תהלים, פרק י׳, פסוק ד׳

The mindset of a wicked person is deeply connected to his negative character traits, which ultimately lead him to deny Divine providence. The psychology of sin reveals how feelings of superiority or intense anger can result in a complete disregard for true justice.

The primary approach among commentators is that this mindset begins with deep arrogance. A person lifts his face out of a sense of superiority, feeling entirely secure in his wealth and success [רש״י, אלשיך]. Because the nose is the highest and most prominent feature of the face, raising it serves as a natural outward symbol of this internal pride [אבן עזרא, רד״ק, מאירי]. Alternatively, this attitude is rooted in intense rage. In this view, as a person's anger grows, so does his denial of God, because someone consumed by anger acts as though God does not exist in his world [תורה תמימה, מצודת דוד, ביאור שטיינזלץ].

Whether driven by pride or fury, the wicked person reaches a point where all searching and accountability stop. Some commentators explain that the wicked person himself refuses to seek. Blinded by arrogance, he will not look for God, pray to Him, or even turn to the wise to try and understand how God guides the world [רד״ק, אלשיך, ביאור שטיינזלץ, מאירי]. Others suggest that the wicked person simply convinces himself that God is the one who will not seek. He becomes completely certain that God will never demand an accounting or punish him for his actions [רש״י, מלבי״ם, מצודת דוד].

As a result, the practical conclusion of the wicked person is that God is entirely absent from all his plans and thoughts. He operates under the assumption that there is no judge and no justice [רש״י, אבן עזרא]. He might completely deny God's existence, reject His ability to intervene in the world, or simply ignore His presence altogether [רד״ק, ביאור שטיינזלץ, מאירי]. This moral distortion can sometimes reach such an absurd extreme that the wicked person might even bless and praise God for his success in robbing others—an act that is itself a profound blasphemy and desecration of God [מאירי].