◄ Psalm 10:18 ►
to vindicate the fatherless and oppressed, that the men of the earth may strike terror no more.
Study Bible
to vindicate
The Hebrew root for "to vindicate" is "שָׁפַט" (shaphat), which means to judge, govern, or vindicate. In the context of Psalm 10:18, this word emphasizes God's role as the ultimate judge who will bring justice to those who are oppressed. Historically, the concept of divine vindication is central to the Hebrew understanding of God's justice, where God is seen as the defender of the weak and the righteous judge who will set things right. This assurance of divine justice is a source of hope and comfort for believers, affirming that God will act on behalf of those who are wronged.

the fatherless
The term "fatherless" in Hebrew is "יָתוֹם" (yathom), referring to orphans or those without a father. In ancient Israelite society, the fatherless were among the most vulnerable, lacking protection and provision. The Bible frequently emphasizes God's special concern for orphans, widows, and the marginalized, highlighting His compassionate nature. This phrase underscores God's commitment to care for and protect those who are most vulnerable, serving as a reminder to believers of their responsibility to emulate God's compassion and justice in their own lives.

and oppressed
The Hebrew word for "oppressed" is "דַּךְ" (dach), which conveys the idea of being crushed or downtrodden. Throughout scripture, God is portrayed as a champion for the oppressed, standing against injustice and exploitation. This phrase in Psalm 10:18 reassures believers that God is aware of the suffering of the oppressed and will act to deliver them. It calls Christians to reflect on their own actions and attitudes towards those who are marginalized, encouraging them to be agents of God's justice and mercy in the world.

that the men of the earth
This phrase refers to humanity in general, emphasizing the universal scope of God's justice. The Hebrew word for "men" is "אֱנוֹשׁ" (enosh), which often denotes mankind in its frailty and mortality. By highlighting "the men of the earth," the psalmist reminds readers that all people are accountable to God, the ultimate judge. This serves as a humbling reminder of human limitations and the need for divine intervention in matters of justice.

may strike terror no more
The phrase "may strike terror no more" speaks to the cessation of fear and oppression. The Hebrew root "עָרַץ" (arats) means to cause to tremble or to terrify. This part of the verse promises a future where the wicked will no longer instill fear in the vulnerable. It is a prophetic declaration of hope, envisioning a world where God's justice prevails and peace reigns. For believers, this is an encouragement to trust in God's ultimate plan and to work towards a society that reflects His righteousness and peace.

Persons / Places / Events
1. The Fatherless
Refers to orphans or those without parental protection, often used in the Bible to symbolize the vulnerable and defenseless in society.

2. The Oppressed
Those who are subject to harsh and unjust treatment, often marginalized and without power.

3. Men of the Earth
Represents those who perpetrate injustice and oppression, often seen as the wicked or ungodly in biblical terms.
Teaching Points
God's Heart for Justice
God is deeply concerned with justice, especially for the vulnerable. As believers, we are called to reflect His heart by advocating for the fatherless and oppressed.

Role of Believers
Christians are called to be active participants in God's work of justice, standing against oppression and supporting those in need.

Fear of the Lord vs. Fear of Man
The passage contrasts the fear of God, which leads to justice, with the fear of man, which leads to oppression. Believers should cultivate a reverence for God that drives them to act justly.

Eternal Perspective
While earthly justice may seem delayed, God promises ultimate vindication for the oppressed, reminding us to trust in His perfect timing and sovereignty.

Practical Compassion
True religion involves practical acts of compassion and justice, challenging believers to engage in tangible ways to support the vulnerable in their communities.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding God's role as a defender of the fatherless and oppressed influence your view of justice?

2. In what ways can you actively participate in God's work of vindicating the oppressed in your community?

3. How do the themes of justice and protection in Psalm 10:18 connect with the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament?

4. What are some practical steps you can take to ensure that the "men of the earth" do not strike terror in your sphere of influence?

5. Reflect on a time when you witnessed or experienced injustice. How can Psalm 10:18 guide your response to similar situations in the future?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 68:5
Describes God as a father to the fatherless and a defender of widows, emphasizing His role as a protector of the vulnerable.

Isaiah 1:17
Calls believers to seek justice, encourage the oppressed, and defend the cause of the fatherless, aligning with the themes of justice and protection in Psalm 10:18.

James 1:27
Highlights pure and faultless religion as looking after orphans and widows in their distress, connecting the care for the vulnerable to Christian practice.

Exodus 22:22-24
Warns against mistreating widows or orphans, with God promising to hear their cries and act in justice, reinforcing His commitment to the oppressed.

Proverbs 31:8-9
Urges speaking up for those who cannot speak for themselves, ensuring justice for the destitute, which aligns with the call to vindicate the oppressed.
Sermons
A Theological Difficulty, a Haughty Impiety, an Earnest PrayerD. Thomas, D. D.Psalm 10:1-18
Man's Cry for a Solution of the Felt Distance of His MakerJ. Parker, D. D.Psalm 10:1-18
The Righteous GodC. Short Psalm 10:1-18
Times of Darkness and FearW. Forsyth Psalm 10:1-18
Why? Or, Hard Facts and Puzzling QuestionsC. Clemance Psalm 10:1-18
Black ArtsW. L. Watkinson.Psalm 10:7-18
OppressionThomas Brooks.Psalm 10:7-18
Trial in Three AspectsW. Forsyth Psalm 10:17, 18
People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
11, Broken-hearted, Bruised, Cause, Chief, Child, David, Decision, Fatherless, Feared, Judge, Justice, Longer, Musician, Oppress, Oppressed, Order, Orphan, Psalm, Strike, Terrible, Terrify, Terror, Vindicate
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 10:17-18

     5003   human race, and God
     8416   encouragement, promises
     8792   oppression, God's attitude

Library
One Saying from Three Men
'The wicked hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved.' --PSALM x. 6. 'Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.' --PSALM xvi. 8. 'And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.' --PSALM xxx. 6. How differently the same things sound when said by different men! Here are three people giving utterance to almost the same sentiment of confidence. A wicked man says it, and it is insane presumption and defiance. A good man says it, having been lulled into false security by easy times, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Poor Man's Friend
"The poor committeth himself unto thee."--Psalm 10:14. GOD IS THE POOR MAN'S FRIEND; the poor man, in His helplessness and despair, leaves his case in the hands of God, and God undertakes to care for him. In the days of David,--and I suppose, in this respect, the world has but little improved,--the poor man was the victim of almost everybody's cruelty, and sometimes he was very shamefully oppressed. If he sought redress for his wrongs, he generally only increased them, for he was regarded as a rebel …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 53: 1907

Jerome
I, Jerome, [2568] son of Eusebius, of the city of Strido, which is on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia and was overthrown by the Goths, up to the present year, that is, the fourteenth of the Emperor Theodosius, have written the following: Life of Paul the monk, one book of Letters to different persons, an Exhortation to Heliodorus, Controversy of Luciferianus and Orthodoxus, Chronicle of universal history, 28 homilies of Origen on Jeremiah and Ezekiel, which I translated from Greek into Latin, …
Various—Jerome and Gennadius Lives of Illustrious Men.

Look we Then, Beloved, what Hardships in Labors and Sorrows Men Endure...
3. Look we then, beloved, what hardships in labors and sorrows men endure, for things which they viciously love, and by how much they think to be made by them more happy, by so much more unhappily covet. How much for false riches, how much for vain honors, how much for affections of games and shows, is of exceeding peril and trouble most patiently borne! We see men hankering after money, glory, lasciviousness, how, that they may arrive at their desires, and having gotten not lose them, they endure …
St. Augustine—On Patience

The Tests of Love to God
LET us test ourselves impartially whether we are in the number of those that love God. For the deciding of this, as our love will be best seen by the fruits of it, I shall lay down fourteen signs, or fruits, of love to God, and it concerns us to search carefully whether any of these fruits grow in our garden. 1. The first fruit of love is the musing of the mind upon God. He who is in love, his thoughts are ever upon the object. He who loves God is ravished and transported with the contemplation of …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

These Things, My Brother Aurelius, Most Dear unto Me...
38. These things, my brother Aurelius, most dear unto me, and in the bowels of Christ to be venerated, so far as He hath bestowed on me the ability Who through thee commanded me to do it, touching work of Monks, I have not delayed to write; making this my chief care, lest good brethren obeying apostolic precepts, should by lazy and disobedient be called even prevaricators from the Gospel: that they which work not, may at the least account them which do work to be better than themselves without doubt. …
St. Augustine—Of the Work of Monks.

The Situation of the Jews During this Period.
As we have seen in earlier chapters, the declarations of Holy Writ make it very clear that Israel will yet be restored to God's favor and be rehabilitated in Palestine. But before that glad time arrives, the Jews have to pass through a season of sore trouble and affliction, during which God severely chastises them for their sins and punishes them for the rejection and crucifixion of their Messiah. Fearful indeed have been the past experiences of "the nation of the weary feet" but a darker path than …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

Question Lxxxiii of Prayer
I. Is Prayer an Act of the Appetitive Powers? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer based on Friendship II. Is it Fitting to Pray? Cardinal Cajetan, On Prayer as a True Cause S. Augustine, On the Sermon on the Mount, II. iii. 14 " On the Gift of Perseverance, vii. 15 III. Is Prayer an Act of the Virtue of Religion? Cardinal Cajetan, On the Humility of Prayer S. Augustine, On Psalm cii. 10 " Of the Gift of Perseverance, xvi. 39 IV. Ought We to Pray to God Alone? S. Augustine, Sermon, cxxvii. 2 V. …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life

Out of the Deep of Suffering and Sorrow.
Save me, O God, for the waters are come in even unto my soul: I am come into deep waters; so that the floods run over me.--Ps. lxix. 1, 2. I am brought into so great trouble and misery: that I go mourning all the day long.--Ps. xxxviii. 6. The sorrows of my heart are enlarged: Oh! bring Thou me out of my distress.--Ps. xxv. 17. The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping: the Lord will receive my prayer.--Ps. vi. 8. In the multitude of the sorrows which I had in my heart, Thy comforts have refreshed …
Charles Kingsley—Out of the Deep

"And the Life. " How Christ is the Life.
This, as the former, being spoken indefinitely, may be universally taken, as relating both to such as are yet in the state of nature, and to such as are in the state of grace, and so may be considered in reference to both, and ground three points of truth, both in reference to the one, and in reference to the other; to wit, 1. That our case is such as we stand in need of his help, as being the Life. 2. That no other way but by him, can we get that supply of life, which we stand in need of, for he …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

Life of Jerome.
The figures in parentheses, when not otherwise indicated, refer to the pages in this volume. For a full account of the Life, the translator must refer to an article (Hieronymus) written by him in Smith and Wace's Dictionary of Christian Biography. A shorter statement may suffice here, since the chief sources of information are contained in this volume, and to these reference will be continually made. Childhood and Youth. A.D. 345. Jerome was born at Stridon, near Aquileia, but in Pannonia, a place …
St. Jerome—The Principal Works of St. Jerome

The Revelation and Career of the Anti-Christ.
Who is the Anti-christ? Varied and wild have been the answers to this question. In pre-christian times there were many who regarded Antiochus Epiphanes as the one whom Daniel and the other prophets described. At the beginning of this dispensation Nero was looked upon as the predicted Man of Sin. After the Reformation the Papacy was selected as the fulfiller of the prophecies given through the Patmos seer. And in our day there have been those who consider the Kaiser to be the Son of Perdition. It …
Arthur W. Pink—The Redeemer's Return

Being Made Archbishop of Armagh, He Suffers Many Troubles. Peace Being Made, from Being Archbishop of Armagh He Becomes Bishop of Down.
[Sidenote: 1129] 19. (12). Meanwhile[365] it happened that Archbishop Cellach[366] fell sick: he it was who ordained Malachy deacon, presbyter and bishop: and knowing that he was dying he made a sort of testament[367] to the effect that Malachy ought to succeed him,[368] because none seemed worthier to be bishop of the first see. This he gave in charge to those who were present, this he commanded to the absent, this to the two kings of Munster[369] and to the magnates of the land he specially enjoined …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

He Does Battle for the Faith; He Restores Peace among those who were at Variance; He Takes in Hand to Build a Stone Church.
57. (32). There was a certain clerk in Lismore whose life, as it is said, was good, but his faith not so. He was a man of some knowledge in his own eyes, and dared to say that in the Eucharist there is only a sacrament and not the fact[718] of the sacrament, that is, mere sanctification and not the truth of the Body. On this subject he was often addressed by Malachy in secret, but in vain; and finally he was called before a public assembly, the laity however being excluded, in order that if it were …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh

Letter Xlv (Circa A. D. 1120) to a Youth Named Fulk, who Afterwards was Archdeacon of Langres
To a Youth Named Fulk, Who Afterwards Was Archdeacon of Langres He gravely warns Fulk, a Canon Regular, whom an uncle had by persuasions and promises drawn back to the world, to obey God and be faithful to Him rather than to his uncle. To the honourable young man Fulk, Brother Bernard, a sinner, wishes such joy in youth as in old age he will not regret. 1. I do not wonder at your surprise; I should wonder if you were not suprised [sic] that I should write to you, a countryman to a citizen, a monk …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

The Desire of the Righteous Granted;
OR, A DISCOURSE OF THE RIGHTEOUS MAN'S DESIRES. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR As the tree is known by its fruit, so is the state of a man's heart known by his desires. The desires of the righteous are the touchstone or standard of Christian sincerity--the evidence of the new birth--the spiritual barometer of faith and grace--and the springs of obedience. Christ and him crucified is the ground of all our hopes--the foundation upon which all our desires after God and holiness are built--and the root …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3

Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

Links
Psalm 10:18 NIV
Psalm 10:18 NLT
Psalm 10:18 ESV
Psalm 10:18 NASB
Psalm 10:18 KJV

Psalm 10:18 Commentaries

Bible Hub
Psalm 10:17
Top of Page
Top of Page