seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Psalm 10: (a)1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5 His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by[b] him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
5 His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by[b] him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”
7 His mouth is full of lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;
he covers his face and never sees.”
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
8 He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
10 His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;
he covers his face and never sees.”
12 Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?
14 But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
the nations will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
a. Psalm 10:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.
b. Psalm 10:5 See Septuagint; Hebrew / they are haughty, and your laws are far from
As I recall, David was sent to the front to check on his older brothers. They were soldiers. When David arrived at the front.... everyone was just sitting around listening to a big-mouthed braggadocio giant Golliath. David loved God.... I guess it was the time he spent with nature.... but David knew God didn't want this guy to get away with humiliating the Israeli army. So he knocked him down [shortened the story, sorry] with a little stone. David knew he couldn't miss because David was on God's side. So... this poem is about the slaughter of a big mouthed braggadocio giant who was talking bad about David's God.
This is from the easy English site. Follow the link under the word English to see the rest of the commentary, showing the alphabet that David is still singing from chapter 9.
Psalm 10: 1 - 7: In Psalm 9 we read about the enemy of God. He was also the enemy of David. The enemy was probably a foreign country. In Psalm 10 we read about the wicked man, or the wicked. They were people that lived in David's country. Perhaps some of them were women. They wanted more that it was fair for them to have. They made plans to take things from people that were helpless. Some of these helpless people were people of God. Sometimes they felt that God did not care any more.
Psalm 10: 8 - 11: The wicked man is like a wild animal called a lion. They kill for what they can get. In Psalm 10:11 we do not know if "he" is the bad man or the helpless man. The Hebrew Bible just says "he" . Both people felt that God was not looking.
Psalm 10: 12 - 18: David prays that God will do something. In verses 16-18 David tells his people that God will do something. God will frighten the wicked away. (Frighten means make afraid). David knew that after fighting foreign countries (look in Psalm 9) there was unrest in his own kingdom. ("Unrest" means people in the same country fighting each other). King David tried to stop it, but he knew that only God would really stop it. (A kingdom is a country that has a king or a queen.)
Israel was a Theocracy. Anyone talking bad about God was talking bad about the ruler of Israel. A Theocracy is a government totally controlled by God through appointed humans.
When I started this trip through the Bible.... it was because there is so much news out of the Middle East... I thought it important to know the history and the people in the area making the news. I've been talking a lot about how I am considering myself a Theocrate now rather than republican or democrat. When this story came up again, David and Golliath, it just seems to cry out.... protect the Theocracy. So this is the definition of Theocracy according to my google source.
A theocracy is a government operated under divine rule or the pretense of divine rule. The origin of the word "theocracy" is from the 17th century from the Greek word "theokratia." "Theo" is Greek for God, and "cracy" means government.
In practice, the term refers to a government operated by religious authorities who claim unlimited power in the name of God or supernatural forces. Many government leaders, including some in the United States, invoke God and claim to be inspired by God or to obey the will of God. This does not make a government a theocracy, at least in practice and by itself. A government is a theocracy when its lawmakers actually believe that leaders are governed by the will of God and laws are written and enforced that are predicated on this belief.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are often cited as modern examples of theocratic governments. In practice, North Korea also resembles a theocracy because of the supernatural powers that were attributed to former leader Kim Jong-il and the comparable deference he received from other government officials and the military. Hundreds of thousands of indoctrination centers operate on devotion to Jong-il's will and legacy, and to that of his son and the present leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-un.
Theocratic movements exist in virtually every country on earth, but true contemporary theocracies are primarily found in the Muslim world, particularly in Islamic states governed by Sharia.
The Holy See in Vatican City is also technically a theocratic government. A sovereign state and home to nearly 1,000 citizens, the Holy See is governed by the Catholic Church and represented by the pope and its bishop. All government positions and offices are filled by clergy.
Although mortal men hold positions of power in theocratic governments, the laws and rules are considered to be set by God or another deity, and these men first serve their deity, not the people. As with the Holy See, leaders are typically clergy or that faith’s version of clergy, and they often hold their positions for life. The succession of rulers may occur by inheritance or may be passed from one dictator to another of his own choosing, but new leaders are never appointed by popular vote.
Laws and the legal systems are faith-based, typically formed literally on the basis of religious texts. The ultimate power or ruler is God or the country's or state's recognized deity. Religious rule dictates social norms such as marriage, law, and punishment. Governmental structure is typically that of a dictatorship or monarchy. This leaves less opportunity for corruption, but it also means that the people cannot vote on issues and do not have a voice. There is no freedom of religion, and defying one’s faith—specifically the theocracy’s faith—often results in death. At the very least, the infidel would be banished or persecuted.
I know... I understand.... being a Theocrate means I don't have a voice in my government because God is in control. When God is in control... I don't need a vote. AND... I figure I may not have a vote now anyway.... after all.... everyone keeps telling us the last election was rigged. Even if it's fake news.... what does it say about our democracy. Good people think their votes may have been skewed by a foreign government. Was God in control then????