Psalms

Psalms 94: God judges and upholds His people

Begin in prayer

Before we hear the cry against cruel rulers, let us remember the Lord who sees every wrong and holds His people in mercy. Let us seek mercy through Jesus and place every wrong before the Lord who sees and upholds His people.

Yahweh, your God, is among you, a mighty one who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will calm you in his love. He will rejoice over you with singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word, and help us to see Christ. Show us that God sees every wrong and gives His people mercy and comfort while He judges the wicked. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

The singer calls the God of vengeance to shine out and repay proud oppressors who boast while crushing His people. They kill the widow, foreigner and fatherless, thinking the God of Jacob will never see. The Maker of ears and eyes hears, sees and knows the emptiness of their thoughts. Those He disciplines and teaches receive rest while judgment is prepared, because He will not forsake His inheritance. Remembered help kept the singer from death, and God's kindness and comforts held him when his foot slipped and his thoughts multiplied. Wicked rulers make injustice into law and condemn innocent blood, yet the Lord remains His servant's refuge and will cut them off in their wickedness.

As you read Psalms 94, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

The LORD sees every wrong, cuts off the wicked and upholds His people with faithful mercy and comfort.

Calling God the One to whom vengeance belongs places the plea for repayment before the Judge who sees the proud men's crimes. The widow, foreigner and fatherless were especially exposed to power, making their killing a cruel assault on people who lacked ordinary protection. His making of ears and eyes answers their claim that He cannot see, since the Creator knows what His creatures try to hide. The God who disciplines nations will punish wrong, and His teaching gives rest to the person He forms by His law. The pit awaiting the wicked gives that rest a horizon, joined to His promise never to reject His people or forsake His inheritance. Remembered rescue from silence means preservation from death, and the held foot pictures loving kindness supporting the servant who is losing his footing. God's comforts bring delight amid multiplying thoughts, giving inward help as well as outward refuge. The throne making mischief by statute describes corrupt authority using law to condemn the innocent, which cannot share fellowship with the righteous God. God brings their iniquity upon them and will cut them off, so the Rock of refuge also judges their cruelty.

How does Psalm 94 show us that the LORD sees every wrong, cuts off the wicked and upholds His people with faithful mercy and comfort?

God sees the wrongs proud oppressors think they have hidden.

The wicked kill vulnerable people while claiming the Lord takes no notice. The God who formed eyes and ears sees and hears. Their boast cannot conceal a deed or thought from the Judge they have dismissed.

God teaches and comforts His people without forsaking them.

The servant receives instruction through discipline while judgment waits for the wicked. Remembered kindness held his slipping foot and comforts delighted his crowded mind. The same Lord promises to keep His inheritance, giving a troubled person ground to rest.

God rejects corrupt rule and cuts off those who condemn the innocent.

A statute cannot make cruelty right before the Lord. The wicked throne gathers against innocent life, while the singer finds a rock of refuge in God. His final confidence is that God will repay the oppressors and cut them off in their own wickedness.

Memorise

For Yahweh won’t reject his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.

Psalm 94:14

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what wrong am I hiding from others while Jesus sees my heart?

The singer remembers, “Your loving kindness, Yahweh, held me up.” Cruel rulers had made injustice into law, yet the Lord remained his refuge. The God who sees every crime would bring the wicked's own iniquity back upon them.

Our hidden sins also lie open before that righteous Judge. Jesus gave His life as a ransom for His people, suffering the punishment their guilt deserved. The Father raised Him from death. Nothing remains unanswered in the judgment against His people, because His completed saving work has fully secured their forgiveness and peace.

Turn from the wrongs you have concealed and rely on Jesus for pardon. All who come to Him receive forgiveness. Bring Him your crowded thoughts and the wounds of unjust treatment, asking for His comfort. The Lord's mercy holds His people and His justice will cut off the wicked, giving believers reason to seek truth without despair.

Parent's note

Tell your children that God sees every wrong and gives His people mercy and comfort while He judges the wicked. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God that He sees every wrong and upholds His people while judging the wicked. Bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

Nevertheless I tell you the truth: It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I don’t go away, the Counselor won’t come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. When he has come, he will convict the world about sin, about righteousness, and about judgment;

John 16:7-8

God of justice, please expose the sins we have hidden and bring us to Jesus for forgiveness. Thank You that His finished work has secured peace for His people. Defend those suffering under cruel and corrupt rule. Comfort crowded minds, hold slipping feet and teach us to trust the mercy that never forsakes Your inheritance. Judge the wicked in righteousness. Amen.