Psalms 10:1 - Exposition

Why standest thou afar off, O Lord? Here is the key-note struck at once. Why does God stand aloof? Why, after delivering his people from their foreign foes, does he not interfere to protect his true people from their domestic oppressors? "Throughout the reign of David," as it has been truly observed, "Palestine was infested by brigands, and disturbed by a factious nobility". Why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? "Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself," says Isaiah ( Isaiah 45:15 ). And so Job complains, "He hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him" ( Isaiah 23:9 ). He seems neither to see nor hear. The psalmist inquires—Why? It can only be answered, "In his wisdom; for his own purposes; because he knows it to be best."