Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 10:7
His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue [is] mischief and vanity.
7. His sins of tongue; cursing, which may include both malicious imprecation (Job 31:30, R.V.) and perjury (Psa 59:12: Hos 4:2): deceits, the plural, as in Psa 38:12, expressing their abundance and variety: oppression (Psa 55:11, Psa 72:14), which he advocates, or abets by false witness (Psa 27:12, Psa 35:11; Exo 23:1).
Under his tongue, ready for immediate use, is a store of mischief and iniquity (Psa 7:14). This is the usual interpretation; but it seems strange to regard ‘under the tongue’ as synonymous with ‘upon the tongue,’ and the use of the phrase in Job 20:12 suggests another explanation. Wickedness is there spoken of as a delicious morsel which is kept in the mouth to be enjoyed. (See Prof. Davidson’s note.) And similarly here the mention of the mouth as the organ of speech leads up to the thought of the tongue as the organ of taste. Mischief and iniquity are thoroughly to the wicked man’s taste. Cp. Pro 19:28, which speaks of iniquity as the wicked man’s favourite food: and Job 15:16.
The first half of the verse (according to the LXX) is woven by St Paul into his description of human corruption in Rom 3:14.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
His mouth is full of cursing – Profaneness; blasphemy against God. In the former verse the writer had described the feelings of the heart; he now proceeds to specify the open acts of the wicked. The meaning is, that the wicked man, as here described, was one who was full of imprecation, swearing, execration; a profane man; a man who, whatever was his belief about God, would constantly call upon his name, and imprecate his wrath on himself or others. An atheist, strange as it may seem, is as likely to make a frequent use of the name of God, and to call upon Him, as other people; just as profane people, who have no belief in the Saviour, swear by Jesus Christ. This passage seems to be referred to by the apostle Paul in Rom 3:14, not as a direct quotation, as if the psalmist referred to the point which he was arguing, but as language which expressed the idea that the apostle wished to convey. See the note at that passage.
And deceit – Margin, as in Hebrew, deceits. The meaning is, that he was false and treacherous; and perhaps also that his treachery and fraud were accompanied with the solemn sanction of an oath, or an appeal to God, as is likely to be the case among fraudulent and dishonest people.
And fraud – The word used here – tok – is now commonly supposed to mean rather oppression or violence. See Gesenius Lexicon. When this is attributed to his mouth, it means that what he says – what he requires – what he commands, is unjust, unreasonable, and oppressive.
Under his tongue – Perhaps alluding to the serpent, whose poison is concealed at the root of the fang or tooth, and therefore under the tongue. The meaning is, that beneath what the wicked say, though it seems to be harmless, as the tongue of the serpent does, yet there lies mischief and iniquity, as the poison is hidden beneath the serpents tongue.
Is mischief – The word used here means properly labor, toil; then trouble, vexation, sorrow. The meaning here seems to be that there lies under the tongue that which gives or causes distress; to wit, wrong-doing; injustice to others.
And vanity – Margin, iniquity. This expresses the idea in the original word. Whatever he says is evil, and is fitted to produce trouble and sorrow, as the concealed poison in the mouth of the serpent causes pain and death.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 10:7-18
His mouth is full of cursing.
Black arts
A missionary from Polynesia brought home a soul trap. It was a series of rings twisted in cocoanut fibre. If a native should commit a great offence, or offend a sorcerer, he proceeds to make a new ring in his chain, so as to form a trap to catch the poor mans spirit. Soon the sorcerer asserts that the soul of the culprit, assuming this form, has passed into the trap. It is immediately known throughout the tribe that a certain man has lost his soul. As a matter of fact, it invariably happens that the soulless man shortly afterwards dies, of course through sheer mental distress at having had his soul thus entrapped. We smile at such traps, but we are all familiar with soul traps of a far more subtle and dangerous character. In the verses before us the Psalmist vividly pictures the crafty schemes of the wicked in order to entrap their victims. They seek by most subtle arts to entangle and destroy.
I. It is thus that selfish men set wraps for the young and inexperienced. With lies and enticements the covetous seek to entrap and destroy the young. Soul traps for the young! How numerous they are! How cleverly contrived! The utmost artifice and plausibility. How successful they are (Psa 10:10). Crouching down as low as possible, he lies on the watch, and the feeble and defenceless fall into his strong ones, i.e. claws.–Delitzsch. How many thus fall! Our cities are full of fallen young men and women. We have thousands of heartless men in society answering to the vile robber pictured in these verses. For the sake of gain they set traps in which the health, honour, happiness, soul of the youthful perish. The whole civilised world was shocked the other day by the discovery that, by means of an infernal machine, a villain sent ships and their crews to the bottom of the sea for the sake of the insurance money; but thousands of atheistical, covetous men, for the sake of gain, are ingeniously seeking to sink the souls of the people in the gulf of hell.
II. It is thus that the world contrives traps for the godly. The world does not like the godly, and in various subtle methods it seeks to worst them.
1. It has traps for their reputation. His mouth is full of perjury and deceit. He sets a net of cunningly devised speech, that he may be able to bring their good name into discredit.
2. It has traps for their fortune. It will privily seek to damage their circumstances. It will adroitly circulate reports, frame laws, to bring them into financial trouble.
3. It has traps for their character. They know the natural weaknesses of a Christian, and they bait their hook, set their net, accordingly. He is short tempered, and they contrive to put in his way occasions of auger; he is given to levity, and they provoke his mirth; he has strong appetites, and they put drink to his lips; he is feeble in faith, and they press him with scepticisms. The world hates the righteous, and when it cannot injure them openly it will secretly. The devil is a wily destroyer, and his children imitate his tactics and seek to murder the innocent.
III. It is thus that Satan sets traps for us all. He is the great bandit pictured in the text; he is the great sorcerer whose soul traps beset us at every turn. What a clever fowler is he! what a politic huntsman! what a subtle angler! The devil hides himself, he disguises his movements, and in an evil hour men are drawn into the net. Here he betrays by pleasure. Bates tells us of a spider in South America which looks like a blossom, and insects alighting on it for sweetness find death. So the great foe, under the aspect of pleasure, betrays thousands. Here he betrays by honour. One of the Roman emperors used to fish with a net of purple and gold; the devil has used this net largely and taken great prey. And by many other devices does he destroy the unwary. Beware! Beware of those soul traps made of flowers, called pleasure; of those purple-lined ones called greatness; of those gay-painted ones called fashion; of those scientific ones called philosophy; of those jewelled ones called honour; of those golden ones called wealth; of those most plausible ones called morality. Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. The devil will lie, fawn, flatter, and do this patiently for years to ruin us.
1. Let the innocent put their trust in God, and walk circumspectly. The afflicted committeth himself unto Thee; Thou art the helper of the fatherless (Psa 10:14). Alas for us if we attempt to stand in our own strength, and take our defence into our own hands! He that takes himself out of Gods hands into his own, by and by will not know what to do with himself.–Whichcote. And in our darkest hours of temptation and trial we may have the fullest, assurance that God has not forgotten us. The wicked say, God will never see it (Psa 10:11). But the Psalmist replies, Thou hast seen it; for Thou beholdest mischief and spite to requite it with Thy hand (Psa 10:14). The Psalmist means to say, so far from the assertion of the wicked man being true, that God is forgetful of the poor, He is, on the contrary, observant of their trouble and vexation; and in order not to forget their calamities He places a memorial of them on His hands (Isa 49:26).
2. Let the wicked be assured that Gods eye is upon them, and that justice must overtake them (Psa 10:15). Because the Lord continues to spare them, therefore they go on to provoke Him. As He adds to their lives, so they add to their lusts. Because justice seems to wink, men suppose her blind; because she delays punishment, they imagine she denies to punish them; because she does not always reprove them for their sins, they suppose she always approves of their sins. But let such know that the silent arrow can destroy as well as the roaring cannon. Though the patience of God be lasting, yet it is not everlasting.–Spurgeon. (W. L. Watkinson.)
Oppression
turns princes into roaring lions, and judges into ravening wolves. It is an unnatural sin, against the light of nature. No creatures do oppress them of their own kind. Look upon the birds of prey as upon eagles, vultures, hawks, and you shall never find them preying upon their own kind. Look upon the beasts of the forest as upon the lion, the tiger, the wolf, the bear, and you shall ever find them favourable to their own kind; and yet men unnaturally prey upon one another, like the fish in the sea, the great swallowing up the small. (Thomas Brooks.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 7. His mouth is full of cursing, and deceit, and fraud] What a finished character! A blasphemer, a deceitful man, and a knave!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Of cursing; either,
1. Of oaths and blasphemies against God. Or,
2. Of reviling and execration of other men, especially those that are good; or those that stand in his way, and hinder his wicked designs. Or rather,
3. Of oaths and imprecations against himself, of which this word is used, Num 5:21; Deu 29:12,21; Ne 10:29; by which he endeavours to gain credit, and to make his neighbours secure, and so to make way for the
deceit and fraud which here follows. For this wretched man is represented both here, and in the succeeding verses, as one that doth not act with open violence and hostility, but with subtle and secret artifices, using all cunning insinuations, and flatteries, and lies, and, among others, oaths, of which an atheistical politician said, that men were to be deceived with oaths, and children with rattles or toys.
Deceit and fraud; two words signifying the same thing, to note the greatness and frequency of his deceits. Or one word may signify the deceit lurking in his heart, and the other the manifestation of it in external frauds and stratagems.
Under his tongue; either,
1. In his heart, which is under the tongue. Or rather,
2. Under his fair and plausible speeches the
mischief here following is hid and covered. Withal he seems to allude to serpents, whose poison lies hidden under the tongue or within their teeth.
Mischief and vanity; or rather, iniquity, as this word is oft rendered, or injury, the vexation or oppression of other men, which he covers with these fair pretences.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
7-10. The malignity and deceit(Ps 140:3) of such arefollowed by acts combining cunning, fraud, and violence (comparePro 1:11; Pro 1:18),aptly illustrated by the habits of the lion, and of hunters takingtheir prey. “Poor,” in Psa 10:8;Psa 10:10; Psa 10:14,represents a word peculiar to this Psalm, meaning the sad orsorrowful; in Ps 10:9, asusual, it means the pious or meek sufferer.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
His mouth is full of cursing,…. Or, “he has filled his mouth with cursing” e God and good men, his superiors, himself and others. The word signifies “an oath”; and may design either a profane oath, taking the name of God in vain; or an oath on a civil account, a false oath, taken with a design to defraud and deceive others, as follows, and intends perjury; and this, as applicable to antichrist, regards his mouth speaking great things and blasphemies against God, and uttering curses and anathemas against the saints, Re 13:5;
and deceit and fraud; such as flattery and lying, which are both used by him with an intention to impose upon and deceive. The apostle, in Ro 3:14; renders both these words by one, “bitterness”; which may be said of sin in general, which is a very bitter thing; though it is rolled as a sweet morsel in the mouth of a wicked man, yet in the issue it is bitterness to him: and it is applicable to sinful words, which are bitter in their effects to those against whom they are spoken, or who are deceived and imposed upon by them: and, as they refer to antichrist, may have respect to the lies in hypocrisy spoken by him, and to the deceitfulness of unrighteousness, by which he works upon those that perish, 1Ti 4:2;
under his tongue [is] mischief and vanity; alluding to serpents, who have little bags of poison under their teeth; see Ps 140:3; Kimchi and Ben Melech observe, that the heart is under the tongue, being lower than it, and so denotes the wickedness which that is full of, and devises continually, and is latent in it until discovered; and is mischievous iniquity, injurious to God, and the honour of his law, and to fellow creatures; and especially to the saints, whose persons, characters, and estates, are aimed at; but in the issue it is all vanity, and a fruitless attempt, being blasted by God, and overruled for good to him; see Isa 54:17;
e .
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
7. His mouth is full of cursing. The scope of these four verses is this: If God intends to succor his servants, it is now a proper time for doing so, inasmuch as the lawlessness of the ungodly has burst forth to the utmost possible excess. In the first place, he complains that their tongues are full of perjuries and deceits, and that they carry or hide mischief and wrongs, it being impossible to have any dealings with them in any matter without loss and damage. The word אלה, alah, which some render cursing, does not signify the execrations which they throw out against others, but rather those which they call down upon their own heads: for they do not scruple to utter the most awful imprecations against themselves, that thereby they may the better succeed in deceiving others. It is, therefore, not improperly rendered by some, perjury, for this word ought to be joined to the other two, deceit and malice. Thus the wicked are described as cursing or swearing falsely, so far as it contributes to forward their purposes of deceiving and doing injury. Hence follow mischief and injustice, because it is impossible for the simple, without suffering detriment, to escape their snares, which are woven of deceits, perjuries, and malice.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(7) Cursing and deceit.From the connection of cursing with deceit (comp. Hos. 4:2, swearing and lying ), we must understand perjury.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
7. Cursing deceit fraud The word “cursing” may be rendered false swearing, as in Hos 10:4; connected with lying, (Hos 4:2, Psa 59:12,) or execration, invoking a curse upon others; or it may mean an oath with a curse or imprecation added to sanction the statement, as in Num 5:21-22. The first seems to be the true sense. “Deceit,” Hebrew, deceits; the plural for intensity. This applies to the external false show and promise of his words. “Fraud;” the internal guile, the falsity of his intentions.
Under his tongue Words under the tongue are words concealed, as yet unspoken, but ready for an occasion. Some suppose an allusion is here made to the poison sac of the serpent, which lies at the root of the fang tooth. See Job 20:12-13.
Mischief and vanity Literally, labour and iniquity, as if he were in restless toil of secreting and fashioning wicked and deceitful words.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppressiveness,
Under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
He sits in the hiding places of the villages,
In the secret places he murders the innocent.
His eyes are surreptitiously set against the helpless.
He lurks in secret like a lion in his covert;
He lies in wait to catch the poor:
He catches the poor, when he draws him in his net.
He crouches, he bows down,
And the helpless fall by his strong ones (might).
He says in his heart, ‘God has forgotten.
He hides his face. He will never see it.’
The gradual growth of sin is well depicted in the Psalm. It begins with a callous attitude towards God and his fellow-man, and leads on into deeper and deeper sin. Here the sinner is depicted at his worst. Not all reach these depths, but all have the propensity for it. It begins with his words, which reveal what he is (compare Mat 12:37), continues on into unscrupulous behaviour, and into increasing callousness, and all because he convinces himself with the vain hope that God has forgotten the world and will not see what he is doing.
‘His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppressiveness, under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.’ He is loud-mouthed, aggressive, and deceitful, and plans evil and mischief with his tongue. ‘Cursing’ may indicate his aggressive attitude, or his willingness to lie on oath to obtain what he wants. ‘Deceit’ declares his dishonesty in his dealings. He says what he wants people to think, while hiding the true situation. His aim is to deceive people. We can think of much modern advertising and salesmanship. ‘Oppressiveness’ indicates his determination to get his own way by any possible means. He tries to obtain his own way by aggression and forcefulness. And nothing that he says can be trusted.
‘Under his tongue.’ He actually enjoys his unscrupulous behaviour like a man enjoying a titbit (see Job 20:12).
‘He sits in the hiding places of the villages, in the secret places he murders the innocent. His eyes are surreptitiously set against the helpless. He lurks in secret like a lion in his covert; he lies in wait to catch the poor.’ Openly included here are muggers, and violent criminals, but equally included are any who are set to catch people out, or trap them into something, and make profits at their expense, without giving due and fair return. In their own way they all ‘mug’ people. They are like man-eating lions who wait in hiding for some helpless human to pass by.
‘He catches the poor, when he draws him in his net. He crouches, he bows down, and the helpless fall by his might (or rather ‘his strong ones’).’ The picture changes to the subtle hunter who lays his nets out to catch the unwary, and then draws them in. The emphasis is all on hidden motives and secretive behaviour, subtlety and deceit. The one who crouches may be the hunter with his net, or refer back to the lion waiting in hiding. If the former the idea is that he crouches in hiding, bows down behind the bushes when they approach and then quickly draws in his net dragging down his prey with his strong nets and strength. If the latter then the ‘strong ones’ may be his paws and teeth.
‘He says in his heart, “God has forgotten. He hides his face. He will has not seen it for ever.”’ This is the crux of the matter, his attitude towards God. He convinces himself that God has forgotten the world, has forgotten the poor and needy, has hidden His face and that he therefore does not see what men are doing, and indeed will never see it, will never bring it to mind. He assumes that men are unaccountable and therefore that he can get away with his behaviour. He forgets, or refuses to accept, that ‘all things are laid bare and open to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do’ (Heb 4:13). It is something he dismisses out of hand.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Psa 10:7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue [is] mischief and vanity.
Ver. 7. His mouth is full of cursing and deceit ] Such cursing men are cursed men; and for such slippery and deceitful persons the Lord is the avenger of all such, 1Th 4:8 .
Under his tongue is mischief
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
His mouth, &c. Quoted in Rom 3:14.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 10:7-11
Psa 10:7-8
“His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and oppression:
Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.
He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages;
In the secret places doth he murder the innocent;
His eyes are privily set against the helpless.”
“Mouth is full of cursing.” What a paradox it is that the wicked who claim (in their hearts at least) not to believe in God should have God’s precious name upon their evil lips continually, not in truth or righteousness, but in shame and dishonor! The apostle Paul quoted this line in Rom 3:14, thus justifying the conclusion that profane cursing and swearing is an invariable part of the conduct of wicked men.
It is noticeable here that the emphasis of the passage is shifted from describing the character and attitude of the wicked to a discussion of their conduct and their wicked actions. These things are mentioned at once: (1) he is a profane swearer; (2) he is a planner of mischief and iniquity; (3) he lurks in secret hiding places near towns and villages; and (4) he is a murderer of innocent people.
In Hos 4:2; Hos 6:9, that prophet mentioned similar bloody and violent conditions of society.
Psa 10:9-11
“He lurketh in secret as a lion in his covert;
He lieth in wait to catch the poor:
He doth catch the poor, when he draweth in his net.
He croucheth, he boweth down,
And the helpless fall by his strong ones.
He saith in his heart, God hath forgotten,
He hideth his face, he will never see it.”
The use of wild animals and the devices of hunters which appears here as descriptive of the conduct of the wicked, “May possibly be figurative descriptions of the various forms of oppressions and iniquity such rascals used.”
“The helpless fall by his strong ones.” The wicked man mentioned here, “Is represented as the head or leader of a band of robbers or outlaws, engaged under him in committing robbery upon the unprotected.”
“God hath forgotten.” This is the attitude of the practical atheist described above. His actions are taken without regard to any possibility of God’s existence or of his executing his wrath and vengeance upon such ungodly conduct.
When at last, the Final Judgment is begun, there shall not be left a single infidel in all the world. Evil men at that time shall cry for the rocks and the mountains to fall upon them and to hide them from the wrath of him that sitteth upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb (Rev 6:14).
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 10:7. Cursing means a wishing for some evil thing to come upon another. The one doing the cursing will even try to carry out his evil wishes by using deceitful dealings. Under his tongue means that his language is prompted by vain motives.
Psa 10:8-9. Almost this entire psalm is a description of a wicked man, and the details of his wickedness are many. In this paragraph he is described as a coward who will not meet his victim face to face, but crouches in hiding places and waits for the opportune time to strike. This wicked man seems to have special designs against the poor and that was the chief reason why David abhorred him.
Psa 10:10. Humbleth himself does not refer to his state of mind, for such an evil person would not have that sentiment. It refers to the posture of his body in crouching down like a huge cat, waiting to spring at his unsuspecting prey.
Psa 10:11. The temporary success of an unrighteous man sometimes leads him to conclude that God had not observed his actions: that he had forgotten to notice what had been going on in the conduct of the evil character.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
full: Psa 59:12, Psa 62:4, Rom 3:14
and deceit: Heb. deceits, Psa 5:9, Psa 7:14, Psa 36:3, Psa 52:4, Psa 55:21, Psa 58:3, Psa 64:3, Isa 59:4, Jer 9:3, Jer 9:6, Rom 3:13
under: Job 20:12
mischief: Psa 7:14, Psa 140:9, Job 15:35, Mat 12:34, Jam 3:6-8
vanity: or, iniquity, Psa 12:2, Psa 41:6, Psa 144:8, Psa 144:11, Pro 21:6, Pro 30:8
Reciprocal: Num 35:20 – by laying Psa 28:3 – mischief Psa 50:19 – tongue Psa 52:1 – mischief Pro 6:12 – walketh Pro 24:2 – General Isa 32:7 – deviseth Mat 15:11 – but Jam 3:9 – therewith curse
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 10:7. His mouth is full of cursing Of oaths and blasphemies against God; of reviling and execration of other men, especially of those that are good, and those that stand in his way, and hinder his wicked designs; and, perhaps, also of oaths and imprecations against himself, by which he endeavours to gain credit, and to make his neighbours secure, and so to make way for the deceit and fraud here next mentioned. He sticks at nothing that may serve his ends: for he makes no conscience of calling for one curse after another upon himself to confirm those promises which he never intends to keep, or to swear that which he knows is false, that by these impious means he may deceive those who rely on his word or oath. Under his tongue Under his fair and plausible speeches; is mischief Mischievous wickedness lies hid, and vanity, or iniquity, as the word , aven, is often rendered, or injury; the vexation or oppression of other men, which he covers with these fair pretences.