“Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—let them be caught in the schemes they have devised. For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart, those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord. In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, “God will not seek it out”;all their thoughts are, “There is no God.” Their ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of their sight; as for their foes, they scoff at them. They think in their heart, “We shall not be moved; throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.” Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under their tongues are mischief and iniquity. They sit in ambush in the villages; in hiding places they murder the innocent. Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless; they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert; they lurk that they may seize the poor; they seize the poor and drag them off in their net. They stoop, they crouch, and the helpless fall by their might. They think in their heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.” Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; do not forget the oppressed.” Psalm 10:1-12

“Psalm 10 is a psalm of prayer. It laments over the enemies of the kingdom of Christ who terrify Christendom with force and cunning. These enemies direct the sword of worldly tyranny over the body and the net of false teaching over the soul. However, as it says in verse 7 (“His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression”), the enemies of the kingdom of Christ can do no more than curse, that is, excommunicate and condemn; lie, that is, bring about false doctrine and false worship; and deceive, that is, delude and make a fool of the world concerning its good, honor, power, body, and soul. But in the end, the psalm shows our comfort, that such abomination shall perish with the end of the world. The psalm belongs in the Second Commandment and in the First Petition, as do all psalms of prayer.” (Martin Luther, Reading the Psalms with Luther)

“Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand; do not forget the oppressed.” Do not forget the oppressed. We often ask the question “Why does G-d seem to disappear to allow people to be hurt, oppressed, or even destroyed? We can say this has been the cry that echoes down from the ages. It is the eternal question — G-d, where are you? It is easy to become overwhelmed and bewildered when we do not see G-d at work.

I was just sitting and talking with a mother who was just recently dropped off her daughter at a drug rehab facility. The daughter stated something to her mother to the effect of “How can I see the hand of G-d in my life when things are just so wrong?” The mother answered her, “We were able to get you into this rehab facility in just 6 hours — how can you not see the hand of G-d in your life?” We expect G-d to take care of things, keep us safe, deal with those who seek to do harm to others — yet when G-d is at work, but we cannot see his presence, then G-d seems to be completely detached. The struggle comes in the distance between the trouble we are experiencing and the time in which G-d acts. In other words, we expect G-d to act immediately for problems we have been bringing onto ourselves, or others may have been waging against us for years and years. Wanting G-d to move according to our agenda and then being perplexed and even put out when G-d sticks to G-d’s timeframe is a sign of our lack of trust. We cannot tell G-d how or when to act, all we can do is pray and trust that G-d does love us and will act on our behalf.

Prayer

O Lord, our faithful and jealous God, restrain the craftiness and the power, the oppression and the deceit of Your enemies. Save the souls of the innocent from the snares of falsehood, and lead them to the knowledge of Your salvation in Your Son, Jesus Christ. Keep us in the true and saving faith, and grant us to walk worthy of Your name for the sake of Your Son, our Savior. Amen.

“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. When my enemies turned back, they stumbled and perished before you. For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment. You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name forever and ever. The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins; their cities you have rooted out; the very memory of them has perished. But the Lord sits enthroned forever, he has established his throne for judgment. He judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with equity. The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you. Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion. Declare his deeds among the peoples. For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.” Psalm 9:1-12

“Psalm 9 is also a prophecy of the people of Christ, the Holy Christian Church. They suffer, following the example of Christ, and their blood is continually being shed. However, the psalm gives this prophecy thankfully and comfortingly, so that it might well be called a psalm of thanks and comfort. The Christians (and especially the holy martyrs) here thank God and are comforted by the fact that God never leaves them. No, the more they are persecuted, the more He multiplies them, as some of the persecutors convert and become Christians and the others perish. This psalm belongs in the First Commandment and in the Second Petition, as was stated in the preceding psalm.” (Martin Luther, Reading the Psalms with Luther)

The context of the Psalm is battle, a battle between G-d and the enemies of G-d. The question is, who are the enemies of G-d? This may seem like a ridiculous question, yet it needs to be raised. Are the enemies only people? Or, can suffering and disease be enemies of G-d? Can pride and success be enemies of G-d? I would say yes to all. Those who are suffering certainly can find that their focus tends to shrink away from G-d and to simply trying to survive. The same thing can happen when we find ourselves wallowing in our successes — pride and despair can both be the enemies of G-d.

When you are suffering, when you are despairing, and even when life is going so well, way beyond your expectations, you should begin every day in prayer focusing on G-d’s character more than looking for a particular answer. Once you determine and are secure in your relationship with G-d, then perhaps you will find answers to hard questions with G-d’s blessings — answers that may give you clearer eyes and mind.

Always turn to G-d in the midst of your struggles — always turn to G-d to give thanks for your blessings. Offering up prayer, praise and thanksgiving to G-d does not mean we will never suffer — nor does it guarantee your life will always be free of suffering and struggles. This should not stop our desire to praise the G-d whose character never changes.

Prayer

With all our hearts we give thanks to You, O Lord, because at all times You dwell with Your Christians and graciously preserve those in the true faith who confess Your name. Dwell in us, O Lord, with Your grace. Increase Your Church daily, and grant us to be and to remain, true members of the same to our final end. Amen.