The Lord Sees and Will Judge

94:1 O Lord, the God who avenges! O God who avenges, reveal your splendor! 94:2 Rise up, O judge of the earth! Pay back the proud! 94:3 O Lord, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked celebrate? 94:4 They spew out threats and speak defiantly; all the evildoers boast. 94:5 O Lord, they crush your people; they oppress the nation that belongs to you. 94:6 They kill the widow and the one residing outside his native land, and they murder the fatherless. 94:7 Then they say, “The Lord does not see this; the God of Jacob does not take notice of it.” 94:8 Take notice of this, you ignorant people! You fools, when will you ever understand? 94:9 Does the one who makes the human ear not hear? Does the one who forms the human eye not see? 94:10 Does the one who disciplines the nations not punish? He is the one who imparts knowledge to human beings! 94:11 The Lord knows that peoples’ thoughts are morally bankrupt. 94:12 How blessed is the one whom you instruct, O Lord, the one whom you teach from your law, 94:13 in order to protect him from times of trouble, until the wicked are destroyed. 94:14 Certainly the Lord does not forsake his people; he does not abandon the nation that belongs to him. 94:15 For justice will prevail, and all the morally upright will be vindicated. 94:16 Who will rise up to defend me against the wicked? Who will stand up for me against the evildoers? 94:17 If the Lord had not helped me, I would have laid down in the silence of death. 94:18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,” your loyal love, O Lord, supports me. 94:19 When worries threaten to overwhelm me, your soothing touch makes me happy. 94:20 Cruel rulers are not your allies, those who make oppressive laws. 94:21 They conspire against the blameless, and condemn to death the innocent. 94:22 But the Lord will protect me, and my God will shelter me. 94:23 He will pay them back for their sin. He will destroy them because of their evil; the Lord our God will destroy them. Psalm 95

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Psalm 94 is a cry for God, the judge of all the earth, to act against proud oppressors. The wicked boast, crush the weak, and say the Lord does not see. But the psalm says God does see, God does teach his people, and God will repay evil with justice.

This psalm begins with a plea for God to rise up and deal with the proud. The psalmist is troubled because wicked people seem to win. They threaten, boast, and hurt God’s people. They even attack widows, sojourners, and orphans, who are especially vulnerable.

The wicked also lie about God. They act as if the Lord does not notice what they do. The psalm answers that lie with truth. God made the ear and the eye, so he surely hears and sees. The Lord also judges the nations. He knows human thoughts and knows they are often corrupt.

The psalm then turns from rebuke to comfort. The one who is blessed is the person taught by the Lord from his law. God’s instruction protects his people in hard times. The psalm insists that the Lord will not forsake his people or abandon his inheritance. Justice will return, and the upright will be vindicated.

The final section becomes personal. The psalmist says God has helped him when he was near death. When his foot was slipping, God’s loyal love supported him. When worries were overwhelming, God’s comfort brought joy. Even if corrupt rulers make evil laws and condemn the innocent, the Lord will shelter his people and repay evil with judgment.

• God sees and hears all human evil.
• The proud and wicked are under God’s judgment.
• The Lord does not abandon his people.
• God’s law is a means of instruction and preservation.
• God’s loyal love supports his people in trouble.
• Corrupt rulers and unjust laws are not pleasing to the Lord.

• Warning: the wicked who boast, crush the weak, and deny God’s knowledge will face judgment.
• Warning: unjust rulers and oppressive laws are under God’s scrutiny.
• Promise: the Lord will not forsake his people.
• Promise: God will sustain the one whose foot is slipping.
• Promise: God’s comfort can calm troubled hearts.
• Command: seek the Lord’s instruction and learn from his law.
• Command: do not trust the lie that God does not see.

Psalm 94 fits the covenant life of Israel under the Lord’s rule as judge, king, and protector. It highlights the Lord’s concern for the vulnerable and his promise to vindicate the upright. In the wider Bible, it joins the growing hope that God will finally judge evil and defend his people. Christians may also remember the righteous-sufferer pattern fulfilled in Christ, but the psalm should first be read in its own covenant setting.

When evil seems strong, bring your complaint to God. Do not assume he is blind to injustice. Ask him for justice, but do not take revenge into your own hands. Learn from God’s word while you wait. Trust his loyal love to hold you up when you feel weak, fearful, or close to falling.

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