Psalm 10

Psalm 10:1 (ESV)
Why, O Lord, do you stand afar off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

The question of verse one seems to express the experience of the oppressed and the oppressor. Verses 2-11 demonstrate how the wicked act as if God does not exist or does not care. In verse 11 the psalmist says of the wicked, “He says in his heart, "God has forgotten, he has hidden his face, he will never see it."” Verse 13 suggests that they expect God not to act saying “You will not call to account.” But the righteous ought to know that God is close by though He may be unseen and His favor unnoticed.

But God does not hide like some coward, afraid to step out of the shadows and defend His honor. NO, God is long-suffering, acting according to wisdom, justice, omniscience and sovereignty. God knows best when and how to act to defend His name and bring about His desired end. Any “hiding” on the part of God is not an act of cowardice or fear. His actions are that of a sovereign God who sees more clearly and knows more completely that we could ever hope. If He stands far off or hides Himself in times of trouble, it is only to make His glory known when He does appear.

Matthew Henry provides us with excellent application regarding this Psalm.

In singing this psalm and praying it over, we should have our hearts much affected with a holy indignation at the wickedness of the oppressors, a tender compassion of the miseries of the oppressed, and a pious zeal for the glory and honor of God, with a firm belief that he will, in due time, give redress to the injured and reckon with the injurious. …In singing these verses we must commit religion's just but injured cause to God, as those that are heartily concerned for its honor and interests, believing that he will, in due time, plead it with jealousy.

May God give us the grace to not curse Him in seeming absence, but to trust in His unfailing love and desire for His own glory.