The Wicked Ruin the Acrostic in Psalm 10 (Part 2)

This is the continuation of the last blog post about Psalms 9 and 10, so if you missed it go back and read that one first.  To sum up the last one, Psalm 9 starts an acrostic and Psalm 10 continues it.  However, IN Psalm 10, things start getting crazy. 

When my wife and I were going through these psalms together, I was intrigued by the idea of the acrostic and looking up the words at the beginning of each verse to see how the acrostic was working.  In Psalm 9, I saw that in general, it was two verses for each letter in order, and just as the commentaries said, Psalm 10 continued the acrostic with the next letter.

Lamed - This is the 12th letter of the Hebrew alphabet--Psalm 9 contained the first half of the Hebrew alphabet, so it makes sense that Psalm 10 would be the next half.  Many of the letters in Hebrew also are words when pronounced aloud, giving the letters symbolic and literal meanings.  Lamed means teaching or instruction.  So we should expect some teaching or instruction in Psalm 10.  However, the tone starts off more like a lament than a lesson.

Psalm 10:1  Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble? 

Psalm 9 was very triumphant, starting with praise and extolling God all the way through.  Psalm 10 starts off with this perceived distance from God, as the psalmist feels that Yahweh is hiding Himself.  Or perhaps Yahweh is not hiding, but teaching or instructing.  And the teacher is always silent during a test.

Psalm 10:2  The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. 

This verse begins a series of statements about how awful the wicked are, starting with the pride of the wicked and what that leads the wicked to do...to persecute the poor, and the prayer that what they want to have happen to others should happen to them.  Psalm 9, as I said, generally had one letter for each two verses, so as I got to verse 3, I expected to find the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which should be Mem. Mem is associated with the Hebrew word mayim which are waves of water, which could represent life, as in the water of life.  Or if referencing the sea, it could be referencing chaos and death from a Hebrew mindset.  Here are the next two verses:

Psalm 10:3  For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. 

Psalm 10:4  The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

However, when I looked for the waters of life (Mem), I only found these chaotic verses about the wicked, and the next letter in the acrostic was missing.  I thought that was strange, but Psalm 9 had also skipped a letter, so maybe that was happening here.  Perhaps these verses started with the next letter of the alphabet.

Nun - In Aramaic, the word means "fish", and is associated with propagating offspring, the continuance or perpetuity of the line--it's the name of Joshua's (of Jericho fame) dad.  It also has to do with life.  But when I looked for Nun, I found none. (See what I did there?)  In fact, verse 3 begins with Kaph (which is going backwards, because we already covered that at the end of Psalm 9).  Verse 4 begins with Resh which is jumping way ahead to the 20th letter!  Could verse 2 begin with mem or nun?  Nope--Beth. Second letter.

When I looked it up in commentaries to explain the discrepancy, the ones I found either didn't mention it at all or said it was an incomplete acrostic.  I wasn't real satistifed with that answer, so I kept digging.  Part of me thought that maybe it was a coincidence that Psalm 10 had begun with the next letter in the Hebrew alphabet that would continue the acrostic from Psalm 9.

In fact, what I found was that the acrostic was broken from verse 2 all the way through verse 11.  Mem, Nun, Samech, Ayin, Pe, and Tzaddi all seemed to be skipped!  But then in verse 12, the acrostic suddenly picks back up again!  And it seems to continue through the end of the psalm, culminating with the last letter!

So here's how it looks:

• Lamed - Psalm 10:1
• Mem, Nun, Samech, Ayin, Pe, Tzaddi - skipped in Psalm 10:2-11
• Quof - Psalm 10:12-13
• Resh - Psalm 10:14
• Shin - Psalm 10:15-16
• Tav - Psalm 10:17-18

So what's up with that?  That's when I started really looking at the content of the Psalm, and why those letters in the acrostic might have been skipped.  In Hebrew it seems like it would be as obvious as if we were reading a Dr. Seuss book and suddenly he didn't rhyme for a couple pages, then started rhyming again.  It would be unsettling, and this was unsettling to me.  And maybe it's supposed to be.  Here are the verses with the missing letters:

Psalm 10:2  The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined. 

Psalm 10:3  For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth. 

Psalm 10:4  The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. 

Psalm 10:5  His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them. 

Psalm 10:6  He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity. 

Psalm 10:7  His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity. 

Psalm 10:8  He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor. 

Psalm 10:9  He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. 

Psalm 10:10  He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones. 

Psalm 10:11  He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it. 

Do those verses have anything in common?  They are all about the mindset and actions of the wicked.  We spend 10 verses in the head of the wicked, and that is already unsettling.  Isn't it interesting that when the mindset of the wicked comes in all the structure and beauty and order we saw in the poem in Psalm 9 when we were focusing on the justice of God disappears and we dissolve into chaos?  That's what happens in our world when a wicked mindset replaces a focus on God.  The beauty, structure, order, and poetry disappears and is replaced by disorder and ruin.  

The remaining letters that are skipped after Mem and Nun are the following:

Samech - The word means to lean upon, uphold or support, and that silent letter giving support and strength is missing in these verses about the wicked.

Ayin - The word means "eye" in Hebrew. 

Pe - This word means "mouth" in Hebrew.

These last two are extra interesting because as I was studying this for our Bible study on Tuesday nights which is currently going through the Psalms, I realized that though it is not in the order of the acrostic, the words for "eyes" and "mouth" which start respectively with "ayin" and "pe" actually are in these verses, but they are not at the beginning of the line, they are in the middle, and they are out of order alphabetically.  Look at verses 7 and 8 again.

Psalm 10:7  His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity. 

Psalm 10:8  He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor. 

If the acrostic were to pick back up after Samech, ayin should be next, but instead, we have in verse 7 "pe" (but again, not at the beginning of the line in Hebrew) talking about the mouth of the wicked which is full of cursing and deceit and fraud, with mischief and vanity under the tongue.  Then in verse 8 we have the eyes of the wicked mentioned which are privily set against the poor, bringing in ayin.

So ayin and pe are there, but they are out of order and in the wrong place.  Just like the mouth and the eyes of the wicked, which are there, given by God, but are out of order and in the wrong place!

The next letter is Zade or Tzaddi or Tsade.  Apparently the pictograph symbolizes a fish-hook or trap, though the letter is often associated with righteousness because it is the first letter of the word tsedek which is translated as righteousness from Hebrew.  Righteousness seems totally missing from these verses, but we do see a trap described...

Psalm 10:9  He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net. 

Psalm 10:10  He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones. 

Pride leads to wickedness and humility to righteousness generally, but when the wicked humbles himself, it is only to crouch down in a pouncing position to trap the poor and vulnerable by deceit and manipulation.

So where does the acrostic poetry come back into play?

Qof - I've seen it said that it refers to the eye of a needle or the sun on the horizon.  The last one really seems to fit verse 12.

Psalm 10:12  Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble. 

Psalm 10:13  Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it. 

When Yahweh arises, and lifts up His hand, when the focus of the Psalmist turns back to God, the poetry and beauty of the acrostic returns in full force with Qof!

Resh - Means "head" in Hebrew, as in Rosh Hoshana, which is the head of the year.

Psalm 10:14  Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless. 

God is the true head who DOES see what is happening and WILL step in as the leader and defender of the weak.

Shin - The word means "tooth" and is associated with consuming, eating, fire devouring.

Psalm 10:15  Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none. 

Psalm 10:16  The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land. 

Like consuming, purging fire, the LORD will consume the wicked and purge His land, like the Israelites purging leaven out of their house before Passover.

Tav/Taw - The last letter of the Hebrew alphabet and means mark or sign or seal or signature.

Psalm 10:17  LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear: 

Psalm 10:18  To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress. 

The end of Psalm 10 communicates God's signature, His character and attributes, the seal of His covenant, the mark He places on the humble.  This is who He really is, beautifully illustrated by Psalms 9 and 10!

The Poetry of God's Justice in Psalm 9 (Part 1)

My wife and I were studying the Psalms together during our Bible reading time last year.  One of the things she wanted to do is go slowly and look up the Hebrew words, which took us quite a bit of time.  But one of the things that came out of that study blew my mind.

Mark Hamby with Lamplighter Ministries is fond of saying, "It's not just what the Bible means, but HOW it means it."  By this, he means that the Bible is intentionally structured with artistry and beauty to communicate truth.  Psalms 9 and 10 are great examples of this, and it excites me to realize that the poetry of the Psalms often goes deeper than we realize!

One of the first things we found out from commentaries was that Psalm 9 was an acrostic.  What is an acrostic, you ask?  It is when each new section purposefully begins with a particular letter.  In English, we see this usually spelling out a word, like:

Mothers are great

Oh, so much love,

Meant to be honored,

Sent from above.

Which spells out the word "Moms" if you look at the first word of each line.  In Hebrew, more often the acrostic goes through the Hebrew alphabet in order, with each new section of the poem beginning with the next letter of the alphabet.

In case, like me, you are not well-versed in Hebrew, here's a list of the Hebrew letters (at least, the English-transliterated ways to say the names of the letters) in order:

• Aleph

• Beth

• Gimmel

• Dalet

• He

• Vav

• Zayin

• Chet

• Tet

• Yod

• Kaph

• Lamed

• Mem

• Nun

• Samech

• Ayin

• Pe

• Tzaddi

• Quof

• Resh

• Shin

• Tav

In Psalm 9, it works out like this:

• Aleph - Psalm 9:1-2
• Beth - Psalm 9:3-4
• Gimmel - Psalm 9:5-6
• Daleth  - skipped
• He - Psalm 9:7-8
• Vav - Psalm 9:9-10
• Zayin - Psalm 9:11-12
• Chet - Psalm 9:13-14
• Tet - Psalm 9:15-16
• Yod - Psalm 9:17
• Kaph - Psalm 9:18-20

As you can see, this is pretty well-structured!  On average, there's a new letter introducing the next two lines of the Psalm in the order of the Hebrew alphabet.  But the acrostic of Psalm 9 only goes through half the Hebrew alphabet.  To add to the intrigue, Psalm 10 picks up the acrostic with the next letter of the acrostic, which would be Lamed!  In fact, in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible), Psalms 9-10 are one psalm, which is Psalm 9, which throws off the numbers that we are familiar with by 1 after Psalm 9 if you look it up in the Septuagint.  There's also no inscription at the beginning of Psalm 10, like there is for most of the other psalms in Book 1 of the Psalms.  So either it was one psalm initially, which was then broken up to be sung as two different psalms, or it was composed later, but clearly designed to be read along with Psalm 9, since it continues the acrostic where Psalm 9 left off.

Why would anyone break it up if it was originally one Psalm, you ask?  Well, I think it has to do with the tone of the two Psalms.  Psalm 9 is generally very triumphant, whereas Psalm 10 starts with "Why do you stand far off, Lord?"  However, if you look closely, Psalm 9, though proclaiming the theological truth about God's justice and truth, must have been written while David was still in trouble, because verses 13 and 14 indicate he still needs deliverance, and seems similar to the tone of Psalm 10.

One other interesting thing about the Hebrew Alphabet is that the letters are often also words in Hebrew that have additional symbolic meaning.  I think we should be cautious with the conclusions we draw from this and not be too dogmatic, but if it is in keeping with the theme of the psalm, I think it could reveal some cool things.  Let me show you what I mean by going through Psalm 9.

Aleph - this is the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet and represents the numerical value of 1, and has the idea of beginnings. It seems to be generally agreed that the original pictograph letter was an ox-head which represents strength.

Psalm 9:1  To the chief Musician upon Muthlabben, A Psalm of David. I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works. 

Psalm 9:2  I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High. 

So how does David begin and what is the strength of this psalm?  He begins by praising Yahweh (Jehovah--the LORD) with his whole heart, praising His name!  Praise = strength. (See Psalm 8:2 and Jesus's quotation of it in Matthew 21.)

Beth - Seems to be the pictograph of a house, a dwelling, and that is the meaning of the word in Hebrew.

Psalm 9:3  When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence. 

Psalm 9:4  For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right. 

Where is David dwelling?  Where is his safety?  He is rescued from his enemies by the presence of the Lord because the Lord dwells on the throne and is judging right!

Gimmel - The original pictograph was apparently a camel, which were the means of transporting goods in the ancient world.  Could be a symbol of endurance, or of lifting up and bringing gifts, goods, rewards, or other things like messengers or ambassadors or armies.

Psalm 9:5  Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever. 

Psalm 9:6  O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them. 

What will last?  Not the enemy, not even the effects of their destruction or their memory.  The reward that is coming to them is punishment, not fame.  But you know what will last?

And here, it is almost as if David skips a letter in his excitement to get to the part about the Lord!  Interestingly, the one he skips is daleth, which has the connotation of a doorway.  When talking about the wicked enemies, the door is passed over--there is no exit or entrance for them.  Instead, he skips to "He".

He - Means, "Look!" or "Behold!"  And what does David want us to turn our attention to after discussing the wicked?

Psalm 9:7  But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. 

Psalm 9:8  And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. 

David wants us to turn our attention to the stable and righteous judgment of the LORD!  Rather than focusing on the enemy, our focus should be on the righteous Judge!

Vav - Vav is the Hebrew connecting word, "And", and is a picture of a hook or a nail, which connects two things.

Psalm 9:9  The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. 

Psalm 9:10  And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. 

The connection between heaven and earth is those who know the name of the LORD who will put their trust in Him.

Zayin - Seems to indicate something sharp, which could be in reference to a weapon, tool, or crown.

Psalm 9:11  Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings. 

Psalm 9:12  When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.

If the picture is meant to make us think of a crown, we see the Lord as king in Zion!  But we also see Him bringing justice by making inquisition for blood...He wields His sharp sword of the Word which uncovers every act of injustice and exposes every motive and concealed secret of the human heart.

Chet - Apparently has to do with sin or missing the mark, a fence or separation.

Psalm 9:13  Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death: 

Psalm 9:14  That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation. 

Interestingly, this is the only point of the psalm that seems to indicate there is any separation between David and God that David is asking God to change.

Tet - The pictograph seems to be of some sort of vessel or container, what something is full of, first appearing in the word "good" in Genesis 1, but also associated with a lot of other ideas.

Psalm 9:15  The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken. 

Psalm 9:16  The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah. 

The way God judges the wicked is by giving them the fruit of their own doings.  They trap themselves, which is a theme in the Psalms.

Yod - Referring to a hand in Hebrew.

Psalm 9:17  The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

Shortest letter line (aside from Daleth, which doesn't exist).  The hand of God is seen here.

Kaph - This letter also has to do with the hand, but specifically refers to the palm or hollow of the hand.

Psalm 9:18  For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever. 

Psalm 9:19  Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight. 

Psalm 9:20  Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah. 

Even if our version of Psalm 9 didn't end here, there is a break after both verses 16 and and 20 from the word "Selah" which indicates a pause for reflection, and verse 16 also had the word Higgaion which has to do with meditating (from the same root word as "meditate" in Psalm 1:2).  We are to think about the nature of God's justice, especially when we are not feeling it.  We are supposed to focus on the truth of God's righteousness and deliverance.  We will pause as the Selah instructs us to and meditate on these truths and come back in the next blog post about Psalm 10.