Concordia Psalter

Reading                                           Psalm 10

“Why, O Lord, do you stand | far away?*

   Why do you hide yourself in times of | trouble?

In arrogance the wicked hotly pur- | sue the poor;*

   let them be caught in the schemes that they | have devised.

For the wicked boasts of the desires | of his soul,*

   and the one greedy for gain curses and renounce- | es the Lord.

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.

He says in his heart, “I shall | not be moved;*

   throughout all generations I shall not meet ad- | versity.”

His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and op- | pression;*

   under his tongue are mischief and in- | iquity.

He sits in ambush in the villages; in hiding places he murders the | innocent.*

   His eyes stealthily watch for the | helpless;

he lurks in ambush like a lion in his thicket; he lurks that he may | seize the poor;*

   he seizes the poor when he draws him in- | to his net.

The help- | less are crushed,*

   sink down, and fall | by his might.

He says in his heart, “God has for- | gotten,*

   he has hidden his face, he will never | see it.”

Arise, O Lord; O God, lift | up your hand;*

   forget not the af- | flicted.

Why does the wicked renounce God and | say in his heart,*

   “You will not call | to account”?

But you do see, for you note mischief and vexation, that you may take it in- | to your hands;*

   to you the helpless commits himself; you have been the helper of the | fatherless. Break the arm of the wicked and evil- | doer;*

   call his wickedness to account till you | find none.

The Lord is king forever and | ever;*

   the nations perish | from his land.

O Lord, you hear the desire of the af- | flicted;*

   you will strength- | en 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 ter- | ror no more. 

PRAYER

O Lord, our faithful and jealous God, restrain the craftiness and the power, the oppression and the deceit of Your enemies. Save the souls of the innocent from the snares of falsehood and lead them to the knowledge of Your salvation in Your Son, Jesus Christ. Keep us in the true and saving faith and grant us to walk worthy of Your name for the sake of Your Son, our Savior. Amen.