Psalms 94

Along with 10, 14, 73, and 92, the writer deals with the seeming triumph of the wicked and the unjust treatment of the helpless. But it is not foreign conquerors who were guilty, but the leaders of the nation cooperating with the local judges. Even the king was abusing the people by issuing unjust edicts (v. 20). Perhaps the psalm came out of the sufferings of the godly during the reign of wicked King Manasseh (2 Kings 21), whom the Lord blamed for the destruction of Jerusalem (2 Kings 24:1–4). But why is this psalm included in the section that magnifies the kingship of the Lord (93—100)? Because few problems cause God’s people to question His rule more than “Why do the helpless and the godly suffer and the wicked get away with their crimes?” When it comes to dealing with the injustices in society, the psalm teaches us that the righteous have four responsibilities.

God’s requirement for His people is that they “do justly … love mercy, and … walk humbly with [their] God” (Mic. 6:8), for the Lord loves justice (33:5; 37:28) and hears the prayers of those who have been treated unjustly (Ex. 22:26–27; Deut. 24:14–15; James 5:1–4). The word vengeance is often misinterpreted to mean “revenge” or “being vindictive,” as though God were having a temper tantrum, but “to avenge” means to uphold the law and give justice to those who have been wronged. Since the Lord is omniscient, He is able to judge motives as well as actions and deal with situations and people justly (Lev. 19:18; Deut. 32:35, 41; Rom. 12:17–21; Heb. 10:30–31). He is the Judge of all the earth (58:11; 82:8) and always does what is right (Gen. 18:25). “Shine forth,” means “show yourself, reveal your power and glory” (50:2; 80:1; Deut. 33:2; Hab. 3:1–5).

We want the Lord to act immediately (v. 3; see 6:3), but He is gracious and longsuffering (Ex. 34:6–7), and we must walk by faith (Luke 18:1–8). The proud and arrogant “belch out” evil words and commit evil deeds (10:2–11), and the godly can do nothing to stop them. Orphans, widows, and aliens in the land were under the special care of the Lord (68:5–6; 146:9; Ex. 22:20–24; Deut. 10:18–19; 14:28–29; 24:17–18; 26:12–13; 27:19; Isa. 1:17; 7:6; 22:3). The helpless are God’s covenant people and He is Jehovah—the Lord— a name used nine times in the psalm (vv. 1, 3, 5, 11, 14, 17, 18, 22, 23). The wicked convince themselves that God does not see their evil deeds (v. 7; 10:11; 59:7), but He does!

After praying to the Lord, we must confront the wicked with the truth, as the Lord gives us opportunity. In verses 8–11, the psalmist speaks to the offenders and calls them “senseless people,” the word “brutish” that we have met before (49:10; 92: kjv; and see 2 Peter 2:12; Jude 10). These people were behaving like animals and not like humans made in the image of God. They had such a low view of God (v. 7) that they were unable to think logically. If God made the eye and ear, is He unable to see and hear? Is the creature greater than the Creator? If God is able to rule the nations by His providential decrees (Acts 17:24–28), is He unable to deal with a band of wicked officials who are breaking His law and exploiting His people? The Lord gave Israel His law and taught them what it meant, so is He not intelligent enough to apply that law? The word translated “thoughts” in verse 11 means “inventions, schemes, plans.” The subversive plans and plots of these evil leaders cannot be hidden from the Lord, nor will they go unpunished. Paul quoted this verse in 1 Corinthians 3: to warn church leaders in Corinth not to try to guide the church using the world’s wisdom, but to rely only on the wisdom of God found in Scripture—the gold, silver, and precious stones (3:12–15; Prov. 2:1–4; 3:13–15; 8:10–11, 18–19).

The words chasten or discipline (v. 12) mean “teaching and instruction from God’s law” (Deut. 8:5; Prov. 3:11–12). The psalmist recognized the fact that the difficulties of life could help him mature in his faith. If God immediately rescued His people from their personal difficulties, they would become “spoiled brats” and never grow in faith or character. “For whom the Lord loves he chastens” (Heb. 12:6). God uses personal difficulties to teach us new truths from His Word (119:50; 75; 92—95). There is coming a time of judgment (“days of adversity”), but the Lord will spare His people from it. The longer the wicked persist in their sins, the deeper is the pit they are digging for themselves and the stronger the net that will trap them (9:15–16). God cannot reject His people who are bound to Him in His covenant (37:28–29; Deut. 32:9; Isa. 49:14–18; Jer. 10:16). The psalmist believed in the justice of God, the future judgment of the wicked, and the promise of a righteous kingdom for the upright in heart.

Even in Solomon’s day, people who were abused and exploited had no redress and found no one to execute justice on their behalf (Eccl. 4:1), so it must have been much worse in the days of Manasseh, just before the fall of Jerusalem. The question in verse 16 is rhetorical, and the writer answered it himself in verse 17—“the Lord.” The psalmist was experiencing the devious plots of the evil leaders and cried out to God for help. He knew that the judges were twisting the law to exploit the poor (v. 20), and he was slipping into a deep and dangerous situation. His heart was anxious within him, but the Lord held him up, pulled him out, and gave him peace within. He was grateful for other believers who stood with him and prayed with him, for “my God” in verse 22 became “our God” in verse 24. He trusted the Lord to bring about the judgment that the evil leaders deserved. Like Asaph in Psalm 73, he had been slipping in his faith and walk, but God showed him that the wicked were in slippery places and heading rapidly toward judgment (73:2–3, 18, 27–28).

In evil days, we give thanks that we have the Lord as our refuge and fortress. But we hide in Him, not that we may escape responsibility, but that we might be equipped to go forth and fight the enemy. As the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt. 5:13–16), God’s people should do all they can to encourage justice in this world. As Edmund Burke said, “It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph.” But in the end, it is the Lord who knows the hearts of people and who will judge justly.