In Psalms 10 the author speaks of the worldly people being rich, proud, and seemingly victorious, with the poor and innocent being crushed and killed by the wicked.
If this is so, does it pay to serve God? Let's read Psalms 10 and try to unpack this together.
Psalm 10 English Standard Version (ESV)
Why Do You Hide Yourself?
10 Why, O Lord, do you stand far away?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses[a] and renounces the Lord.
4 In the pride of his face[b] the wicked does not seek him;[c]
all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
5 His ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of his sight;
as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
8 He sits in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9 he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket;
he lurks that he may seize the poor;
he seizes the poor when he draws him into his net.
10 The helpless are crushed, sink down,
and fall by his might.
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
12 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
forget not the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will not call to account”?
14 But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation,
that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless commits himself;
you have been the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
call his wickedness to account till you find none.
16 The Lord is king forever and ever;
the nations perish from his land.
17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
Psalms 10 | Does it pay to serve God?
This week my community group met and we discussed this topic.
We raised personal experience with chasing worldly gain, and the inevitable dissatisfaction that follows. We all know this from experience, when we buy ourselves that latest toy, the sense of satisfaction is gone as soon as we see the next thing. Why else would we see the world's richest people constantly striving for more? Doesn't Bill Gates, and Jeff Bezo's have enough? No, because there's always a little bit more that you "need".
This is why in Psalms 10 we see the rich, worldly man, is not satisfied peaceful and content, because he is instead empty and desperate, jealous, angry and greedy.
The lessons clear: If we are not satisfied with what we have, then we will never be satisfied.
Satisfaction is not attained through possessions, its a gift from God. If we have Him, we can't help but be filled, apart from Him, we can't help but shrivel and die.
So does this mean all rich people are unhappy? I have no doubt that a man can fill the void in their soul for a time, but this world and its trinkets are temporal, and we as eternal beings require eternal sustenance which comes only from the living water of God.
So does it pay to serve God? This is not really the question. The only real question is "does He exist?" Because if so, there is no other path, life or choice apart from Him.
“A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
No matter whether He rewards or punishes, He is the Lord and He is right and good and just.
I believe He is real. I believe He is good. I believe we can trust and hope in His plans. As the psalmist says:
"O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
18 to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more
It may not happen on my time line, or as I deem fit, but God will make all things right, and wipe away every tear.
After discussing Psalms 10, our group closed the night by sharing our personal experiences of God's provision. We have all seen Him move, and we need to be reminded that He who gave His own Son, will not now fail to give all else that we require. Key word being, "require", God sustains us, providing all that we need, but He doesn't promise trinkets which we think we need.
