“The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land. 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.” (Psalm 10:16–18, ESV)
Psalm 10 ends with an assertion of confidence that the Psalmist’s prayer has been heard. Yet, his confidence does not rest in his own righteousness. It rests in the righteousness and sovereignty of the Lord. In this passage, the emphasis is placed on his sovereignty over all of creation.
The American folk-singer, Woody Guthrie, considered one of the most significant figures in American western folk music, wrote the American classic, “This Land Is Your Land.” The song opens with the refrain:
This land is your land, This land is my land,
From California to the New York island;
From the red wood forest to the Gulf Stream waters;
This land was made for you and Me.
The song, meant to encourage inclusion and equality, but born out of Guthrie’s socialist imagination, is mostly wrong. True that “this land was made for you and me,” we have forgotten that the land is not ours. It belongs to the Lord. Every square inch of it. And the Psalmist rightfully reminds us to be optimistic in our eschatology. The Lord is king for ever and ever, and as the gospel continues to prevail, the nations (of ungodly men) will perish from the land until all recognize Jesus, who now reigns from the right hand of the Father, as Lord. Then the men who are of the earth will strike terror no more.