Studies in the Psalms - Psalm 94

Studying Psalm 94 this morning, I cannot help but relate deeply to the thoughts of the psalmist as I think of current events. I find it fascinating to read the opening.

Psalm 94:1
O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth!

God is not only a god of love; He is also a god of vengeance. We misinterpret the word vengeance. We think of it in our terms, based on our perverted need to inflict revenge upon those who wrong us, but God is a just god. His vengeance is holy and pure. His vengeance speaks of judgment of motive and true justice, something man’s government is incapable of serving.

Psalm 94:2-7
Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!  O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?  They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast.  They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage.  They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless;  and they say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

When I read those words, I think of the innocent babies in the wombs of our women. Abortion not only physically kills children; it crushes women and afflicts our heritage. Those who perpetuate the murder of these babies think God does not see, but He does.

Psalm 94:8-11
Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise?  He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see?  He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke? He who teaches man knowledge—  the LORD—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath.

The words above speak to those who persist in living life in rejection of God and His Word.

Psalm 94:12-15
Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law,  to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.  For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;  for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

Whom does God discipline?

Hebrews 12:5-8
 

And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him.  For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”  It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?  If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

God disciplines His children. The answer to the age-old question as to why God allows the wicked to prosper, is found here. He disciplines His children and they grow in their faith. But the wicked who reject God are simply the benefactor of His longsuffering and patient nature as we read of in Exodus 34:6-7:

 
The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,  keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”

This psalm also reminds me of the protests going on in St. Louis and across the nation. To those who are Christians and have the perception of being treated unjustly, I suggest they consider God’s Word.

Psalm 94:14-15
For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage;  for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

If you are a Christian under oppression, Jesus has spoken to you.

Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Psalm 94:16
Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?

Those under oppression ask this question. As Christians, rather than sit in judgment of those protesting, we ought to be assuring our brothers and sisters in Christ that, though we might be able to see the same perception of oppression as they, we still stand alongside them. We must gently guide them back to God and to know that He sees and He will address those who oppress and inflict injustice upon them.

Psalm 94:16-21
Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?  If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.  When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.  When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.  Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute?  They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

Certainly, there are horrible injustices being inflicted upon people throughout our land. The babies being aborted would be the first to speak up, if they could. As Christians, we are called to help those who cannot help themselves.

Proverbs 31:8-9
"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute.  Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."

But at the end of the day, we must trust in God. Our faith must be in Him; not men.

Psalm 94:22-23
But the LORD has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.  He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the LORD our God will destroy them.

Take refuge in Jesus. He is coming back and when He comes true justice will finally be served.

Revelation 14:14-19
I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one "like a son of man" with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.  Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe."  So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.  Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.  Still another angel, who had charge of the fire, came from the altar and called in a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, "Take your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes from the earth's vine, because its grapes are ripe."  The angel swung his sickle on the earth, gathered its grapes and threw them into the great winepress of God's wrath.

Until then, we live in faith and stay true to our charge.

For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.