Psalm 10:1-18 - A Prayer For God To Throw Down The Wicked

¹ Lord, why do You stand so far away?
Why do You hide in times of trouble?
² In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue the afflicted;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.

³ For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;
the one who is greedy curses and despises the Lord.
⁴ In all his scheming,
the wicked arrogantly thinks:
“There is no accountability,
since God does not exist.”
⁵ His ways are always secure;
Your lofty judgments are beyond his sight;
he scoffs at all his adversaries.
⁶ He says to himself, “I will never be moved—
from generation to generation without calamity.”
⁷ Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;
trouble and malice are under his tongue.
⁸ He waits in ambush near the villages;
he kills the innocent in secret places.
His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;
⁹ he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.
He lurks in order to seize the afflicted;
he seizes the afflicted and drags him in his net.
¹⁰ So he is oppressed and beaten down;
the helpless fall because of his strength.
¹¹ He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He hides His face and will never see.”

¹² Rise up, Lord God! Lift up Your hand.
Do not forget the afflicted.
¹³ Why has the wicked person despised God?
He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”
¹⁴ But You Yourself have seen trouble and grief,
observing it in order to take the matter into Your hands.
The helpless entrusts himself to You;
You are a helper of the fatherless.
¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked and evil person;
call his wickedness into account
until nothing remains of it.

¹⁶ The Lord is King forever and ever;
the nations will perish from His land.
¹⁷ Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,
¹⁸ doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that men of the earth may terrify them no more.