Psalm 10:14
But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.
But You have regarded trouble and grief
The Hebrew word for "regarded" is "ra'ah," which means to see, perceive, or look at. This indicates God's active awareness and attention to the suffering and distress of His people. In a world where injustice often seems to prevail, this phrase reassures believers that God is not indifferent to their pain. Historically, this reflects the consistent Biblical theme that God is a righteous judge who sees the afflictions of His people, as seen in the Exodus narrative where God hears the cries of the Israelites in Egypt.

You consider it to take it in hand
The phrase "consider it" comes from the Hebrew "nabat," meaning to look intently or regard with care. This suggests not just a passive observation but an active engagement. "To take it in hand" implies God's readiness to intervene and act on behalf of those who suffer. This reflects the Biblical understanding of God as a divine warrior and protector, who not only sees injustice but is committed to rectifying it. The historical context of Israel, often surrounded by enemies, underscores the importance of divine intervention.

The victim entrusts himself to You
The term "victim" here is translated from "chelak," which can mean the oppressed or those who are wronged. The act of entrusting oneself to God is an act of faith and surrender, acknowledging God's sovereignty and justice. This reflects the Biblical principle of casting one's burdens upon the Lord, as seen in 1 Peter 5:7. The historical context of the psalm, likely written during a time of national distress, emphasizes the importance of reliance on God rather than human strength.

You are the helper of the fatherless
The word "helper" is derived from the Hebrew "azar," meaning to support or aid. This highlights God's role as a defender and provider for those who are vulnerable and without earthly protection, such as orphans. The "fatherless" are often mentioned in the Bible as a group deserving special care and justice, reflecting God's heart for the marginalized. This aligns with the broader scriptural mandate for believers to care for widows and orphans, as seen in James 1:27. Historically, this would resonate deeply in a patriarchal society where the father was the primary provider and protector.

Persons / Places / Events
1. God
The central figure in this verse, God is portrayed as the one who sees and takes action regarding the troubles and griefs of the oppressed.

2. The Victim
Represents those who are suffering or oppressed, who place their trust in God.

3. The Fatherless
Symbolizes the vulnerable and marginalized in society, whom God helps and defends.
Teaching Points
God's Awareness and Action
God is not distant or indifferent to human suffering. He sees and considers the troubles of the oppressed, and He is actively involved in their lives.

Trust in God Amidst Suffering
The victim's response is to entrust themselves to God. In times of trouble, believers are encouraged to place their trust in God's faithful care and provision.

God as a Helper
God is described as the helper of the fatherless, emphasizing His role as a defender and provider for those who lack earthly support. Believers are called to reflect this aspect of God's character by supporting and advocating for the vulnerable in society.

Call to Reflect God's Character
As followers of Christ, we are called to emulate God's compassion and justice by caring for the marginalized and standing against oppression.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does understanding God's awareness of our troubles impact your response to personal suffering?

2. In what ways can you entrust your current struggles to God, following the example of the victim in Psalm 10:14?

3. How can you actively participate in being a "helper of the fatherless" in your community or church?

4. Reflect on a time when you experienced God's help in a difficult situation. How can this testimony encourage others?

5. How do the additional scriptures (Psalm 68:5, Exodus 22:22-24, James 1:27) deepen your understanding of God's heart for the vulnerable? How can you apply this understanding in your daily life?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Psalm 68:5
This verse describes God as a "father to the fatherless," reinforcing His role as a protector and helper of those without earthly support.

Exodus 22:22-24
These verses command the Israelites not to mistreat widows or orphans, highlighting God's concern for the vulnerable.

James 1:27
This New Testament verse emphasizes pure religion as caring for orphans and widows, aligning with God's heart for the fatherless as seen in Psalm 10:14.
The Poor Man's FriendCharles Haddon Spurgeon Psalm 10:14
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
People
David, Psalmist
Places
Jerusalem
Topics
Afflicted, Anger, Beheld, Beholdest, Child, Commits, Committeth, Consider, Faith, Fatherless, Giving, Grief, Hands, Hapless, Hast, Helper, Helpless, Leave, Mayest, Mischief, Note, Orphan, Perverseness, Poor, Puts, Requite, Sorrow, Spite, Thyself, Trouble, Unfortunate, Vexation, Victim, Wretched, Yea
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Psalm 10:14

     5448   poverty, attitudes to
     5730   orphans
     5797   bereavement, comfort in
     5952   sorrow
     5963   sympathy
     5970   unhappiness

Psalm 10:12-14

     5360   justice, God

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

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