Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 10:14

"Thou hast seen [it]; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: The helpless committeth [himself] unto thee; Thou hast been the helper of the fatherless." — Psalms 10:14 (ASV)

Thou hast seen it - You see all. Though people act as if their conduct was not observed, yet you are intimately acquainted with all that they do. The workers of iniquity cannot hide themselves. The idea here is that although God seemed not to notice the conduct of the wicked, and though the wicked acted as if He did not, yet all this was seen by God, and He would deal with people according to justice and truth.

For thou beholdest mischief - All that is done on the earth, though perhaps in this case referring particularly to that which gave the psalmist trouble.

And spite - The word 'spite,' as we use it, though it originally denoted rancor, malice, or ill-will, now usually signifies a less deliberate and fixed malice than those words suggest. Instead, it is used to denote a sudden fit of ill-will excited by temporary vexation. It relates to small subjects and is accompanied by a desire for petty revenge, implying that one would be gratified by another's disappointment or misfortune. The word here, however, in the original, means anger, wrath, or malice; and the idea is that God had seen all the anger of the psalmist's enemies.

To requite it with thy hand - By your own interposition or agency—the hand being the instrument by which we accomplish anything. The idea is that the psalmist felt assured that God would not pass this over. Though the wicked acted as if He did not see or regard their conduct, the psalmist felt assured that God would not be unmindful of it, but would, in due time, visit them with deserved punishment.

The poor committeth himself unto thee - Margin, “leaveth.” The word rendered 'poor' is the same as that which occurs in Psalm 10:10. It means here those who are helpless and defenseless; the oppressed and the downtrodden. The word 'commits' or 'leaveth' means that he leaves his cause with God; he trusts in His protection and interposition; he does not worry about the result. He knows that God can deliver him if He sees that it is best, and he is assured that God will do what is best to be done.

Thou art the helper of the fatherless - That is, this is the general character of God—the character in which He has revealed Himself to humankind. (Deuteronomy 10:18; Isaiah 1:17; Psalms 68:5; Psalms 82:3; Jeremiah 49:11; Hosea 14:3; Malachi 3:5; James 1:27). The psalmist here refers to the “general character” of God as one in whom all the oppressed, the crushed, the helpless may trust; and he mentions this particular case as one that best illustrated that character.