Psalm 10 is, as it were, an “Atheist Autopsy.” Each verse, like a forensic pathologist’s scalpel, cuts and reveals another layer of the heart and soul of the man who has “God in none of his thoughts.” He persecutes the poor, boasts of his heart’s desires, blesses the greedy, and renounces the Lord. As he prospers in his way, he sneers at his enemies, thinking that nothing can move him, considering himself untouchable by any misfortune. His mouth is full of boasting and deceit; he hides iniquity in palatable language; he murders the innocent, but does not call it such; using rhetoric, he seeks to trap the needy and draw them into his net. All the while this man is foolish enough to think that God will never see that which hides in the secret recesses of his own heart. Though he may publicly acknowledge God, when he is alone his prayer is, “God has forgotten; He hides His face; He will never see.”
The scalpel of God’s Word penetrates to a level that reveals that which the man himself might not be consciously aware of. He is a man who lies, not only to others, but to himself and God. Such is the condition of the heart of the wicked. But “wicked” describes every one of us. In some capacity, a dissection of our own desperately wicked heart would reveal exactly what the autopsy of this Atheist reveals. Does not our old body of death neglect the poor and needy, while boasting in self-sufficiency? Is there not pride, greed and deceit in us, as a result of remaining sin? Does not indwelling sin still try to convince our minds that God does not see our sin? Praise God that He has given us a new heart and new life in Christ – the old has passed away; the new has come!
