He lies in wait near the villages; in ambush he slays the innocent; his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless. He lies in waitThe phrase "He lies in wait" suggests a deliberate and premeditated action. In the Hebrew text, the word used here is "יֵשֵׁב" (yeshev), which conveys the idea of sitting or dwelling with intent. This imagery is often associated with ambush or entrapment, reflecting the cunning and deceitful nature of the wicked. Historically, this behavior can be likened to ancient practices of ambush in warfare, where enemies would hide and wait for the opportune moment to strike. Spiritually, it serves as a warning against the subtle and often hidden nature of evil in the world, reminding believers to be vigilant and discerning. in the villages
The term "in the villages" indicates a setting that is seemingly peaceful and unsuspecting. The Hebrew word "חֲצֵרִים" (chatserim) refers to open spaces or settlements, often less fortified than cities. This choice of location for the wicked's ambush underscores their cowardice and preference for preying on the vulnerable. In a broader scriptural context, villages represent community and fellowship, highlighting the tragedy of evil infiltrating places meant for safety and harmony. It calls Christians to protect and nurture their communities against such threats. in ambush
The phrase "in ambush" further emphasizes the stealth and treachery of the wicked. The Hebrew root "אָרַב" (arab) means to lie in wait or to lurk, often with malicious intent. This word paints a vivid picture of the wicked's predatory nature, akin to a hunter stalking prey. Biblically, it serves as a metaphor for spiritual warfare, where believers must be aware of the devil's schemes and the hidden dangers that can lead them astray. It encourages a proactive faith, grounded in prayer and the Word of God. he slays the innocent
"He slays the innocent" is a stark depiction of the wicked's actions. The Hebrew word "נָקִי" (naki) for "innocent" refers to those who are blameless or free from guilt. This highlights the injustice and moral corruption of the wicked, who target those who are undeserving of harm. Historically, this reflects the societal injustices prevalent in ancient times, where the powerless were often exploited. For Christians, it is a call to stand against injustice and to protect the innocent, following the example of Christ who championed the cause of the marginalized. His eyes watch in stealth
The phrase "His eyes watch in stealth" conveys a sense of constant surveillance and hidden observation. The Hebrew "צָפָה" (tzafah) means to look out or keep watch, often with a sense of anticipation. This imagery suggests a predator-like vigilance, always seeking an opportunity to exploit. In a spiritual sense, it warns believers of the ever-present nature of evil and the need for spiritual alertness. It serves as a reminder of the importance of spiritual discernment and the protective power of God's watchful care over His people. for the helpless
"For the helpless" identifies the target of the wicked's schemes. The Hebrew "חַלָּכָה" (chalakah) refers to those who are weak or defenseless. This highlights the cowardice of the wicked, who prey on those unable to defend themselves. In a biblical context, it underscores God's heart for the vulnerable and His call for His people to be their defenders. It challenges Christians to embody Christ's compassion and to be advocates for justice, providing support and protection for those in need. Persons / Places / Events 1. The Wicked ManThe primary subject of this verse, representing those who act with malice and deceit, preying on the vulnerable. 2. The InnocentThose who are targeted by the wicked, often characterized by their vulnerability and lack of defense. 3. VillagesSymbolic of places where people live in community, often representing safety and peace, yet here they are places of danger. 4. AmbushA tactic used by the wicked, indicating premeditated and concealed attacks. 5. The HelplessIndividuals who are unable to defend themselves, often marginalized or oppressed in society. Teaching Points Recognizing Evil TacticsUnderstand that evil often operates in secrecy and deceit, targeting the vulnerable. Be vigilant and discerning in recognizing such tactics in the world today. God's Justice for the OppressedTrust in God's ultimate justice. While the wicked may seem to prosper temporarily, God sees and will act on behalf of the innocent and helpless. Our Role in Protecting the VulnerableAs Christians, we are called to defend and support those who are helpless, reflecting God's heart for justice and mercy. Prayer for Discernment and ProtectionRegularly pray for wisdom to discern evil schemes and for protection over those who are vulnerable in our communities. Living with IntegrityCommit to living with integrity and righteousness, avoiding any form of deceit or harm towards others. Bible Study Questions 1. How does the description of the wicked man's actions in Psalm 10:8 challenge us to be more aware of injustices in our own communities? 2. In what ways can we actively support and protect the innocent and helpless, as described in this verse? 3. How do the additional scriptures connected to Psalm 10:8 deepen our understanding of God's view on justice and righteousness? 4. What practical steps can we take to ensure we are not complicit in the harm of the innocent, either directly or indirectly? 5. How can we cultivate a heart that aligns with God's desire for justice, as seen in Psalm 10:8 and related scriptures? Connections to Other Scriptures Proverbs 1:11-12This passage warns against joining those who lie in wait to shed blood, similar to the wicked man's actions in Psalm 10:8. Isaiah 32:7Describes the schemes of the scoundrel, who uses wicked methods to destroy the poor with lies, paralleling the deceitful ambushes in Psalm 10:8. James 5:6Speaks of condemning and murdering the innocent, who do not resist, echoing the helplessness of the victims in Psalm 10:8. People David, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Afflicted, Ambush, Ambushes, Dark, Death, Hapless, Helpless, Hiding, Innocent, Kills, Lies, Lurking, Lurking-places, Murder, Murders, Places, Poor, Privily, Puts, Secret, Secretly, Sit, Sits, Sitteth, Slay, Stealthily, Towns, Unfortunate, Victims, Villages, Wait, Waiting, Watch, Watching, Wretched, WrongDictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 10:8 5941 secrecy
8493 watchfulness, believers Psalm 10:2-11 5793 arrogance Psalm 10:4-11 6169 godlessness Psalm 10:8-9 5977 waiting
8787 opposition, to God Psalm 10:8-11 5348 injustice, nature and source 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 ScriptureThe 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 10:8 NIVPsalm 10:8 NLTPsalm 10:8 ESVPsalm 10:8 NASBPsalm 10:8 KJV
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