Psalms 94:1

The Bible says in Psalm 94:1-4, “O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.[2] Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.[3] LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?[4] How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?” In verse one the Psalmist expresses one of the truths about God that every Christian should know: “vengeance belongeth” to God. In other words, we are not supposed to take vengeance for one main reason: that is God’s job, and not ours. Of course, because we have a sense of justice and truth, we are hoping that God will take vengeance sooner rather than later. But God has His own time-line, and He is always thinking about eternity and not just the few years that humans are on earth. The Psalmist asks in verse three and again in verse four, “how long.” The answer to that question only God knows.

These four verses point out something else: why some people deserve vengeance from God. They are called “proud” in verse two. Self-centered pride is simply another definition for sin. Pride is at the top of the list of seven things that God hates, probably because it keeps people from God. It says in Proverbs 6:16-19, “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:[17] A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,[18] An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,[19] A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” Verse four makes it clear that it is their speech that makes them wicked. They “boast themselves.” When good things happen to them, they take credit for it instead of giving glory to God. Looking forward, in their self-will and pride, they boast about what they are going to accomplish without any thought of the Almighty God who controls all things. What they do not realize is that this is what the future holds for them: the judgment without a Savior to intercede for them.

These verses are a continuation of what the wicked do. The Bible says in Psalm 94:5-6, “They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage.[6] They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.” One of the main characteristics of evil people is that they hate those who believe in Christ Jesus. Selfish human beings always want conformity. That is why they are easily prejudiced. Since they do not believe, they hate those who do. Since they have rejected God, they hate what God loves. God loves truth, and they hate it. God is love, and they are hate. God loves His believers, and they hate them. Because they hate, they kill. They kill the innocent and the weak, because the killers are cowards too.

The Bible says in Psalm 94:7, “Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.” This explains one of the reasons that the wicked are so wicked. They think they are going to get away with it. They are forgetting this one great fact: the truth always comes out eventually because there is a God. Jesus called Himself “the Truth.” Because of this, sometimes the truth comes out in this life. It will assuredly come out at the judgment.

The Bible says in Psalm 94:8-11, “Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?[9] He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?[10] He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?[11] The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.” Verse eight is like a command, telling people to understand. Wisdom and understanding and truth are all available to everyone because God is everywhere, and therefore anyone who does not have it has refused it. Why did God give us ears and eyes: so that we would learn and know all that we should know. One reason that Jesus healed the blind was the spiritual lesson that Jesus also opens the eyes of those who are spiritually blind. If you refuse the LORD, and do not learn from Him, then you are “fools.”

The above verses tell us that God knows everything. That means that He also knows everything about you. This is true even concerning the heathen who do not believe in Him. He wants us to learn. You can learn the easy way from God by opening up your eyes and ears, or you can learn the hard way through God’s chastisement. Those who never learn the most important spiritual lesson about accepting Christ as Savior will finally learn when they are cast into hell. Because God is Judge and because He does see all things, He does chastise and punish sin, we are very fortunate that we have forgiveness of sins through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

The Bible says in Psalm 94:12-15, “Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;[13] That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.[14] For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.[15] But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.” The chastisement of a parent is not a bad thing. It is because they love you and want to help you to correct your behavior so that you will not go down the wrong path in life. God is the same way. He loves us even more than a human parent could. Verse twelve gives two of the ways to learn in life: one way is to learn from God when He chastises you. Another way is to read and study the Bible and put it into practice in your life. By the way, you can escape chastisement if you learn to judge yourself. Evaluate yourself and your own actions, and then confess your sins, and God will not need to chastise you. It says in First Corinthians 11:31-32, “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.[32] But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”

As it says in verse thirteen above, part of life can be made up of “days of adversity.” In the battle of good against evil, and evil against good, we might get tired of being attacked and beat on. We can win the victory if we think about what Jesus did for us when He went to the terrible cross. Also, Christians must keep their eyes on the final goal and what we will receive in heaven. Finally, we will have peace because our Savior is the Prince of Peace. When we walk close to Him, He gives us peace.

Verse thirteen also talks about a “pit” for the wicked. That pit is hell. Sadly, all the unbelievers are headed straight for that pit. That is why they need to be delivered before they fall over the edge. We simply want to help them with the Gospel.

Verse fifteen reminds us that judgment is coming and righteousness is coming. There may be a lot of evil now, but it will be of short duration compared to eternity. “All the upright in heart shall follow” righteousness. True belief is in the heart. Make sure Christ is in your heart. If you have truly accepted Christ, then you want to do the right thing and follow Him and His teachings.

We are on the winning side, as it says in verse fourteen, “For the LORD will not cast off his people.” This verse is all about God’s faithfulness. God is love. He loves everyone, but His greatest love falls on those who believe in Jesus. The Almighty God is not going to forsake His people. That is also why He will never forsake the Jewish people either. They are the people of God from the standpoint of human lineage and that counts too because God made promises to Abraham and God always keeps His promises. God made promises to a nomadic herdsman who lived in the Middle east about four thousand years ago, and God is going to keep those promises. God will not cast off His people. And God will not cast you off either if you believe in Jesus.

It is interesting that Psalm 92:14 calls believers God’s “inheritance.” That is an interesting term. You are fortunate if you get an inheritance. An inheritance is something that will enhance your existence. Would you throw away your inheritance? Of course not. Neither will God.

The Bible says in Psalm 94:16-17, “Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?[17] Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.” The evildoers have a lot of power in this world. They hold most of the key positions and have most of the money, and so from a human standpoint they have power and influence that most Christians will never have. Who will help us? Only God. The Lord is our only recourse. What is one of the worse things that can happen to us: to give up and just stop spreading the Gospel of Christ. There is one reason that will not happen: the Lord. He wants His believers to spread the Gospel. His Spirit is within us. Jesus gave the command: “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.”

The Bible says in Psalm 94:18, “When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.” This verse mentions an important truth for any believer who wants to keep following the Lord Jesus no matter what happens in life. Confess your sins daily. Everyone sins daily. When you realize that you have slipped up, go to the Lord for forgiveness. That is how you keep following Jesus. It says in First John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The Bible says in Psalm 94:19, “In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.” Every human being has a “multitude” of thoughts. The brain is an amazing thing, but it can have a problem with the wrong thoughts. One of the great values of the Word of God is that it gives the right thoughts. Bible verse memorization helps with this tremendously. The Christian life has very much to do with what we think about and when we think it. Think the right Biblical thoughts when a situation happens, and you will live by faith with a positive outlook. Think the wrong thoughts and you will be a human being, a person of the flesh. The Psalmist speaks of God’s “comforts.” God’s comforts are His comforting thoughts that come from His precious Word.

The Bible says in Psalm 94:20, “Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?” A throne symbolizes power and authority. A throne represents the greatest authority on earth from a human standpoint. Such authority should recognize that God is above them, and their goal should be to help their people with good and righteous laws. It is a terrible thing when leaders are described spiritually as “the throne of iniquity.” Their problem is not the political positions that they hold. Here is the problem: they do not have fellowship with God through faith in Christ. That is the same problem that many people have. Because they do not know God, they frame “mischief by a law.” The laws that they create are unjust laws. That is why the judges give out sentences that are too light for murder. That is why the judges implement abortion and other cultural changes that are against the precious Word of God, no matter what the people vote on or the legislatures decide. What is the problem here? They do not know the Lord Jesus nor His Word. What can change this: the moving of the Spirit. Nothing else will fix things as much as the moving of the Spirit to touch hearts and to bring people to Jesus.

The Bible says in Psalm 94:21, “They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.” This verse tells us something about ungodly people. For one thing, they are enemies to those who are true believers. Notice that the ungodly are “against the soul” of the believers. It is a spiritual battle. We must always remember that. We are not fighting against people, but we are fighting against spiritual darkness. Ephesians 6:11-12 describes this battle. It says, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.[12] For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” People are not our enemies from a spiritual viewpoint. As a matter of fact, we hope that every one of them gets saved, and ends up in heaven. Jesus died for them, and God loves them too. But many of them are not saved yet, and so we know how they operate as they oppose themselves and oppose the truth. One of the things that the wicked do is found in the last phrase of verse twenty-one: they “condemn the innocent blood.” God forgives, but the devil and his children condemn. They condemn the innocent. You will see them doing that in their personal relationships, and you will see them doing that in politics. Natural human beings do not know anything about forgiveness because they do not know Jesus as Savior, but they know a lot about condemning because they themselves are condemned in their own minds.

The Bible says in Psalm 94:22, “But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.” How do we defeat such enemies who are spewing out such judgment and hatred and attacks? This verse tells us how to defeat them: trust in the Lord. The Lord will defend you. The Lord will give you a sure foundation to stand on. He Lord will be a safe refuge from the storm that will come against you.

The Bible says in Psalm 94:23, “And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off.” This is an important truth for every believer to remember. God is in charge of the wicked people. They are on His time-table, and the clock is ticking. The end is coming. The judgment is coming. Justice will be handed out. That is why we pray for them. They face a terrible destiny unless they repent and turn to Jesus.

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