous.
We could certainly venture off into those areas
And seek to give answer to David’s grief.
Or we could talk about David’s faith and the need for him to trust God even when he can’t see.
But if we want to follow the theme of the song
Then what we really need to discuss is
WHY THE WICKED ARE SO DANGEROUS.
That is what David brings forth.
He goes into a 7 verse discourse about the actions of the wicked
And why God should be compelled to stop them.
And this is important for the church to note.
David here gives 7 descriptors about the enemy or the wicked, let’s look at them.
1) HIS WAYS (5)
“His ways prosper at all times; Your judgments are on high, out of his sight; As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.”
You could certainly read this verse
As if David is complaining because the wicked always seem to win.
Certainly that is the cry of Asaph in Psalms 73:
Psalms 73:11-12 “They say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?” Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.”
That COULD BE what David has in mind as well.
But the word “prosper” there is a Hebrew word
That also means “to twirl or dance”.
• It was used of anguish, like a person “dancing of writhing in pain”
• And it was used of a person celebrating and “dancing about”
I don’t think he’s is talking about the wicked enjoying God’s favor.
I think he is talking about the wicked and their arrogant strut.
They are always dancing and prancing about,
• Happy about their lifestyle,
• Giving no thought whatsoever to the ordinances of God,
• And even those who oppose them, they snort at them or scoff at them.
WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HERE
Is a man living in wickedness and who proudly puts it on display
And boasts about it, and mocks anyone who confronts him about it.
WHAT IS THE DANGER HERE?
They make wickedness look appealing.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed the pompous and arrogant nature of many professional athletes today. Probably none more than the
“PRIMA DONNA WIDE RECEIVER”
What I was unware of was how all this started.
• I watched a ESPN documentary a few months ago about a man named Richard Flear who had tried his hand at college football, but eventually entered the world of professional wrestling.
• He struggled for a while, was even in a plane crash that broke his back, but when he healed he decided that he wanted to do two things. He wanted to be a blond and he wanted to be a bad guy.
And “The Nature Boy Ric Flair” was born.
He was the first.
• The first to show up in flashy suits,
• The first to show up bragging about 2 women on his arm,
• The first to brag about wealth and extravagance and immorality.
• It was about Ric Flair that the advertising people for his wrestling federation coined the phrase, “Women want him, men want to be him.”
During this documentary, many of the prima donna wide receivers said they took their inspiration from Ric Flair.
WHY?
• Because he made wickedness look fun.
• He danced about and boldly bragged,
• He traveled in luxury with women on his arm.
• He made it look appealing.
When asked, “Do you think people in the 80’s were living vicariously through you?” Flair answered, “In the 80’s? Oh most definitely. Everybody wanted to be me; every man, because I had the nicest clothes, the biggest cars, the biggest house, and more women. And I was the best wrestler.”
http://www.espn.com/video/clip/_/id/21151921
And this man inspired an entire generation of athletes.
And this is the danger.
They make sin look fun, instead of what it really is;
Namely that which will incite the wrath of God in your life.
This is why David sees them as such a threat.
2) HIS THOUGHTS (6)
“He says to himself, “I will not be moved; Throughout all generations I will not be in adversity.”
It again plays to their bombastic nature,
But it reveals that their pride is not a show.
We are not dealing with actors here who are playing a part,
We are dealing with people who genuinely believe
That they have found the good life.
They boast in their wickedness and they have conviction about it.
This makes them dangerous.
This makes them appealing to the rest of the world.
It would be one thing if they put on a show, but knew it was fake.
A person like that has a tough time selling his product.
But the wicked David sees genuinely and truly think they have found the golden ticket and it makes them so influential in the world.
3) HIS WORDS (7)
“His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression; Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.”
We are well aware that “out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” and that is true for the wicked.
Because they live in wickedness
And because they truly believe it is the way to live,
THEY SPEND THEIR DAYS VERBALLY SELLING IT.
Like a professional wrestler they brag and boast and sell their evil
And seek to convince the world around them
That they have found the secret.
Just do this and you’ll be happy. Don’t you want to be like me!
This is the wicked of the world.
4) HIS PLANS (8)
“He sits in the lurking places of the villages; In the hiding places he kills the innocent; His eyes stealthily watch for the unfortunate.”
And here is where their danger steps it up a notch.
THEY ARE MISSIONAL.
They are hunting, they are watching, they are scoping.
And what is their objective?
They are planning to kill “the innocent”
And that doesn’t necessarily just mean that they want to physically kill all innocent people. What it means is that their goal is to corrupt them and kill their innocence.
THEY MAKE PLANS TO DEFILE.
And did you catch how they do it?
Look at the words there in verse 8 “lurking”, “hiding places”, “stealthily”
2 Peter 2:1-2 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;”
5) HIS METHOD (9)
“He lurks in a hiding place as a lion in his lair; He lurks to catch the afflicted; He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net.”
Not only is he hiding in the shadows to corrupt the innocent,
But here we see HOW HE DOES IT.
It’s through temptation and traps.
• He tiptoes like a skilled hunter and he offers fleshly enticement so that he might lure the innocent in and snag him in his net.
We’ve talked about it so many times.
1 Peter 5:8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
He offers temptations, he offers what the flesh wants.
And the sole objective is to lure the innocent into his traps.
6) HIS PREY (10)
“He crouches, he bows down, And the unfortunate fall by his mighty ones.”
Who does he grab?
“the unfortunate”, also referred to as the poor or the innocent up in verse 8.
He’s not after the wicked, he already has them.
He is after the innocent, the needy, the broken, the afflicted.
He seeks people who are innocent and naïve
And he seeks to dazzle them with the perceived glory of sin.
But it’s all just a ploy, not to satisfy,
But to defile and to corrupt and to stomp out their innocence.
7) HIS ARROGANCE (11)
“He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”
And as David said earlier, he now says again,
That they run eager to do it because they have no thought whatsoever that God will ever do anything about it.
NOW, LISTEN FOLKS, THESE ARE THE WICKED.
Do you understand now why David is so adamantly praying against them?
He lifts up his eyes and everywhere he looks
He sees the innocent being drawn in and corrupted
By the bragging and immorality and boasting of the wicked.
They walk around in their fancy suits and big cars with two women on their arm and they say, “Hey young man, would you like a taste of the high life?”
It has one objective, and that is to steal his innocence.
Remember the story of Proverbs?
TURN TO: PROVERBS 7
That is exactly what David is talking about.
And he has had enough of that woman running free.
• He is sick of the way she prances through the streets,
• He is sick of the way she pursues the innocent,
• He is sick of the way she corrupts innocence.
And his frustration keeps him up at night.
That is David’s Concern
#2 DAVID’S CRY
Psalms 10:12-15
Do you catch all the verbs in those 4 verses?
• “Arise”
• “life up Your hand” (mighty power)
• “do not forget”
• “Break the arm of the wicked”
• “Seek out his wickedness until You find none”
THOSE ARE SERIOUS STATEMENTS.
It’s like David watched Ric Flair on TV and say, “God, bust him in the mouth, break his arm, and get that idiot off of television.”
David points out that all they do is spurn God.
(13) “Why has the wicked spurned God? He has said to himself, “You will not require it.”
God don’t let him do it anymore.
• David knows God has seen it,
• So David boldly prays that God will stop them,
• That God will break their arm,
• That God will stomp out their wickedness.
THAT’S A BOLD PRAYER.
Agreed.
Jesus taught us to pray:
Matthew 6:13 “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’”
Jesus taught us to pray that God would deliver us from evil.
That is exactly what David is praying here.
And someone might say, “Yes, but that’s talking about Satan, surely we shouldn’t pray about wicked people.”
The Bible says that we should be patient when we correct them, not that we shouldn’t pray.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 “The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”
It would be great if they would all repent.
• Certainly they should be warned…
• Certainly they should be instructed…
• Certainly repentance and forgiveness should be offered…
But the fact remains that in a state of rebellion they are described as in “the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.”
And they are dangerous!
Listen to Jesus confront them:
Matthew 15:7-9 “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.'”
And then later:
Matthew 15:12-14 “Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
And we understand why He is so angry with them:
Matthew 23:13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”
There is danger there, they send people to hell, they must be stopped.
Paul addressed them too:
1 Timothy 1:18-20 “This command I entrust to you, Timothy,my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith. Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.”
Those men are blasphemers, and Paul wanted them stopped.
Paul commanded Timothy to “fight” them.
2 Timothy 2:16-18 “But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.”
Those men upset people’s faith, and Paul wanted them stopped.
Titus 1:10-11 “For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain.”
Paul said they
“must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families”
Or do you remember the immoral man of 1 Corinthians 5?
He was sleeping with his stepmother and bragging about it and the church thought it was funny.
After commanding the church to cast him out, do you remember what Paul said?
1 Corinthians 5:6-8 “Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed. Therefore let us celebrate the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”
Do you not know that you have some innocent in here
who will see that and be lured into the trap?
This guy is going to kill their innocence.
Do you get the point?
THERE IS A BATTLE HERE TO BE FOUGHT
We don’t fight it with our fists,
We don’t fight it with swords,
We fight it in prayer.
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.”
Ephesians 6:10-12 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Did you catch that?
We “stand against the schemes of the devil”.
I really think the church is failing here in many regards.
• No we don’t physically attack people
• No we don’t take our own revenge
• No we don’t verbally threaten people
And David isn’t doing any of those things.
But David is praying boldly before his God that God would do something.
To the extent that David says,
“God, break their arm!”
Do you love the innocent enough to pray like that?
Do you care enough for the innocent and afflicted that you would pray in that way?
It is our love for our brethren that drives this prayer.
A couple of years ago we had a rattlesnake in our backyard.
I would love to deny it, but I’m terrified of snakes.
(I can’t hardly even run over one with my pickup)
But here was a snake in my backyard, and I have to realize something.
This snake would kill my children,
Regardless of how uncomfortable the battle is,
The snake has to die.
Now, again, we don’t kill people,
• But we pray for God to stop their evil influences.
• We pray that God would set them free from the snares of the devil,
• That they would no longer be used to corrupt the world around them.
It is a bold prayer, but I remind you,
I found this prayer while reading the Bible.
David’s Concern, David’s Cry
#3 DAVID’S CONFIDENCE
Psalms 10:16-18
So maybe your question is:
Where would David get the audacity to pray such a prayer?
I’ll tell you where, from God.
DAVID KNEW GOD
And it was David’s knowledge of God
That gave him the confidence to pray that prayer.
Look at what David knows about God.
GOD IS SOVEREIGH
“The LORD is King”
GOD IS ETERNAL
“King forever and ever”
GOD IS PROVEN
“Nations have perished from His land.”
God has crushed the wicked before.
GOD IS MERCIFUL
“O LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble”
When the humble and broken cry out to Him, He hears. David knows this.
GOD IS JUST
“You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear to vindicate the orphan and the oppressed,”
David didn’t just pray that God would stop the wicked on a whim,
David prayed because he knew God would do it.
GOD IS VICTORIOUS
“so that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror.”
David prays this great prayer that God would stop the wicked,
Because David knows that God is a God
Who regards the prayer of the humble
And does vindicate them and stop the wicked.
Our prayer comes from the fact that we know God.
• The God who hates wickedness
• The God who draws near to the humble
• The God judges justly
And again, I remind you that this was a song given to the church to sin.
This was a prayer preserved for us.
No, we don’t want to miss the point.
• We don’t want to be like James and John wanting to call down fire on the Samaritans.
We want all men to be saved.
We want the wicked to be saved.
In fact, if the wicked never got saved
Then no one would be saved because all men are wicked.
But what we are talking about here
Is asking God to stop the promotion of evil and wickedness
Throughout our world.
TO PRAY THAT God would no longer allow the evil one, or those who he holds captive to do his will to entice and defile the innocence of those around us.
And just as David did,
We pray to this end because we know the God we pray to.
