The Judge of the earth

As we mentioned when we looked at Psalm 93, this section of Psalms exalts the God of Israel as the King of the earth. The theme of Kingship runs from Psalm 93-Psalm 99. In this Psalm there is not a direct reference to God reigning as King of the earth. But verse 2 calls God the Judge of all the earth. In the ancient world a King was known not only for his ruling but also for his power to administer justice and reward. Therefore, when the Psalmist recognizes the judicial power of God, He is making an indirect reference to the Kingship of God as well.

Psalm 94 is a Psalm that reminds us God is the great judge. This truth is an encouragement to the believer. The prosperity of the wicked is a problem that is often brought to the Lord’s attention in the book of Psalms. Thankfully the Book of Psalms also reminds us many times that the righteous will prevail and the wicked will be defeated. Such is the case with Psalm 94.

We’re going to break this Psalm into six sections.

1. An anticipation for the rule of God over the entire earth (1-2).

2. An observation of the wicked (3-7).

3.A warning to the wicked (8-11).

4. Encouragement for the righteous (12-15).

5. The faithfulness of God (16-19).

6. A contrast between the righteous and the wicked (20-23).

1. An anticipation for the rule of God over the entire earth (1-2).

A. God is just.

The Psalmist recognizes this. He says that vengeance belongs to God. He is the God of vengeance. The repetition of this fact is meant to emphasize its truth. The Psalmist is certain that God is just and will therefore repay the wicked for their evil. In Romans 12:19 Paul said:

“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

Paul was quoting Deuteronomy 32:35. This truth concerning God’s character extends all the way back to the Pentateuch. The Psalmist’s understanding of the justice of God urges him to pray to the God of justice rather than taking justice in his own hands. When we see injustice our first response should be to pray.

B. He asks God to reveal Himself. Look at the end of verse 1. He says, “shew yourself”. Literally the phrase means “to shine forth”. As I meditated on this my mind went to Matthew 24:30:

“Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”

When Christ returns the heavens will light up. The sky will be filled with the glory of the Lord. God will in fact show Himself. The most vivid picture we have of this is in Revelation 19. The heavens open, Christ reveals Himself and punishes the wicked.

The Psalmist longs for God to establish His kingdom on this earth. He wants God to hasten the Day of Judgment. He says to God “lift up Thyself”. In other words, stand up Lord! The imagery here is of a King getting up from His throne and rising to action. It’s clear the Psalmist isn’t speaking of Israel only. He calls God the Judge of the earth. He isn’t just looking for justice in Israel. He is looking for justice to be established across the earth.

C. He wants God to prove Himself.

He asks God to render a reward to the proud. As we will see later, the enemies of God don’t have any fear of God. They don’t believe He will do anything to them for their sin. They have treated the righteous in unspeakable ways and haven’t noticed any repercussions. The Psalmist wants that to change.

It is a normal thing for a believer to look forward to the coming of Christ and the establishment of the kingdom of God. We should desire that. We should want God to reveal himself. We should desire the return of Jesus. It seems to me the Psalmist is praying in the way Jesus taught His disciples to pray. He taught them to pray “Thy Kingdom come….” Do we anticipate the coming of Christ? DO we look forward to it? We should look forward to the coming of Jesus because we desire the God of justice to establish His perfect kingdom on earth.

2. An observation of the wicked (3-7).

A. A question is asked (3-4).

He wants to know how long the wicked will be able to continue celebrating victory and pouring out their vile speech. That is a common question in Scripture and in life. From our perspective it is puzzling as to why God allows wickedness to continue. We shouldn’t expect an answer to that question. If we knew the answer we would know when Jesus was returning. But we do know why God allows wickedness to continue. He allows it to continue because He is patient. He bears with the wicked because He alone knows the severity of the horrible eternity that awaits them if they do not repent.

B. The wicked attack the righteous (5).

The Psalmist tells God how the wicked are treating His people. This is a good model of prayer. When the Jewish people were under the oppression of the Egyptians, they told the Lord about it. He heard their cry and rescued them (Exodus 2:24). We should pray for the persecuted church. We should pray for godly people who are attacked by the ungodly. Tell the Lord what the devil’s children are doing to His children. As we see our own government and nation growing more opposed to godliness, we should bring this to the attention of God.

C. The wicked take advantage of the weak (6).

There are three groups of disadvantaged people mentioned in verse 6.

The widow. Widows were especially vulnerable in Biblical times. It was difficult for a woman to survive or even own/inherit property without the aid of a man. God gave specific instructions in both the Old and New Testaments to protect widows. The wicked don’t care. They kill the widows.

The Stranger. This would be a foreigner. He was an alien from another land. He would likely be alone and would not have the rights of citizens. This made him vulnerable. Like the widow, God gave special instructions to protect the alien in the land as well (Lev. 19:34). We started a Hispanic church in Florida. It was eye opening to see how some of the migrant workers were treated. It was not uncommon for them to be robbed and beaten because it was believed they were undocumented and therefore they would not report the crime to the police.

The orphans. Children in ancient times were at great risk. Orphans were especially vulnerable. The Psalmist mentions that orphans were murdered. With no one to plead their case their deaths were possible unnoticed.

D. The wicked do not fear God (7). We see why the wicked do such awful thing sin verse 7. They don’t believe God knows what they do. Does this mean they were atheistic? Does it mean they had a low view of God that caused them to believe God does not know what they are doing?

I think it means they had a low view of Israel’s God. They believed their own pagan god to be greater than Israel’s God. Bad theology makes one bold in their sin. If your view of God is low, it will affect the way you live your life.

3. A warning to the wicked (8-11).

A. The wicked are foolish (8).

The Psalmist calls the wicked “brutish”. This word is used to describe the intelligence of animals. The wicked are senseless. He then asks them a question, “When will you be wise?” In other words, “When will you learn how foolish you are?”

The Psalmist has grown frustrated with the wicked. He is at his wits end. In his mind it doesn’t make sense they would continue in their ungodliness. It seems the hope of these people coming to their senses is fading. The evidence points to the possibility that these men will not learn their lesson until it is too late.

B. God is omniscient (9-11).

The Psalmist asks a series of question to show the foolishness of the wicked. They believe the Lord is not aware of their sin and these questions illustrate the absurdity of their belief.

He that planteth the ear, shall He not hear?

He that formed the eye, shall He not see?

He that teacheth man knowledge, shall He not know?

God is the source of hearing, seeing and all knowledge. God would have to be blind, deaf, and dumb not to know what the wicked are doing. Of course, He isn’t. God knows, sees, and hears everything. He is omniscient.

C. God is not mocked.

There is a question I skipped. The Psalmist asks “He that chastiseth the heathen, shall He not correct? “God has promised to punish sin. The wages of sin is death and people have been dying ever since the Garden of Eden. God has promised that whatsoever a person sows that shall they also reap. This has been demonstrated throughout history. If the wicked would take time to study the history of Israel, they would see that God has redeemed the nation and punished her enemies many times over. Whether they were Egyptians, Moabites, Canaanites or Philistines, the Lord has brought judgment upon the ungodly. These wicked men should not think they will be the exception to the rule.

4. Encouragement for the righteous (12-15).

A. The blessedness of belonging to God (12-13).

God chastens or disciplines the believer through his Law. When the believer begins to act like the wicked the Lord, through His Word, instructs the child of God. When the believer repents and obeys the Word he is met with spiritual rest and rescue from temptation.

Christians are not perfect. We are far from it. The difference between us and a lost world is we belong to God. When you belong to God, He doesn’t give up on you. When you stray, the Lord will pursue you. He will bring conviction through His Word and His Spirit. While that can be painful it is above all a wonderful blessing.

B. The patience of God (13).

Verse 13 shows that there is a pit that will be dug for the wicked. It’s only a matter of time until they fall into it. The little word “until” is important for the believer. We keep going. We press on. We persevere until that day when the Lord swallows up the wicked.

God isn’t taking His time because He doesn’t love us. He is taking His time because He pities the wicked. That truth should encourage us.

C. The goodness of God (14-15).

We have a beautiful promise in verse 14. The Lord will not cast off His people! He will not forsake His inheritance!

Everything we are and everything we have in Christ is safe. It cannot be taken. We are joint heirs with Jesus.

The righteous will experience justice. The Judge of the earth will make sure of that. The upright in heart follow after justice and they will find it. God is good and therefore His judgment will be.

5. The faithfulness of God (16-19).

A. The impotence of man (16).

The Psalmists asks who can rise up for him against the wicked. He asks who can stand for him against the evil doers.

Does the Psalmist mean that the world is filled with so much evil than no man is willing to stand with him against the evil?

Does he mean that because of the power of the wicked no man is able to stand with him?

Either way we interpret it we see that the Psalmist cannot get the help he needs from man. He needs divine help to overcome the wicked. What can man do to man? We don’t have the power or the knowledge to rightfully judge. The wicked must be stopped and the wicked must be held accountable. Man is unable to accomplish either of those two tasks.

B. God has kept him (17-18).

The Psalmist recognizes he would have been dead by now if the Lord had not protected him. He uses poetic language. He says he would “dwell in the land of silence (the grave) and his “foot would slip” (symbolic of falling to one’s death).

It was only by the mercy of God the Psalmist was alive. The context suggests the enemies of the Lord want him dead. They have likely attempted to take his life. He wasn’t spared because of his own strength or intelligence. The Lord had mercy upon him.

If you look closely, you can see the Psalmist felt at some point very close to death. As his foot was slipping the mercy of the Lord caught him.

The keeping mercy of God is a blessing we should not overlook. God keeps us from more than we know. Perhaps we have endured much suffering in life. But the believer can be assured that despite the amount of suffering he/she has endured he/she has been kept from much more. God is faithful.

C. God has encouraged him (19).

When the Psalmist thinks of all the horrible things that surround him his imagination runs wild. It is only human to think of the possibilities of evil in this world. Sometimes those thoughts keep us awake at night. The Psalmist was not immune to that.

When the cares of this world created anxiety in the Psalmists heart the Lord comforted him. He sent delight to his soul. He stirred him with the joy of the Lord. It is a wonderful truth that God is able to cause worry to be swallowed up by worship in a moment. When the devil threatens us all we have to do is remember what the Lord has promised us. The supernatural power of the Word of God is put to test when sorrow fills the believers heart. Many a saint has witnessed the miraculous power of the Word of God when it has transformed their trial into a smile.

6. Contrast between the righteous and the wicked (20-23).

A. The wicked cannot be allied with God (20-21).

The throne of iniquity refers to wicked rulers. Rulers who rule with injustice cannot be in league with God. They would be unequally yoked. They condemn the righteous and the innocent. Their unjust actions prove they are in opposition to the Judge of all the earth.

We have rulers today who claim to serve God with their lips. Yet their actions prove they are not on the same side as God. You cannot legalize the murder of the unborn and be at peace with God. You cannot legalize homosexual marriage and be at peace with God. God does not separate action from the heart. The wicked cannot be allied with God unless they repent and trust Christ.

B. The Lord is a refuge to His people (22).

The Lord Himself is the defense of the righteous. He is the refuge they enter and find protection. Verse 22 is the answer to the question asked in verse 16. God’s people have no reason to fear the wicked or fear His justice. We are protected in Christ from both.

C. The Lord brings vengeance on the wicked (23).

Two times in verse 23 the Psalmist says the Lord will cut off, or wipe out, the wicked. Their sin will find them out. They will be held accountable for their ungodliness. The great judge of the earth will bring out each particular sin that each individual has committed. He will not overlook a single one. Justice will be served.

Jesus tells us that He will be the Judge at the end of days (John 5:22). Psalm 2 says we should Kiss the Son lest He be angry, and we perish. The only peace the wicked can find is to appeal to the judge while there is time. Christ has paid the price for our sins. He has invited us to Himself. The Judge had paid the fine the criminal owes. Think of how much worse it is for the sinner to reject Christ now. When you reject Christ, you are rejecting not only the One who can save you, but you are rejecting the One who will judge you as well.

The Judge of the earth is gentle if you approach Him in faith and repentance while on this earth. He is harsh if you approach Him in your sins on judgment day.