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Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents
Psalm 94. This is a community lament, for a time when the wicked not only exult (v. 3) but also oppress the faithful (many of whom are socially weak, vv. 5-6), doing so with no fear of God. The song asks God to take action to protect the faithful. At the same time, it strengthens the pious to endure this oppression without losing heart or going over to join the wicked; it does this by recounting God's exhaustive knowledge of all that people think, do, and say (vv. 8-11); by remembering God's steadfast love for his own (v. 18); and by rejoicing in God's righteous commitment to bring justice by caring for the weak and putting down the wicked. Thus the godly can view their current circumstances as God's discipline (v. 12), even while they pray for deliverance (v. 16). The "wicked" in this psalm are members of God's people (v. 8) who in their hearts do not believe in the God of the covenant (v. 7). They seem to have political power, or at least influence with the ruling authorities (cf. v. 20, "wicked rulers"), which enables them to crush the faithful. Though such wicked persons are in one sense "members" of the covenant people, they are distinguished from God's true "people" or "heritage" (vv. 5, 14) and will suffer the full force of God's judgment. It puzzles scholars why this psalm is placed here, interrupting the sequence of divine kingship psalms (Psalms 93; 95-99). Perhaps the simplest explanation is that God's powerful kingship guarantees his final victory over all who oppose him, even if they are members of his own people (who ought to have acknowledged his rule!). It is always worth being on God's side.
94:1-3 O Lord, Pay the Proud as They Deserve. The psalm opens by addressing the Lord as God of vengeance, asking him to repay to the proud what they deserve. As the song develops, it will be clear who these "proud" are and why it is right to pray that God will "pay them back."
94:1 The notion of vengeance here is founded on God's justice: he brings his righteous judgment on those who oppose him and harm his people (cf. Deut. 32:35, 41, 43; Ps. 18:47). It is forbidden for individuals to take personal vengeance (Lev. 19:18; cf. Rom. 12:19), but one function of the civil government is to ensure just vengeance against wrongdoers (Ex. 21:20; cf. Rom. 13:4)--a function not being carried out in the context of this psalm. God will carry out vengeance against those who despise him (2 Thess. 1:8), and the faithful will rejoice because God's justice has been vindicated (Ps. 58:10; 79:10; Rev. 6:10). There is no double standard: God will judge the unfaithful among his own people as well as the Gentiles (cf. Ps. 99:8).
94:2-3 The people called proud here are not simply those among the faithful who commit the sin of pride; rather, in their unbelief they exalt themselves against God, defying him to punish them (v. 7), and they use their power to exploit the weak (vv. 5-6, 21). God's people feel that it is wrong for anyone to do that, and it is hideous for members of his own people to exult, i.e., to be jubilant over this, their apparent triumph. The right response is to pray to the judge of the earth.
