Psalms 94:1-15

1 The LORD is a God who avenges. O God who avenges, shine forth.
2 Rise up, Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve.
3 How long, LORD, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant?
4 They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting.
5 They crush your people, LORD; they oppress your inheritance.
6 They slay the widow and the foreigner; they murder the fatherless.
7 They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob takes no notice.”
8 Take notice, you senseless ones among the people; you fools, when will you become wise?
9 Does he who fashioned the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see?
10 Does he who disciplines nations not punish? Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge?
11 The LORD knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile.
12 Blessed is the one you discipline, LORD, the one you teach from your law;
13 you grant them relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the LORD will not reject his people; he will never forsake his inheritance.
15 Judgment will again be founded on righteousness, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

Psalms 94:1-15 Meaning and Commentary

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.

Cross References 27

  • 1. S Genesis 4:24; Nahum 1:2; Romans 12:19
  • 2. S Deuteronomy 33:2; Psalms 80:1
  • 3. S Numbers 10:35
  • 4. S Genesis 18:25; Hebrews 12:23; S James 5:9
  • 5. S Psalms 31:23
  • 6. Psalms 13:2
  • 7. Jeremiah 43:2; Psalms 31:18
  • 8. S Psalms 52:1
  • 9. Psalms 44:2; Psalms 74:8; Isaiah 3:15; Jeremiah 8:21
  • 10. Psalms 28:9
  • 11. S Deuteronomy 10:18; S Isaiah 1:17
  • 12. Deuteronomy 24:19
  • 13. S Job 22:14; Psalms 10:11
  • 14. S Genesis 24:12
  • 15. S Deuteronomy 32:6; S Psalms 73:22; Psalms 92:6
  • 16. Exodus 4:11; Proverbs 20:12
  • 17. S Psalms 39:11
  • 18. S Exodus 35:34; Job 35:11; Isaiah 28:26
  • 19. Psalms 139:2; Proverbs 15:26; S Matthew 9:4
  • 20. 1 Corinthians 3:20*
  • 21. S Job 5:17; 1 Corinthians 11:32; Hebrews 12:5
  • 22. S Deuteronomy 8:3; S 1 Samuel 12:23
  • 23. S Psalms 86:7
  • 24. S Psalms 7:15; S Psalms 55:23
  • 25. S Deuteronomy 31:6; 1 Samuel 12:22; Psalms 37:28; Romans 11:2
  • 26. Psalms 97:2
  • 27. Psalms 7:10; Psalms 11:2; S Psalms 36:10
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