"The Hidden God" Psalm 10 Dec 7 2025
The Heart of Psalms • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 5 viewsTurn to God even when he feels distant
Notes
Transcript
Intro & Scripture Read
Intro & Scripture Read
Good morning friends
We are in Psalm 10
And we will be looking at how the Lord seems to hide from us at times
How he seems to hide his face from us
Have you ever felt that way?
That God seems distant?
Have you ever felt that you’re serving God, but you’re struggling in life?
Meanwhile, the wicked seem to prosper with their evil schemes
I think this is a very real thing in the life of the Christian
If you’ve been a Christian for a while, I can almost guarantee you’ve felt this way
I’m not going to put anyone on the spot - but I bet I could go around the room and just about everyone here could testify to this
Why is that?
Why is it that when we feel we need him the most, he seems distant?
Now I just said the word, “why” twice - and I’m about to read the first two verses in Ps 10
It begins with “why” in the first and second sentences
This week, I looked at over 30 different translations and they all have the word “why” in this first verse
Most of them, begin with the word “why”
Now, this is traditionally viewed as an anonymous psalm - we don’t know who wrote it
But there is also strong evidence to suggest that it might be a continuation of Ps 9 - and many people think this might be a psalm of David
In any case, the word "why" is used three times in this psalm (twice in verse 1, and again in verse 13)
These questions aren’t meant to illicit a literal answer - this is not like, “Why is the sky blue?”
Asking God why, is an emotional and relational question - it reveals the pain the psalmist feels - and they reveal the pain we also feel
A reminder: it’s good to pray through the psalms
I need to point out, these are not theological indicators for us to conclude -
For instance, God doesn’t actually stand far away from us - he doesn’t literally hide his face from us
God has promised us in the Bible: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Heb 13:5)
God understands this is how we sometimes feel
If you continue through the psalms - we don’t see that word again - until we get to Psalm 22
Which should be familiar to everyone here - it begins:
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
The very words - the very psalm Jesus quoted while hanging on the cross
It’s important to realize that it’s not a sin to feel alone - and to feel that God is distant
There’s nothing wrong with you
And it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve done anything bad
Jesus obviously felt that way - and he was performing the greatest work in all of history
Here’s today’s scripture reading”
Why, O Lord, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor; let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
(Pray...)
Illustration
Illustration
George Müller was a German-born Christian who moved to England and became famous for running orphanages without ever asking anyone for money
He simply prayed — and kept meticulous journals showing God’s answers to prayer
There was one day in the 1840s where Müller had about 300 orphans under his care
One morning, the house mother came to Müller and said:
“The children are ready for breakfast, but there is nothing to give them.”
Cupboards empty. Pantry empty. No bread. No milk. And no money
Then Müller said:
“Give them all a seat at the table.”
Can you imagine?
So the house mother seated hundreds of kids at the long wooden tables
They all sat there - empty plates and empty cups
Then Müller prayed:
“Lord, we thank You for what You are going to give us to eat.”
No food in sight. No plan. No donors called. No frantic begging.
Just gratitude to the God who seemed hidden — but wasn’t.
As they said “Amen,” there was a knock at the door
It was the baker - he said:
“Mr. Müller, I couldn’t sleep last night - I felt the Lord wanted me to bake bread for you. I have been baking since 2 a.m.”
He brought in enough fresh bread for all the children
Moments later, another knock at the door
It was the milkman
His cart somehow had broken down right in front of the orphanage
He said:
“My cart wheel is busted - the milk will spoil before I can fix it. Do you think your orphans will want it?”
Barrels and barrels of fresh milk
Enough for all to eat breakfast
My point is this:
The Lord may seem distant - but he’s always there
The Wicked
The Wicked
Right after the psalmist complains to the Lord that he feels far away, he changes his focus, and begins talking about the wicked
The psalm is concerned with how the wicked treat the marginalized - the poor (v.2), the innocent (v.8), and the helpless (v.10)
The psalm is also concerned with the fatherless, and the oppressed (v.18)
Go down to verse 4
In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.” His ways prosper at all times; your judgments are on high, out of his sight; as for all his foes, he puffs at them.
Some translations have it more literally, “he snorts at them.” The psalmist is revealing the arrogance of the wicked
Most of this psalm talks about the wicked, actually
He goes on - verse 6 -
He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.” His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity. He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the innocent. His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
It goes on like this - with descriptive acts of the wicked
Go down to verse 11 - and this brings out the deeper meaning of this psalm
This is very interesting
He says in his heart, “God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”
Did you catch that?
The quote isn’t literal - but it catches the mindset of the wicked
Here is the wicked essentially saying, “God is not here - he’s hidden his face from everything”
Notice that it’s almost the same thing the psalmist says in verse 1
Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
The one who believes in God says, “Where are you God, I need you.”
The wicked person says, “Yeah, God has forgotten - he has hidden his face - therefore he will never see what I’m doing”
I have a question
If you drive 20mph over the speed limit, but no one catches you - did you actually break the law?
The answer is yes - you absolutely broke the law
But wait - there were no cops around
They didn’t see what you did
J Vernon McGee sermon this morning
Supports the police - until he sees them in his rearview mirror
He said the first thing he looks at right after spotting the police, is his speedometer
It’s funny - we tend to adjust our behavior when we know we are being watched
This is what the wicked is saying in verse 11 - he doesn’t just say, “God didn’t see it,” he said, “He will never see it.”
That’s like saying, “I can speed all I want - because the cops will never see me.”
Here is the basis why the wicked would say that the Lord will never see their evil deeds
Because earlier it says,
In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him; all his thoughts are, “There is no God.”
The atheist never has to be accountable to a personal God if they keep saying to themselves - “There is no God”
This isn’t about the kind of modern-day atheist you and I might encounter today
Btw, the Bible never uses the word atheist - it merely addresses non-belief
In ancient times, it would be almost impossible to find someone who believes in absolutely no god
If you didn’t believe in the true God of Israel - it would be very likely you’d still have idols, or pagan gods
The Bible’s version of an atheist is a moral atheist, not like a modern philosophical or scientific atheist
When the wicked person here in Psalm 10 says, “There is no God,” it is a denial of any moral accountability
They are saying they will never be caught out
For the most part, the ancient pagan gods could care less how you live - as long as you feed them and take care of them
The pagan worshipper looked to his idols and his gods as a means to be blessed by them
“I’ll appease you - then you bless me”
YHWH, the true and living God - the God of Israel says, “I created you. I will redeem you and forgive you - but I also command you to keep my law.”
In reality, the modern atheist is really no different from the ancient version
They think that to claim there is no God, they can avoid being accountable to the Lord
In a sense, they see the true and living God as a pagan god
They assume the true and living God is simply all about telling them they can’t have any fun
And if they can hide behind their science, they can avoid having to follow his rules
I know I’m over-generalizing, but -
That’s how the world sees the God of the Bible - unfortunately, how some Christians see the God of the Bible
That he’s just about rules - and we’re bound to follow those rules - because if we fail, then he’s mad at us and he’ll punish us
Where did the church get that idea?
Where does it say that in the Bible?
As a whole, the world, including some in the church - see God like a pagan god
Do good things and get rewarded - do bad things and get punished
Do bad things and he’ll hide his face from you
They got it all wrong
That’s because everything with the God of the Bible is based on grace - it’s all about what he’s done for us
We worship and praise the Lord because of what he’s done for us
Btw, when people ask me, “Give me one thing that tells you the God of the Bible is real,” I say, “Grace”
No other religion has it
The idea of the creator of the universe is full of grace and mercy - goes against any man-made idea of a god
Completely impossible for a group of men - over the centuries - to write 66 books - with the consistent thread of grace throughout
The God of the Bible is a God who pursues us and who sent his Son to die for us because we were completely unable to help ourselves
Don’t tell me that God forces you to adhere to do’s and don’ts
Don’t be a church-goer and a moral atheist at the same time
We don’t do things for God to get him to bless us - he already has blessed us
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
That’s the gospel in one verse - it doesn’t get any more simple than that
Christ died for you when you were off sinning - think about that
The Lord is not waiting for you to impress him
If you’ve been close to the Lord and you are serving him - keep turning to him
If you’ve been caught up in sin - turn to him
If you feel distant from the Lord - turn to him
If you feel like he’s turned his face away from you - do what?
Btw, it’s possible to be super busy in ministry and not turn to the Lord - you end up doing it on your strength
Yes, God wants us to serve him - but never stop turning to him
Turning to him constantly is what he wants - he doesn’t need your ministry - he wants a heart full of praise and thanksgiving
The Contrast
The Contrast
Again, the lament of the psalmist is:
Why, O LORD, do you stand far away? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
If you feel God is distant from you - turn to him and tell him
If you’re a believer, it can be distressing if God feels far away - you’re supposed to feel like that
But I want to encourage you to keep talking to him
The atheist is encouraged when he feels God is far away
Here’s the contrast of the believer feeling like the Lord is far off vs. the wicked feeling the Lord is far off:
The believer: Fears that God might actually be far off
The wicked: Is happy about it
2. The believer: Feels like when God seems distant, it might be a threat to their relationship with the Lord
The wicked: Is encouraged by the notion of zero accountability
3. The believer: Is challenged when they feel God is distant because he is everything to them
The wicked: Looks at his past success and concludes, "I am my own god; my prosperity proves there is no one who can touch me."
4. The believer: Deep down, knows in his heart that God is near
The wicked: Is betting everything on the idea that they will never stand before God on judgment day
Do Justice
Do Justice
The unbeliever today often complains, “How could a loving God allow such and such?”
It’s as if they’re suggesting that they would be a better version of God
And they always seem to wish that God would hand out justice for all the evil in the world
Like the wrong things they do don’t count - because they compare themselves with others and determine they’re not that bad
Look at verse 13
Why do the wicked get away with despising God? They think, “God will never call us to account.”
They should be wishing for mercy, and not justice
The truth is that anyone who turns to God receives grace and mercy
It’s funny - the thing they’re trying to avoid, moral accountability - is exactly what they will receive on the last day
If you place your faith and trust in Jesus, he forgives you - and you’re no longer under condemnation
Jesus takes away your sins - but he also gives you his righteousness
And Jesus gives you the grace so that you can walk in righteousness with him
Please hear me clearly: The freedom we have in Christ is never a license to sin
Instead, because we are forgiven and made new, we are now free from the demand of the law,
Because we’ve been made right through Jesus, not through the law
Christians pursue true obedience out of grace and gratitude, not fear of punishment
But if you avoid Jesus your whole life, and avoid being accountable - then you will be held accountable, to the absolute highest standard: The Lord himself
In the end, we’re not graded on a curve - but the Lord judges us righteous because Jesus lives in us
I want to close with the declarative, and encouraging portion of this psalm at the end
Beginning in verse 16
The Lord is king forever and ever; the nations perish from his land. O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, so that man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
This encourages us that God, first off, is King forever and ever - amen?
He is in control - he’s not distant - he loves you - he sees you and he hears you
And he’s going to take care of everything - he promises that - because he’s sovereign over all
(Pray...)
Benediction
Benediction
Heb 13:20-21
Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead, our Lord Jesus,
the great shepherd of the sheep,
by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight,
through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
Communion
Communion
(Pick one…)
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he com
