John Calvin Commentary Psalms 10:12

"Arise, O Jehovah; O God, lift up thy hand: Forget not the poor." — Psalms 10:12 (ASV)

Arise, O Jehovah. It is a common affliction for people to imagine, according to fleshly judgment, that when God does not execute His judgments, He is sitting idle or resting comfortably. However, there is a great difference in this regard between the faithful and the wicked.

The wicked cherish the false opinion dictated by fleshly weakness. To soothe and flatter themselves in their vices, they indulge in spiritual slumber and dull their conscience, until finally, through their wicked obstinacy, they harden themselves into a flagrant contempt of God.

But the faithful soon shake that false imagination from their minds and discipline themselves, willingly returning to a proper consideration of the truth on this subject. A striking example of this is set before us here. By speaking of God in human terms, the prophet declares that the same error he has just condemned in those who despise God had gradually crept into his own mind.

But he immediately proceeds to correct it. He resolutely struggles with himself and restrains his mind from forming conceptions of God that would dishonor His righteousness and glory. Therefore, it is a temptation to which all people are naturally prone: to begin to doubt God’s providence when His hand and judgment are not seen.

The godly, however, differ widely from the wicked. The godly, by means of faith, check this fleshly apprehension, while the wicked indulge themselves in their perverse imagination. Thus David, by the word Arise, does not so much stir up God as he awakens himself, or endeavors to awaken himself, to hope for more of God’s assistance than he currently experienced.

Accordingly, this verse contains a useful doctrine. The more the ungodly harden themselves through their negligent ignorance—endeavoring to persuade themselves that God takes no concern about people and their affairs and will not punish the wickedness they commit—the more we should strive to be persuaded of the contrary. Indeed, their ungodliness should vigorously incite us to repel the doubts that they not only accept but also deliberately create for themselves.