3 For the evil-doer is lifted up because of the purpose of his heart, and he whose mind is fixed on wealth is turned away from the Lord, saying evil against him.
Words of pride come from their lips; all the workers of evil say great things of themselves.
Even of those whose faith is in their wealth, and whose hearts are lifted up because of their stores.
Am I to let the stores of the evil-doer go out of my memory, and the short measure, which is cursed? Is it possible for me to let wrong scales and the bag of false weights go without punishment? For its men of wealth are cruel, and its people have said what is not true, and their tongue is false in their mouth.
Whose owners put them to death and have no sense of sin; and those who get a price for them say, May the Lord be praised for I have much wealth: and the keepers of the flock have no pity for them. For I will have no more pity for the people of the land, says the Lord; but I will give up everyone into his neighbour's hand and into the hand of his king: and they will make the land waste, and I will not keep them safe from their hands. So I took care of the flock of death, for those who made profit out of the flock; and I took for myself two rods, naming one Beautiful, and the other Bands; and I took care of the flock. And in one month I put an end to the three keepers of the flock; for my soul was tired of them, and their souls were disgusted with me.
And he said to them, Take care to keep yourselves free from the desire for property; for a man's life is not made up of the number of things which he has.
And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have a great amount of goods in store, enough for a number of years; be at rest, take food and wine and be happy.
And the Pharisees, who had a great love of money, hearing these things, were making sport of him. And he said, You take care to seem right in the eyes of men, but God sees your hearts: and those things which are important in the opinion of men, are evil in the eyes of God.
Being full of all wrongdoing, evil, desire for the goods of others, hate, envy, putting to death, fighting, deceit, cruel ways, evil talk, and false statements about others;
Who, though they have knowledge of the law of God, that the fate of those who do these things is death, not only go on doing these things themselves, but give approval to those who do them.
Being certain of this, that no man who gives way to the passions of the flesh, no unclean person, or one who has desire for the property of others, or who gives worship to images, has any heritage in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Then put to death your bodies which are of the earth; wrong use of the flesh, unclean things, passion, evil desires and envy, which is the worship of strange gods;
But those who have a desire for wealth are falling into danger, and are taken as in a net by a number of foolish and damaging desires, through which men are overtaken by death and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all evil: and some whose hearts were fixed on it have been turned away from the faith, and been wounded with unnumbered sorrows.
For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, uplifted in pride, given to bitter words, going against the authority of their fathers, never giving praise, having no religion, Without natural love, bitter haters, saying evil of others, violent and uncontrolled, hating all good, False to their friends, acting without thought, lifted up in mind, loving pleasure more than God;
How foolish it is to say, Today or tomorrow we will go into this town, and be there for a year and do business there and get wealth:
Have no love for the world or for the things which are in the world. If any man has love for the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Though he might have pride in his soul in his life-time, and men will give you praise if you do well for yourself,
If such a man, hearing the words of this oath, takes comfort in the thought that he will have peace even if he goes on in the pride of his heart, taking whatever chance may give him:
And the Lord saw with disgust the evil-doing of his sons and daughters.
If I made gold my hope, or if I ever said to the best gold, I have put my faith in you;
You will send destruction on those whose words are false; the cruel man and the man of deceit are hated by the Lord.
The place of the dead is their house for ever, and their resting-place through all generations; those who come after them give their names to their lands. But man, like the animals, does not go on for ever; he comes to an end like the beasts. This is the way of the foolish; their silver is for those who come after them, and their children get the pleasure of their gold. (Selah.)
Egypt said, I will go after them, I will overtake, I will make division of their goods: my desire will have its way with them; my sword will be uncovered, my hand will send destruction on them.
Their thoughts are deep with evil designs; their talk from their seats of power is of cruel acts. Their mouth goes up to heaven; their tongues go walking through the earth.
Those who have no respect for the law give praise to the evil-doer; but such as keep the law are against him.
But this is not what is in his mind, and this is not his design; but his purpose is destruction, and the cutting off of more and more nations. For he says, Are not all my captains kings? Will not the fate of Calno be like that of Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus? As my hand has come on the kingdoms of the images, whose pictured images were more in number than those of Jerusalem and Samaria; So, as I have done to Samaria and her images, I will do to Jerusalem and her images.
Against whom have you said evil and bitter things? and against whom has your voice been loud and your eyes lifted up? even against the Holy One of Israel.
I was quickly angry with his evil ways, and sent punishment on him, veiling my face in wrath: and he went on, turning his heart from me.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Psalms 10
Commentary on Psalms 10 Matthew Henry Commentary
Psalm 10
The Septuagint translation joins this psalm with the ninth, and makes them but one; but the Hebrew makes it a distinct psalm, and the scope and style are certainly different. In this psalm,
Psa 10:1-11
David, in these verses, discovers,
In singing this psalm and praying it over, we should have our hearts much affected with a holy indignation at the wickedness of the oppressors, a tender compassion of the miseries of the oppressed, and a pious zeal for the glory and honour of God, with a firm belief that he will, in due time, give redress to the injured and reckon with the injurious.
Psa 10:12-18
David here, upon the foregoing representation of the inhumanity and impiety of the oppressors, grounds an address to God, wherein observe,
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.