Psalms 94

1 God of vengeance -- Jehovah! God of vengeance, shine forth.

2 Be lifted up, O Judge of the earth, Send back a recompence on the proud.

3 Till when [do] the wicked, O Jehovah? Till when do the wicked exult?

4 They utter -- they speak an old saw, All working iniquity do boast themselves.

5 Thy people, O Jehovah, they bruise, And Thine inheritance they afflict.

6 Widow and sojourner they slay, And fatherless ones they murder.

7 And they say, `Jehovah doth not see, And the God of Jacob doth not consider.'

8 Consider, ye brutish among the people, And ye foolish, when do ye act wisely?

9 He who planteth the ear doth He not hear? He who formeth the eye doth He not see?

10 He who is instructing nations, Doth He not reprove? He who is teaching man knowledge [is] Jehovah.

11 He knoweth the thoughts of man, that they [are] vanity.

12 O the happiness of the man Whom Thou instructest, O Jah, And out of Thy law teachest him,

13 To give rest to him from days of evil, While a pit is digged for the wicked.

14 For Jehovah leaveth not His people, And His inheritance forsaketh not.

15 For to righteousness judgment turneth back, And after it all the upright of heart,

16 Who riseth up for me with evil doers? Who stationeth himself for me with workers of iniquity?

17 Unless Jehovah [were] a help to me, My soul had almost inhabited silence.

18 If I have said, `My foot hath slipped,' Thy kindness, O Jehovah, supporteth me.

19 In the abundance of my thoughts within me, Thy comforts delight my soul.

20 Is a throne of mischief joined [with] Thee? A framer of perverseness by statute?

21 They decree against the soul of the righteous, And innocent blood declare wicked.

22 And Jehovah is for a high place to me, And my God [is] for a rock -- my refuge,

23 And turneth back on them their iniquity, And in their wickedness cutteth them off; Jehovah our God doth cut them off!

Psalms 94 Commentary

Chapter 94

The danger and folly of persecutors. (1-11) Comfort and peace to the persecuted. (12-23)

Verses 1-11 We may with boldness appeal to God; for he is the almighty Judge by whom every man is judged. Let this encourage those who suffer wrong, to bear it with silence, committing themselves to Him who judges righteously. These prayers are prophecies, which speak terror to the sons of violence. There will come a day of reckoning for all the hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against God, his truths, and ways, and people. It would hardly be believed, if we did not witness it, that millions of rational creatures should live, move, speak, hear, understand, and do what they purpose, yet act as if they believed that God would not punish the abuse of his gifts. As all knowledge is from God, no doubt he knows all the thoughts of the children of men, and knows that the imaginations of the thoughts of men's hearts are only evil, and that continually. Even in good thoughts there is a want of being fixed, which may be called vanity. It concerns us to keep a strict watch over our thoughts, because God takes particular notice of them. Thoughts are words to God.

Verses 12-23 That man is blessed, who, under the chastening of the Lord, is taught his will and his truths, from his holy word, and by the Holy Spirit. He should see mercy through his sufferings. There is a rest remaining for the people of God after the days of their adversity, which shall not last always. He that sends the trouble, will send the rest. The psalmist found succour and relief only in the Lord, when all earthly friends failed. We are beholden, not only to God's power, but to his pity, for spiritual supports; and if we have been kept from falling into sin, or shrinking from our duty, we should give him the glory, and encourage our brethren. The psalmist had many troubled thoughts concerning the case he was in, concerning the course he should take, and what was likely to be the end of it. The indulgence of such contrivances and fears, adds to care and distrust, and renders our views more gloomy and confused. Good men sometimes have perplexed and distressed thoughts concerning God. But let them look to the great and precious promises of the gospel. The world's comforts give little delight to the soul, when hurried with melancholy thoughts; but God's comforts bring that peace and pleasure which the smiles of the world cannot give, and which the frowns of the world cannot take away. God is his people's Refuge, to whom they may flee, in whom they are safe, and may be secure. And he will reckon with the wicked. A man cannot be more miserable than his own wickedness will make him, if the Lord visit it upon him.

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 94

Some, as Jarchi and others, think this psalm was written by Moses; others, with greater probability, assign it to David; as do the Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions; and which all but the Syriac version say it was composed to be sung on the fourth day of the week, on which day the Talmudists say it was sung; see the argument of the preceding psalm. This psalm and others, that go before and follow, are without any title in the Hebrew Bible: the title of it in the Syriac version is,

``a Psalm of David, concerning the company of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; but spiritually, concerning the persecution against the church;''

not of the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt, as some; nor of the Jews in their present exile, as Kimchi; but rather of the people of God under the tyranny of antichrist; who are represented as complaining of his insults and cruelty, and as comforting themselves in the hopes of deliverance, and in the view of his destruction.