The Lord Will Right Wrongs

For this final section of Psalm 10, David Powlison shows how the psalm ends with quiet confidence. There is a sense from the psalm writer that God has everything under control and is looking out for him:

God is a person with a name - Yahweh, I AM THAT I AM - who rules forever. He has proved it in history. Sufferers call on a God who has annihilated evildoers and idolaters. This King is now known as Jesus. He has redeemed the nations - and [you] - by perishing in the place of his elect. But those who reject him will cry, "Mountains, fall on us!" at their impending destruction.

Where do sufferers place their hopes? The first half of verse 16 is quoted in the New Testament: "[The Lord] will reign forever and ever" (Rev. 11:15). Christ wins; evil loses. This is the indestructible foundation for human hopes, even when our schemes for earthly joy are shattered by sufferings.

These inward trials I design,
From sin and self to set thee free,
To break thy schemes for earthly joy,
That thou may'st find thy all in Me. - John Newton

God not only gives us hope, but he gives us strength (v. 17). It is in the context of suffering that God strengthens hearts in many ways. The love of God pours out directly into the hearts of afflicted persons. We access this strength through faith. "Faith finds God in suffering, producing endurance, love, and hope. Psalm 10 is one part in the larger gospel whole, one piece of the experience of each God-centered sufferer." Remember, as God's people, we will be delivered from all sin and misery and "every tear will be wiped away when evil is no more" (Rev. 20-21).