“Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?” (Psalm 10:1, ESV)
In every generation, the godly are dismayed at the impunity of the wicked. Like David, we are disturbed, and even dumbfounded, at the violence and temerity of the ungodly. Verses 2-11 record the hideous indictment against the unbelievers of the Psalmists day (Psalm 10:2-11). Yet, it is a list that is all too familiar in our own day.
As verse 5 alludes, as long as God’s judgment remains outside the purview of the ungodly, he will only be emboldened to increase his wickedness and his oppression of the poor and weak. Therefore, we long for God to show up. We wonder why he seems so far away and aloof when we need him the most.
Derek Kidner notes, “It is a function of the Psalms to touch the nerve of this problem and keep its pain alive, against the comfort of our familiarity, or indeed complicity, with a corrupt world.