“Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.”
The question why does the wicked renounce God and say in his heart You will not call to account expresses bewilderment at the wicked's successful defiance of God. The phrase renounce God suggests explicit rejection and blasphemous dismissal of divine authority. The wicked's assertion that God will not call to account attacks the foundation of moral accountability, suggesting that from the wicked's perspective consequence-free wrongdoing is possible. This verse articulates the logical problem underlying the lament: the wicked's theology appears empirically validated by his continued unpunished success.
Church Fathers on Psalms 10:13
“Why, O Lord,” says he, “have You withdrawn afar off?” Psalm 9:1. Then he who thus inquired, as if all on a sudden he understood, or as if he asked, though he knew, that he might teach, adds, “You despise in due seasons, in tribulations:” that is, You despise seasonably, and causest tribulations to inflame men's minds with longing for Your coming. For that fountain of life is sweeter to them that have much thirst. Therefore he hints the reason of the delay, saying, “Whilst…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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