Text of prayer Psalm 10
In churches, during divine services, the righteous read the text of Psalm 10 in Church Slavonic. At home, any believer can read Psalm 10 in Russian.
In Church Slavonic with accents
Finally, a psalm to David
1 I trust in the Lord, as you say to my soul: fly through the mountains like a bird?
2 For behold, you sinners have laid your bow, preparing arrows in the tule to shoot in the darkness of the upright in heart.
3 What you have done, you have destroyed, but what have you done, the righteous? The Lord is in His holy temple.
4 Lord, His Throne is in Heaven, His eyes look upon the poor, His trust shall be tested by the sons of men.
5 The Lord will test the righteous and the wicked, but he who loves unrighteousness hates his own life.
6 It will rain upon sinners a snare, a fire and a bugbear, and a storm of spirit, part of their cup.
7 For the Lord is righteous, and He loves righteousness; His face is righteous.
In Russian
For execution. Psalm of David.
1 I trust in the Lord; How then do you say to my soul: “Fly away to your mountain like a bird”?
2 For behold, the wicked have drawn the bow, and have set their arrow to the string, to shoot in the darkness at the upright in heart.
3 For what You have made right, they have destroyed, but what has the righteous done? The Lord is in His holy temple,
4 The Lord, His throne is in heaven, His eyes look [on the poor]; His eyelids try the sons of men.
5 The Lord tests the righteous, but His soul hates the wicked and the violent.
6 He will rain burning coals, fire and brimstone on the wicked; and the scorching wind is their portion from the cup;
7 For the Lord is righteous, loving righteousness; He sees the righteous in His face.
Theological interpretation
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Despite its apparent simplicity, this chapter contains deep implications. In the first three verses one can see the hidden struggle that was going on in the heart of the great man. Yes, he did not run, but those around him tempted him. This is how the devil sometimes approaches people through friends and relatives. They inspire faint-hearted thoughts of giving up.
But is it really necessary for someone for whom God Himself stands up to flee? Such a person always has his most powerful weapon at the ready - prayer. It doesn’t matter what language it is spoken in—Russian, Jewish, English—the Lord will hear and intercede for the righteous. Let the enemies consider themselves cunning, the Lord sees everything and will destroy their plans in time.
A righteous person should not use tricks to avoid the trials that God has prepared for him. Remembering the biblical promises, he follows his path straight, without turning anywhere. After all, if the soul is pure, it has nothing to fear! She has a great righteous protector and judge.
The fate of sinners is unenviable. A terrible storm of God's wrath will fall on the heads of the wicked. Unrepentant villains face a flood of fire that will consume them. So is it worth it for an honest person to hide as if he has done something wrong? No, he boldly moves towards the future.
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Interpretation of Psalm 10
- Verses 1-3: All his life David trusted in the help of the Lord, Even now he cannot waver from his principle. He does not listen to the advice of friends, but only believes in the help of the Creator. Many turned away from the king, the political and social life of the state was ruined.
- Verses 4-5: The Lord is the protector of all the righteous. He watches all people and sends them difficulties to strengthen their spirit and faith in him.
- Verses 6-7: The Most High will rain down on the wicked, sending in burning lightning and coals. Adversity will strike the souls of sinners.
Content
This text is one of the shortest in the Psalter - there are only seven lines in this chapter. Psalm 10 was written in turbulent times, when Absalom was preparing an uprising against the rightful king, his own father. The situation became increasingly alarming. Many advised the ruler not to tempt fate and to hide before events took a dangerous turn for him.
But David rejected worldly wisdom and did not lose heart. He persevered in faith, relying entirely on the righteousness and faithfulness of the Lord.
Psalm about the faith of a righteous person and the punishment that awaits the wicked
The tenth Psalm of the Old Testament must be read by those whose life is like a test - a difficult life situation has arisen, perhaps one of their relatives or friends has fallen ill or found themselves in a difficult situation.
It would not hurt to become familiar with the Psalm for those who are far from fulfilling the will of God and His word. Because David is talking here about what will be the fate of every wicked person. What awaits the one who turns away from God and does not want to recognize His dominance and power. Each Psalm of the Bible is filled with praise and glorification of the Lord, so the words in them inspire the righteous to praise and worship God. It is believed that the Psalm was written by David when he was hiding from his son Absalom, who was very offended by his father and wanted to take his throne. The king was in a very difficult situation for him. A palace coup was brewing, which was supposed to decide the fate of David - he would die and his son Absalom would sit on the throne, or the throne would again be in the hands of David, but then his son would suffer. The king, of course, does not want Absalom to die, because he loves him. Despite the fact that he raised an uprising and staged a real revolution.
History of writing
This text is one of the shortest in the Psalter.
Its writing dates back to the time when an uprising was being prepared against King David by his son Absalom. Many of the ruler’s entourage advised him to hide in the mountains, as the situation became more and more threatening. But David remained adamant and with all his soul trusted in the support of the Lord.
David writes Psalm 10, being confident of salvation from the Lord
Resisting the temptation to hide, he remained in the city and believed that the plans of the wicked, who were planning to overthrow the anointed of God, would be crushed.
Important! This prayer describes human inner experiences and struggles with the desire to give up.
Brief interpretation
Briefly, the tenth Psalm of the Old Testament can be interpreted as follows:
- “Why are you telling me to run to the mountains? I trust in God and will not be ashamed of my faith.”
- “The wicked have already prepared for battle with me, they have drawn their bows, they have aimed their arrows.”
- “What should I do when there are many people around me who are against me?”
- “I know that God sits in His Holy Temple, looking at me and testing my heart.”
- “He tests me, but he hates the wicked.” Therefore, David relies on the Lord and knows that He will support him and prevent bad things from happening.
- God has prepared for sinners a cup filled with scorching wind, brimstone, fire and burning coals.
- God, being himself righteous, loves and supports the righteous. He watches over those who obey Him.
The story of the confrontation between father and son ended for David both sadly and joyfully. He was able to regain the throne, but at the same time he lost Absalom, who was killed by David's military commander. Although the king before the battle strictly punished his people so that they would not touch Absalom. However, the commander of the army decided that it would be better this way.
The death of the rebel son was absurd - he had beautiful long hair and, riding on a horse from his pursuers, got tangled in the crown of a tree and hung. David's military commander found him hanging and killed him. After everything, David was sad for a long time and could not even celebrate the victory and the fact that everything ended well for him. But then he was able to recover and go out to his people with a speech.
The tenth Psalm of the Old Testament consists of 7 verses. Found on pages 572 and 573 of the Bible. It has one parallel location, which helps to better reveal the meaning of the verse to which it refers.
Detailed interpretation
The tenth Psalm of the Old Testament can be divided into 5 parts:
- David trusts in the Lord (verses 1 and 2)
- The king describes what his enemies did to catch him (verses 2 and 3)
- David sings about what the Lord is doing in this time of trouble and oppression (verses 4 and 5)
- It describes what awaits the wicked from God, what fate is prepared for him (verse 6)
- How the Lord treats the righteous (verse 7).
There is no such division in the Bible itself. It is made in order to highlight semantic parts for a deeper understanding of the content and its detailed study.
Part 1 – “In the Lord I Trust”
Verse 1
David sings the psalm in the presence of his choir director. The king is in difficult circumstances because he has to hide from his own eldest son. He held a grudge against David because the man did not judge fairly between him and Amnon (David's other son). David’s opponents decided to take advantage of this situation and split the kingdom - they began to persuade Absalom to rebel, commit a conspiracy and a coup.
Although initially he had no such intentions. He hid from David for a long time because he killed Amnon. But when he returned, David forgave him and let him into the palace. And everything seemed to work out. But God himself once told David that a sword would be raised in his house. This time came precisely when the king’s enemies managed to persuade Absalom to carry out a coup.
The king’s friends and assistants advised him to go to the mountains from his son, saying, “fly to your mountain like a bird,” but David did not want to do this, he trusted in God and waited for what the Lord would tell him in this situation. He was used to relying on God in everything.
There are no parallel Bible verses.
Part 2 – “The Wicked Stretched the Bow”
Verses 2 and 3
David describes how his enemies behaved during that difficult time for the king. They are already fully armed and prepared for battle. They are not stopped by the fact that David has never lost a single battle. They are so confident in the strength of his young son Absalom that they are ready to destroy their own king in order to place on the throne someone who was not even his successor. Because God told David that the next king after him would be his youngest son Solomon, born to him from Bathsheba, whom he made his wife against the will of God.
That is why David is now in a situation where his own son rebelled against him - this was predicted by the Lord because David once killed Bathsheba’s husband in order to make her his wife. David grieves, asking his advisors what he should do. He is shocked by what happened, and feels as he says - “when the foundations are destroyed.” He believes that the ground has disappeared from under his feet, there is nothing on which to rely.
This outcome of the relationship with his son came as a surprise to him. He did not think that his enemies would be able to lure Absalom to their side and turn him against his own father. But the enemies knew Absalom’s weak point - the case when David was unable to punish Amnon for the rape he committed against Absalom’s sister Tamar. It was precisely by remembering this that the wicked quickly persuaded Absalom’s heart to take the throne from David and rule himself.
There are no parallel verses from the Word of God.
Part 3 – “The Lord tests the righteous”
Verse 4
David is confident that God is not indifferent at this time when he feels bad:
- He is in his holy temple,
- He looks at everything that happens on earth,
- He tests his people - the righteous.
Therefore, he perceives the difficulties that David goes through as a test, because he knows that he deserves such a test. The king sinned and stumbled more than once. And the Lord, when forgiving, never leaves a person without punishment. You still have to answer for every action.
But the significant difference is whether a person trusts in God during the test or not. Sinners suffer from their own misdeeds and, when going through difficulties in their lives, do not always come to God for help. That is why it is difficult and sometimes unbearable for them to go through difficulties. The righteous man, although he is punished by the Lord, knows that he will pass the test with dignity, because God himself will support him at this time, guide and push him.
Parallel verse:
- Hab 2:20 – God sits in His Holy Temple and before Him all who live on earth are silent.
Verse 5
David is confident that he is passing the test, but he also knows that he is loved by God. But regarding the wicked, he is sure that the Lord hates them. Not the people themselves who act vilely, but their actions, according to which they live. God's will is to save every person because He created everyone. But some people themselves choose a path for themselves that is opposite to the one that the Lord chose for them. By doing this, they bring upon themselves all sorts of troubles - fears, illnesses, difficulties. Because of this, God cannot pour out His love on them and support them in a difficult situation.
There are no parallel Bible verses.
Part 4 – “He will rain down burning coals on the wicked”
Verse 6
David sings about the fate God has prepared for the wicked. The Lord has a cup prepared for them, which he will pour out on all who oppress the righteous and deliberately sin before Him. This bowl contains burning coals, sulfur, scorching wind and fire. The punishment is very severe, because the substances in the vessel incinerate, render into nothing what once existed, destroy and exterminate.
There are no parallel verses from the Word of God.
Part 5 – “For the Lord is righteous”
Verse 7
Why does the Lord do this to the wicked? David answers this question under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because God is righteous and loves the righteous. He sees all people and especially pays His attention to those who are obedient to Him to help and support them in their time of need. In order for those punished by Him to be as few as possible, the Lord delays judgment, giving sinners a chance to repent. Then none of them will be able to tell the Lord that they did not have time to repent of their sins. Because it wouldn't be true. While there is time for reconciliation with the Lord, we need to take advantage of it.
There are no parallel Bible verses.
Reading rules
Like other psalms, the tenth verse is read before the images with a lit church candle. The Psalter can be read while sitting. At the same time, the right mental attitude must be present.
Psalm 10 is a very expressive song of unyielding faith
For prayer, a secluded place is suitable, where no one will disturb you to concentrate and understand the meaning of what you read. The main thing a Christian should remember when reading a psalm is faith. Without it, prayer will not be heard.
