Psalm 94:1-11

Against Tyrants in the Church

The psalmist, whose name is not given, appeals to God in view of the oppression of the adversaries, who included not only the enemies from without, but also the tyrants within the external organization of the Church.

V. 1. O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, show Thyself. The statement yielding all judicial power to the Lord alone is followed by the request that He should shine forth, make known His judicial authority by inflicting a righteous punishment upon the oppressors.

V. 2. Lift up Thyself, arising, as from an indifferent attitude, Thou Judge of the earth, in the almighty exaltation of His judicial power; render a reward to the proud, punishing the arrogant pride of the adversaries.

V. 3. Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph? Note the force of the figure of repetition in emphasizing the insolence of the wicked and the increasing impatience of the believers in awaiting the interference of the Lord.

V. 4. How long shall they utter, bubbling and sputtering, and speak hard things, spouting arrogance against the Lord, and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves, exalting themselves as though the Lord would not or could not keep them in check?

V. 5. They break in pieces Thy people, O Lord, crushing the believers by their tyranny, and afflict Thine heritage, the Church of God being known by this designation, and the affliction including every form of oppression and hindering of the work of the Church.

V. 6. They slay the widow and the stranger and murder the fatherless, such outrages being reported from almost every period of the Church’s history.

V. 7. Yet they say, The Lord shall not see, would deliberately ignore their wickedness, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it, that they might continue their insolent outrages unpunished. The psalmist now turns to the wicked in a sharp rebuke of their folly.

V. 8. Understand, ye brutish among the people, on a level with the irrational beasts on account of their folly; and ye fools, when will ye be wise? For the arrogant behavior of the wicked showed a lack of ordinary common sense, of the simplest form of observation.

V. 9. He that planted the ear, giving it its position and causing it to function as one of the senses of the body, shall He not hear? Would the wicked actually be so dense as to think that this Creator of the sense of hearing could not hear their insolent taunts? He that formed the eye, fashioning it to serve for the sense of sight, shall He not see?Did the tyrants believe that their acts of oppression were really unnoticed by the omniscient God?

V. 10. He that chastiseth the heathen, punishing entire nations for their sins, shall not He correct? punishing the enemies for their wicked deeds. He that teacheth man knowledge, shall not He know? Before Him, the Source of all wisdom and knowledge, nothing is hidden.

V. 11. The Lord knoweth the thoughts of man, He is familiar with even the inmost workings of tile minds of men, that they are vanity, all their objects and intentions by nature being vain. Compare 1 Cor. 3, 20.