Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 10:12
Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.
12. Arise ] The usual summons to action. Cp. Psa 3:7, Psa 7:6 (notes); Psa 9:19.
O God ] El, as in Psa 10:11.
lift up thine hand ] The attitude of action. Cp. similar phrases in Psa 138:7; Exo 7:5; Mic 5:9; and contrast Psa 74:11.
forget not the humble ] Disprove the calumny of the wicked ( Psa 10:11). The Qr ‘ anavm, ‘humble’ or ‘meek,’ is preferable to the Kthbh ‘ aniyym, ‘afflicted’ or ‘poor.’ The spirit in which sufferings have been borne is urged as a plea. Cp. Psa 10:17.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
12, 13. Stanza of Qph.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
12 18. An urgent plea that Jehovah will vindicate His own character by action, grounded upon a confident assurance of the present reality of His government. The alphabetical arrangement is here resumed.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Arise, O Lord – See the note at Psa 3:7. This commences the second part of the psalm, in which the author calls on God to remember those who were oppressed and wronged by the wicked. By suffering the wicked thus to carry on their plans, God seemed to be indifferent to human affairs, and the psalmist, therefore, invokes him to interpose, and to rescue the afflicted from their grasp.
O God, lift up thine hand – As one does when he is about to strike, or to exert his power. The prayer is, that God would interfere to put down the wicked.
Forget not the humble – Margin, afflicted. The margin expresses the true sense. The idea is not that God would remember humble persons in the sense in which that word is now commonly used, but that he would remember those who were down-trodden, crushed, and afflicted. This is in accordance with the marginal reading in the Hebrew Bibles, which is now usually regarded as the more correct reading.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 12. Arise, O Lord] Hear their reproaches see their guile, consider thy oppressed people. “Lift up thine hand,” threaten them, that they may desist and repent. If they repent not let them be punished.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Lift up thine hand, to rescue the poor, and to smite their oppressors with a hand stretched out and lifted up, that the blow maybe the greater: compare Exo 7:5; Isa 5:25; 9:12, &c.
Forget not the humble; show by thy appearance for their vindication that thou dost remember and regard them.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
12. (Compare Psa 9:19;Psa 3:7).
the humble(Compare Ps10:17, and Margin.)
lift up thine handexertthy power.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Arise, O Lord,…. See Ps 3:7;
O God, lift up thine hand; either on the behalf of his people, to help and deliver them; his hand may be said to be let down when their enemies prevail, and to be lifted up or exalted when it does valiantly, and works salvation for them; so when Moses’s hands were let down Amalek prevailed, and when his hands were lifted up Israel prevailed,
Ex 17:11; or against their enemies, to strike them, to inflict punishment upon them, as God’s hand is said to be stretched out against the Egyptians, and to lie upon them, when he sent his plagues among them, Ex 7:4; and a dreadful thing it is to fall both into and under the hand of the living God, and to feel the weight of the lighting down of his arm with indignation. The Targum understands it as a gesture of swearing; see Ge 14:22; and paraphrases it, “confirm the oath of thine hand”; either sworn in wrath against his enemies, or in love to his people; either of which is sure and certain, and according to the immutable counsel of his will;
forget not the humble; the followers of the meek and lowly Jesus, the Lamb of God, by which character the saints are distinguished from the antichristian party, Re 14:4; these are such who are made so by the Spirit of God, who in conversion brings down the pride and haughtiness of man, that Christ and his grace may be alone exalted; these have the meanest thoughts of themselves, and the best of others; their motto is,
“less than the least of all saints, and the chief of sinners;”
they envy not the gifts and graces of others, and ascribe all they have and are to the free grace of God; they are not easily provoked, they patiently bear injuries, and quietly submit to the adverse dispensations of Providence: the word in the original text is read “humble”, but written “afflicted”: both characters generally meet together in the people of God; [See comments on Ps 9:12]; this prayer for the humble is a prayer of faith; for though the humble may seem to be forgotten by God, they are not, they are precious in his sight; he dwells among them, he gives more grace unto them, he comforts them when disconsolate, he feeds them when they are hungry, he teaches and guides them when they want direction, he lifts them up when they are cast down, and beautifies them with salvation.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The six strophes, in which the consecutive letters from to are wanting, are completed, and now the acrostic strophes begin again with . In contrast to those who have no God, or only a lifeless idol, the psalmist calls upon his God, the living God, to destroy the appearance that He is not an omniscient Being, by arising to action. We have more than one name of God used here; is a vocative just as in Psa 16:1; Psa 83:2; Psa 139:17, Psa 139:23. He is to lift up His hand in order to help and to punish ( , whence comes the imperat. = , cf. Psa 4:7, like Psa 138:7 and Exo 7:5 elsewhere). Forget not is equivalent to: fulfil the of Psa 9:13, put to shame the of the ungodly, Psa 10:11! Our translation follows the Ker . That which is complained of in Psa 10:3, Psa 10:4 is put in the form of a question to God in Psa 10:13: wherefore ( , instead of which we find in Num 22:32; Jer 9:11, because the following words begin with letters of a different class) does it come to pass, i.e., is it permitted to come to pass? On the perf. in this interrogative clause vid., Psa 11:3. inquires the cause, the aim, and the motive, or in general the reason: on what ground, since God’s holiness can suffer no injury to His honour? On with , the oratio directa instead of obliqua , vid., on Ps 9:21.
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
| Prayer against Persecutors. | |
12 Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble. 13 Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it. 14 Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless. 15 Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none. 16 The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land. 17 LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: 18 To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.
David here, upon the foregoing representation of the inhumanity and impiety of the oppressors, grounds an address to God, wherein observe,
I. What he prays for. 1. That God would himself appear (v. 12): “Arise, O Lord! O God! lift up thy hand, manifest thy presence and providence in the affairs of this lower world. Arise, O Lord! to the confusion of those who say that thou hidest thy face. Manifest thy power, exert it for the maintaining of thy own cause, lift up thy hand to give a fatal blow to these oppressors; let thy everlasting arm be made bare.” 2. That he would appear for his people: “Forget not the humble, the afflicted, that are poor, that are made poorer, and are poor in spirit. Their oppressors, in their presumption, say that thou hast forgotten them; and they, in their despair, are ready to say the same. Lord, make it to appear that they are both mistaken.” 3. That he would appear against their persecutors, v. 15. (1.) That he would disable them from doing any mischief: Break thou the arm of the wicked, take away his power, that the hypocrite reign not, lest the people be ensnared, Job xxxiv. 30. We read of oppressors whose dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged (Dan. vii. 12), that they might have time to repent. (2.) That he would deal with them for the mischief they had done: “Seek out his wickedness; let that be all brought to light which he thought should for ever lie undiscovered; let that be all brought to account which he thought should for ever go unpunished; bring it out till thou find none, that is, till none of his evil deeds remain unreckoned for, none of his evil designs undefeated, and none of his partisans undestroyed.”
II. What he pleads for the encouraging of his own faith in these petitions.
1. He pleads the great affronts which these proud oppressors put upon God himself: “Lord, it is thy own cause that we beg thou wouldst appear in; the enemies have made it so, and therefore it is not for thy glory to let them go unpunished” (v. 13): Wherefore do the wicked contemn God? He does so; for he says, “Thou wilt not require it; thou wilt never call us to an account for what we do,” than which they could not put a greater indignity upon the righteous God. The psalmist here speaks with astonishment, (1.) At the wickedness of the wicked: “Why do they speak so impiously, why so absurdly?” It is a great trouble to good men to think what contempt is cast upon the holy God by the sin of sinners, upon his precepts, his promises, his threatenings, his favours, his judgments; all are despised and made light of. Wherefore do the wicked thus contemn God? It is because they do not know him. (2.) At the patience and forbearance of God towards them: “Why are they suffered thus to contemn God? Why does he not immediately vindicate himself and take vengeance on them?” It is because the day of reckoning is yet to come, when the measure of their iniquity is full.
2. He pleads the notice God took of the impiety and iniquity of these oppressors (v. 14): “Do the persecutors encourage themselves with a groundless fancy that thou wilt never see it? Let the persecuted encourage themselves with a well-grounded faith, not only that thou hast seen it, but that thou doest behold it, even all the mischief that is done by the hands, and all the spite and malice that lurk in the hearts, of these oppressors; it is all known to thee, and observed by thee; nay, not only thou hast seen it and dost behold it, but thou wilt requite it, wilt recompense it into their bosoms, by thy just and avenging hand.”
3. He pleads the dependence which the oppressed had upon him: “The poor commits himself unto thee, each of them does so, I among the rest. They rely on thee as their patron and protector, they refer themselves to thee as their Judge, in whose determination they acquiesce and at whose disposal they are willing to be. They leave themselves with thee” (so some read it), “not prescribing, but subscribing, to thy wisdom and will. They thus give thee honour as much as their oppressors dishonour thee. They are thy willing subjects, and put themselves under thy protection; therefore protect them.”
4. He pleads the relation in which God is pleased to stand to us, (1.) As a great God. He is King for ever and ever, v. 16. And it is the office of a king to administer justice for the restraint and terror of evil-doers and the protection and praise of those that do well. To whom should the injured subjects appeal but to the sovereign? Help, my Lord, O King! Avenge me of my adversary. “Lord, let all that pay homage and tribute to thee as their King have the benefit of thy government and find thee their refuge. Thou art an everlasting King, which no earthly prince is, and therefore canst and wilt, by an eternal judgment, dispense rewards and punishments in an everlasting state, when time shall be no more; and to that judgment the poor refer themselves.” (2.) As a good God. He is the helper of the fatherless (v. 14), of those who have no one else to help them and have many to injure them. He has appointed kings to defend the poor and fatherless (Ps. lxxxii. 3), and therefore much more will he do so himself; for he has taken it among the titles of his honour to be a Father to the fatherless (Ps. lxviii. 5), a helper of the helpless.
5. He pleads the experience which God’s church and people had had of God’s readiness to appear for them. (1.) He had dispersed and extirpated their enemies (v. 16): “The heathen have perished out of his land; the remainders of the Canaanites, the seven devoted nations, which have long been as thorns in the eyes and goads in the sides of Israel, are now, at length, utterly rooted out; and this is an encouragement to us to hope that God will, in like manner, break the arm of the oppressive Israelites, who were, in some respects, worse than heathens.” (2.) He had heard and answered their prayers (v. 17): “Lord, thou hast many a time heard the desire of the humble, and never saidst to a distressed suppliant, Seek in vain. Why may not we hope for the continuance and repetition of the wonders, the favours, which our father told us of?”
6. He pleads their expectations from God pursuant to their experience of him: “Thou hast heard, therefore thou will cause thy ear to hear, as, Ps. vi. 9. Thou art the same, and thy power, and promise, and relation to thy people are the same, and the work and workings of grace are the same in them; why therefore may we not hope that he who has been will still be, will ever be, a God hearing prayers?” But observe, (1.) In what method God hears prayer. He first prepares the heart of his people and then gives them an answer of peace; nor may we expect his gracious answer, but in this way; so that God’s working upon us is the best earnest of his working for us. He prepares the heart for prayer by kindling holy desires, and strengthening our most holy faith, fixing the thoughts and raising the affections, and then he graciously accepts the prayer; he prepares the heart for the mercy itself that is wanting and prayed for, makes us fit to receive it and use it well, and then gives it in to us. The preparation of the heart is from the Lord, and we must seek unto him for it (Prov. xvi. 1) and take that as a leading favour. (2.) What he will do in answer to prayer, v. 18. [1.] He will plead the cause of the persecuted, will judge the fatherless and oppressed, will judge for them, clear up their innocency, restore their comforts, and recompense them for all the loss and damage they have sustained. [2.] He will put an end to the fury of the persecutors. Hitherto they shall come, but no further; here shall the proud waves of their malice be stayed; an effectual course shall be taken that the man of the earth may no more oppress. See how light the psalmist now makes of the power of that proud persecutor whom he had been describing in this psalm, and how slightly he speaks of him now that he had been considering God’s sovereignty. First, He is but a man of the earth, a man out of the earth (so the word is), sprung out of the earth, and therefore mean, and weak, and hastening to the earth again. Why then should we be afraid of the fury of the oppressor when he is but man that shall die, a son of man that shall be as grass? Isa. li. 12. He that protects us is the Lord of heaven; he that persecutes us is but a man of the earth. Secondly, God has him in a chain, and can easily restrain the remainder of his wrath, so that he cannot do what he would. When God speaks the word Satan shall by his instruments no more deceive (Rev. xx. 3), no more oppress.
In singing these verses we must commit religion’s just but injured cause to God, as those that are heartily concerned for its honour and interests, believing that he will, in due time, plead it with jealousy.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
12. Arise, O Jehovah. It is a disease under which men in general labor, to imagine, according to the judgment of the flesh, that when God does not execute his judgments, he is sitting idle, or lying at ease. There is, however, a great difference with respect to this between the faithful and the wicked. The latter cherish the false opinion which is dictated by the weakness of the flesh, and in order to soothe and flatter themselves in their vices, they indulge in slumbering, and render their conscience stupid, (226) until at length, through their wicked obstinacy, they harden themselves into a gross contempt of God. But the former soon shake from their minds that false imagination, and chastise themselves, returning of their own accord to a due consideration of what is the truth on this subject. (227) Of this we have here set before us a striking example. By speaking of God after the manner of men, the prophet declares that the same error which he has just now condemned in the despisers of God had gradually stolen in upon his own mind. But he proceeds at once to correct it, and resolutely struggles with himself, and restrains his mind from forming such conceptions of God, as would reflect dishonor upon his righteousness and glory. It is therefore a temptation to which all men are naturally prone, to begin to doubt of the providence of God, when his hand and judgment are not seen. The godly, however, differ widely from the wicked. The former, by means of faith, check this apprehension of the flesh; while the latter indulge themselves in their froward imagination. Thus David, by the word Arise, does not so much stir up God, as he awakens himself, or endeavors to awaken himself, to hope for more of the assistance of God than he presently experienced. Accordingly, this verse contains the useful doctrine, that the more the ungodly harden themselves, through their slothful ignorance, and endeavor to persuade themselves that God takes no concern about men and their affairs, and will not punish the wickedness which they commit, the more should we endeavor to be persuaded of the contrary; yes, rather their ungodliness ought to incite us vigorously to repel the doubts which they not only admit, but studiously frame for themselves.
(226) “ Et prenent plaisir kassop et rendre leur conscience stupide, afin de se flatter en leurs vices.” — Fr.
(227) “ Retournans d’eux mesmes a bien considerer ce qui enest a la verite.” — Fr.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) Here the acrostic arrangement is resumed with koph.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. Arise, O Lord Against the blasphemous unbelief and wickedness already described, the psalmist calls upon Jehovah, the Almighty, to show his power and justice in defence of his own law and covenant promise.
Lift up thy hand An allusion, probably, to the custom of oriental masters in giving their orders to servants by the motion of the hand. Thus Baron de Tott: “The muzar aga, (or high priest,) coming into the hall, and approaching the pasha, whispered something in his ear, and we observed that all the answer he received from him was a slight horizontal motion with his hand, after which the vizier, instantly resuming an agreeable smile, continued the conversation. We then left the hall of audience and came to the foot of the great staircase, where we remounted our horses. Here nine heads, cut off and placed in a row on the outside of the first gate, completely explained the sign which the vizier had made use of in our presence.” See note on Psa 123:2
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Arise, O YHWH, O God, lift up your hand,
Do not forget the needy.
Why does the unrighteous man renounce God,
And say in his heart, ‘You will not call to account’?
You have seen, for you behold mischief and spite,
To deal with it (literally ‘give it’ i.e. give in respect of it) with your hand.
He who is helpless commits (‘abandons’) himself to you.
You have been the helper of the fatherless.
From here on an acrostic is introduced with stanzas beginning with Qoph (Q) through to Tau (T)
The psalmist now expresses his puzzlement and distress at YHWH’s reluctance to act. He calls on Him to act speedily on behalf of those who are in need. Let Him ‘arise’ (in order to do something), let Him ‘lift up his hand’ (to act in power), let Him show that He has not forgotten the needy. Why does He allow the unrighteous man to get away with his attitude? The psalmist himself is not deceived. He knows very well that God does see the full situation, and knows that God will one day deal with it. But he wants to know, why the delay? And so he reminds God that the helpless are looking to Him and depending on Him to act. For they know that He is the helper of the fatherless, of those who have none to look after them.
‘Arise, O YHWH.’ Do not wait any longer. Start to act! Compare Psa 3:7; Psa 7:6; Psa 9:19 and often. ‘Lift up your hand.’ Commence actual action with your strength. Compare Psa 138:7; Exo 7:5; Mic 5:9. ‘Do not forget the needy.’ Do not do what these people say you are doing, but rather show that they are wrong by what You do on behalf of the needy.
‘You have seen, for you behold mischief and spite, to deal with it (literally ‘give it’ i.e. give in respect of it) with your hand.’ Faith declares that, contrary to the belief of the unrighteous, God does see all that is done, and especially such things as mischief and vexation brought on the weak and helpless. And faith also knows that one day He will deal with it and bring retribution accordingly. For the helpless and the weak look to Him as their only Protector. They abandon themselves to Him. And He will not fail them.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
David Makes a Plea for Speedy Deliverance
v. 12. Arise, O Lord, v. 13. Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? v. 14. Thou hast seen it, v. 15. Break Thou the arm of the wicked, v. 16. The Lord is King forever and ever, v. 17. Lord, Thou hast heard the desire of the humble, v. 18. to judge the fatherless and the oppressed,
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Having taken a view of the enemies of God and of his Christ, and of their hatred to him and his people, in these verses a cry is put up, that God would, agreeably to his promise, for the oppression of the poor and the sighing of the needy, arise. Psa 12:5 . Why should the proud thus break down the helpless? Wherefore should the wicked thus blaspheme God? These are strong arguments, and the petitioner finds the comfort of faith in the exercise of them; for in the following verses, with which the Psalmist closeth, he rejoiceth as if the thing was done. The Lord had shown his sovereignty, had heard the prayers of his people, redressed their wrongs, and put their foes to silence.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 10:12 Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.
Ver. 12. Arise, O Lord ] Surge, age, summe Pater, said Mantuan to the pope, stirring him up against the Turks; may we better say to the Almighty God, against his people’s enemies,
O God, lift up thine hand Lift it up on high, that it may fall down the more heavily. In the first verse of this psalm the prophet complained that God stood afar off, and hid himself in time of trouble, Here he is entreated to arise, to come near, to put forth his hand for his people’s help, &c.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Psa 10:12-15
12Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand.
Do not forget the afflicted.
13Why has the wicked spurned God?
He has said to himself, You will not require it.
14You have seen it, for You have beheld mischief and vexation to take it into Your hand.
The unfortunate commits himself to You;
You have been the helper of the orphan.
15Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
Psa 10:12 This verse describes the stealth (Qere) of a wild animal seeking prey.
Psa 10:12-15 This is a prayer for God to act.
1. arise (BDB 877, KB 1086, Qal imperative) from Your throne or as the Divine Warrior
2. lift up Your hand BDB 669, KB 724, Qal imperative
3. do not forget the afflicted BDB 1013, KB 1489, Qal imperfect used in a jussive sense, cf. Psa 9:12; Psa 9:19 contrast Psa 10:11!
4. break the arm of the wicked BDB 990, KB 1402, Qal imperative (i.e., break the power of this/these evil person/people)
5. seek out BDB 205, KB 233, Qal imperfect used in a jussive sense
The psalmist wants God to act on behalf of the faithful believer to show the unbeliever his/her folly!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Arise. Compare Psa 9:19.
the humble = the humble ones. Compare Psa 10:17.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 10:12-14
Psa 10:12-14
“Arise, O Jehovah; O God, lift up thy hand: Forget not the poor.
Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God, and say in his heart, Thou wilt not require it?
Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand.
The helpless committeth himself unto thee;
Thou hast been the helper of the fatherless.”
“Arise, O Jehovah.” The Psalm here changes the tone completely. No longer is there a description of evil men and their activities. Abruptly, there is a cry for Jehovah to intervene, to lift up his hand and to execute judgment against the unrighteousness of evil doers.
There is a glimpse here of the necessity for the Final Judgment. Without that factor in God’s cosmic arrangements, the wicked would indeed have the best of things. However, the holy Bible teaches that no sin shall ever be able to crawl by the throne of the eternal God without receiving its due retribution and punishment, the only exceptions being the mistakes and sins of the redeemed “in Jesus Christ.” “Vengeance belongeth to me, I will repay”! is the Word of God Himself.
“The wicked contemn God.” The word contemn is related to the word contempt and means “to despise” or “to scorn.” This describes the usual attitude of evil men; and, “One might suppose that they had some reason for saying that God would let such things pass by unavenged”; but on the contrary it is only a result of the blind and stupid folly of the wicked.
Psa 10:14 stands in stark and dramatic contrast to the insane assertions of the wicked. God indeed has seen it and his purpose is indeed to avenge it and requite it.
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 10:12. David would have the Lord bring the wicked man to his senses. Humble is from a word that also means to be afflicted. God was asked to relieve all such.
Psa 10:13. Contemn means to treat with disrespect. David asked why the wicked man was suffered to treat God in that manner. By his apparent success he was prompted to conclude that he was in no danger of punishment from God. Thou wilt require it means the unrighteous man did not expect to be required to answer to God for his sins.
Psa 10:14. David acknowledged that God had seen the things of which he was complaining. He also cited the good example of the poor who put their trust in God.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Arise: Psa 3:7, Psa 7:6, Psa 9:19
lift: Psa 94:2, Isa 26:11, Isa 33:10, Mic 5:9
forget: Psa 9:12, Psa 13:1, Psa 77:9
humble: or, afflicted
Reciprocal: Job 31:14 – What then Psa 12:5 – oppression Psa 17:7 – savest Psa 74:23 – Forget Psa 119:48 – hands
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 10:12-13. Lift up thy hand To rescue the poor, and to smite their oppressors; forget not the humble Show, by thy appearing for their vindication, that thou dost remember and regard them. Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? Why dost thou, by giving them impunity, suffer and occasion them to despise thee?
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
10:12 {f} Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.
(f) He calls to God for help, because wickedness is so far overgrown that God must help now or never.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
2. Cry for vengeance 10:12-18
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
David appealed to God to act for the righteous against the wicked (Psa 10:12; Psa 10:15; an inclusio). He could not understand why God allowed the wicked to continue to spurn Him. It was not because their actions had escaped the Lord’s notice. Beside this, the righteous were trusting in Him, and He had helped the helpless in the past. David wanted God to break the power (symbolized by the arm) of the wicked and to search out and destroy all their wickedness until it disappeared. Compare Psa 9:12 where the same Hebrew word occurs. The translators have rendered it "requires blood" or "avenges" there, and "seek out" or "call to account" here.