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The author of this Psalm is not known. Psalm 94 is a community Lament (1–15) combined with an individual lament (16–23). The parts of a lament include 1) Address to God, 2) Plea for God to help, 3) Complaints—the issue of this prayer, 4) Confession of trust displaying confidence in God, 5) Petition, 6) Hymn or blessing
I. Yahweh alone has righteous vengeance or recompense, retributive justice (vs. 1–2)
A. Yahweh alone is the Judge who punishes evil [Address to God]
1. Evil has its own reward, the just consequences attached to it
2. The call for Yahweh to shine forth, is asking for Him to personally come to judge
3. The LORD will arrive in royal splendor to judge the world
4. His appearing will include His “rising up” (stepping up) to judge mankind
B. God will give the proud what they deserve, severe punishment
The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished. (Prov 16:5 NIV)
I will punish the world for its evil, the wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless. (Isa 13:11 NIV)
Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. (1 Pet 5:5 ESV)
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. (Prov 16:18 ESV)
He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. (1 Tim 3:6 NIV)
II. The arrogant person’s thoughts, words, and deeds all require punishment (vs. 3–7)
A. The call for the LORD’s justice to come sooner [the plea for God to help]
1. The question is not, denying God’s power or will to deal with evil
2. The question about evil is When? When will the Day of Yahweh appear, the wrongs be made right, all sin be consigned to the lake of fire. How much longer?
3. God is not without power or like a politician making back room deals
B. Self-sufficient, autonomous man, is free to do evil in his own mind [the complaints]
1. The wicked are boaster, we have evolved, God is a delusion, Huxley, Dawkins
2. Wicked hearts produce wicked thoughts which produce arrogant words
C. Wicked deeds are done to God’s real people by the proud tyrants
1. God’s people are persecuted
2. The most vulnerable: widows, non-resident foreigners, orphans
3. The helpless are brutally murdered by those in power
4. These wicked may be rulers in the land like king Manasseh or government officials
D. God’s presence, awareness, knowledge and power are denied by the wicked
1. They pretend He cannot view what they cover in darkness
2. They declare He will not or cannot pay attention to, act on, or justly deal with these wicked deeds
3. Believers may tell themselves these same lies before they commit sin
III. The wicked person is rebuked for this pagan or deistic world view (vs. 8–11)
A. You need to pay attention to yourself, ignorant scoffers
1. You are acting like wild beasts with no reasoning or thinking skills
2. You foolishly run your little crooked kingdom bragging that you are an Agnostic
B. You lack the most basic understanding and reasoning
1. Ears have an obvious design. The designer can also hear
2. Eyes have an amazing design. The creator of this can also see
C. Since God brings judgments on nations which you have seen, why do you think individual are going to get away with sin? (Greater to lesser argument)
D. God the Creator, teaches the only true knowledge and He knows that mere man’s small thoughts are just hevel: vapor, breath, temporary, puzzling, mystery, ironic, unreliable, insubstantial
IV. The blessing of the wise person who belongs to God [The Blessing] (vs. 12–15)
A. God disciplines His real children so they will repent and live life to the fullest
B. The Word of God, the Torah, reveals what God likes and dislikes, so the wise man knows how to live—not by legalism, but living to please the God he loves by copying His moral nature. The moral law is vital to life.
C. Justice will one day prevail, and God will sustain and protect His righteous remnant until that day. Be patient. (He will not forsake His people) [Confession of trust]
V. An Individual Lament, the Petition (vs. 16–21)
A. The LORD is my champion, He will stand with me against the wicked
B. Yahweh provides protection, perseverance, and inner peace by His covenant love
C. God does not allow His people to be lost, stumble to destruction
D. Things were really bad before he was rescued, delivered, saved
E. It appeared their government coalition was unstoppable
F. How long will God tolerate wicked rulers and evil civil laws? By God’s nature, He must bring all wicked regimes to an end and to the Great White Throne Judgment
VI. Praise to Yahweh, he will right the wrongs [The Hymn] (vs. 22–23)
A. God is a stronghold, a rock of refuge (A fortress like Masada, beside the Dead Sea)
B. God will punish the wicked in this world and the next
C. Those outside of the Messiah will pay for every word, though, and action for all eternity as well as the new sins they continue to commit in the lake of fire
Lessons to live by:
• Be patient when you are wronged and persecuted for the gospel's sake. Be patient when small men make evil laws and arrogantly display their power.
• Beware of the consequences of sin. It is never worth the price. God see’s all, knows all, records all. Everything done in the dark will be reviewed at the judgment.
• There is no free lunch. Someone always pays. The foolish person creates his own theology. The wise person builds a theology from God’s Word, the Bible and then lives by it.
• Chastisement is a good thing. Judgment begins with the house of God. It ends with the wicked masses who will not submit to King Jesus’ reign in their lives.
• God records the death of every innocent person, including the 40 million plus babies murdered in the USA
• The Day of the LORD is coming, not only should we get ready, but also help other get ready so that they can escape the wrath to come.
“Invictus” (Latin Unconquered) by the English poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903) displays the arrogance and rebellion of humans
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeoning's of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Contrast this with "MY CAPTAIN" by Dorothea Day
Out of the night that dazzles me,
Bright as the sun from pole to pole,
I thank the God I know to be
For Christ the conqueror of my soul.
Since His the sway of circumstance,
I would not wince nor cry aloud.
Under that rule which men call chance
My head with joy is humbly bowed.
Beyond this place of sin and tears
That life with Him! And His the aid,
Despite the menace of the years,
Keeps, and shall keep me, unafraid.
I have no fear, though strait the gate,
He cleared from punishment the scroll.
Christ is the Master of my fate,
Christ is the Captain of my soul
---------------------------------
A famous hymn
I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.
And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.”
