Psalm 94:1-7, 9, 11-15, 17-19, 21-23 NIV
The Lord is a God who avenges.
O God who avenges, shine forth.
Rise up, Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve.
How long, Lord, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant?
They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting.
They crush your people, Lord; they oppress your inheritance.
They slay the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless.
They say, “The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.”
Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?
The Lord knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile.
Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord, the one you teach from your law;
you grant them relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.
For the Lord will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.
Judgment will again be founded on righteousness,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
Unless the Lord had given me help, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.
When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.
The wicked band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
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.
Psalm 94 represents what is likely the most distasteful aspect to Old Testament theology. God is vengeful. Christians who proclaim forgiveness and the unconditional love of God find vengeful depictions of God a contradiction. But if you read the New Testament closely you will find depictions of God's wrath and righteous judgment of all the earth. The prospect of judgement is terrifying when the sentence for the guilty is the everlasting fire of hell. Many Christians tend to downplay this language in the New Testament and politely skip over it in preaching and teaching.
I tend to do exactly that. I focus way more on God's mercy than I do God's judgment in my preaching, but I do not deny the wrath of God nor His right to judge all humanity for our actions whether good or bad.
The apostle Paul wrote about both God's astonishing mercy and His wrath. Paul held both these ideas together in harmony. God is both unconditional love and the bringer of destruction upon His enemies.
Take for example God's revealing of His character to Moses on Mount Sinai after the shameful golden calf incident.
Exodus 34:6-7 NIV
And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
The writers of the New Testament read the Old Testament. The Old Testament was their only scripture. It should not surprise us that both the language of love and judgment appear in the New Testament. Jesus when preaching warned the people of Jerusalem.
Luke 13:3 NIV
But unless you repent, you too will all perish.
He taught also His disciples.
Mark 9:47-48 NIV
And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where ‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’
These kind of passages are all throughout the New Testament. Their appearance should not surprise us and their message should inform us.
Psalm 94 is a prayer for justice. The oppressed people of God trust The Lord to ultimately restore balance between the excesses of the wicked and the suffering of the helpless widow, orphan and poor. For the psalmist, justice is satisfied through retribution. Payback for wrongdoing is what is sought. But more than that the psalmist hopes in a world where God's right ways are embraced by the people and followed. There's a desire to see the wicked who are in power to be destroyed so that those who love righteousness will rule the land with God's law as their guide.
The psalmist asks, Psalm 94:20 NIV
Can a corrupt throne be allied with you— a throne that brings on misery by its decrees?
This is likely the clue to the historical situation that gave rise to this prayer. Israel had it's share of corrupt kings. These unfaithful rulers led the people into idolatry. They grew fat on luxuries while ignoring the burden of the people they govern. Psalm 94 is meant to give hope to people under oppression. The hope is that one day this wicked administration will come to an end and God will raise up a righteous leader, one that fears God and leads the nation to obey The Lord's life-giving law. The psalmist trusts in God's faithfulness to His obedient ones and His unfailing covenant love to rescue.
I don't know your politics but I'm no longer waiting for a godly ruler to lead us to love and blessing. I don't expect November elections to change the US suddenly to a place where God is revered. My hope is in Christ. God has anointed Jesus to rule forever. My country is not of this world. I belong to the kingdom of heaven where God's will is done. I don't always understand God's will nor do I carry it out with perfection, but the judge of all souls knows my heart desires His righteousness. I hope in the kingdom of Christ to be fully established in me and all people. Then the world will know peace, life and blessing. Those who oppose righteousness will come to nothing and the faithful will be vindicated and forever shine like the stars with truth and the grace of the Lord. All who hope in the kingdom come will find strength to live under all kinds of disappointing leaders and sad times.
Psalm 94:15 NIV
Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.
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