Who stands up for me against the wicked? Who takes a stand for me against evildoers? If the Lord had not been my helper, I would soon rest in the silence of death. If I say, “My foot is slipping,” your faithful love will support me, Lord. When I am filled with cares, your comfort brings me joy. Psalm 94:16-19
Psalms 94-100 offer a majestic confession of faith in and hope for the kingdom of God earth. These hymns were composed for the liturgy of a high religious festival in which the kingship of the Lord – over cosmic order, over the nations and in a special sense over Israel – was annually celebrated. And implicitly, where not explicitly, the Lord’s kingship is hailed in contrast to the claims of all other gods; he is the “the great King above all gods” (Psalm 95:3). Psalms 93-100 may all have been composed by temple personnel and spoke by them in the liturgy. They probably date from the preexilic era.
Psalm 94 is an appeal to Lord, as “Judge of the earth” (v. 2) to redress the wrongs perpetrated against the weak by arrogant and wicked men who occupy seats of power. The psalm has links with Psalm 92, but is the voice of the oppressed within Israel (thus not the king), seeking redress at God’s throne for injustices done them by those smugly established in the power structures of the nation. Thus it is unique within the Psalms 92-100 collection.
LORD, God of vengeance —
God of vengeance, shine!
Rise up, Judge of the earth;
repay the proud what they deserve.
LORD, how long will the wicked —
how long will the wicked celebrate?
They pour out arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.
LORD, they crush your people;
they oppress your heritage.
They kill the widow and the resident alien
and murder the fatherless.
They say, “The LORD doesn’t see it.
The God of Jacob doesn’t pay attention.”
Pay attention, you stupid people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
Can the one who shaped the ear not hear,
the one who formed the eye not see?
The one who instructs nations,
the one who teaches mankind knowledge —
does he not discipline?
The LORD knows the thoughts of mankind;
they are futile.
LORD, how happy is anyone you discipline
and teach from your law
to give him relief from troubled times
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
The LORD will not leave his people
or abandon his heritage,
for the administration of justice will again be righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
Who stands up for me against the wicked?
Who takes a stand for me against evildoers?
If the LORD had not been my helper,
I would soon rest in the silence of death.
If I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your faithful love will support me, LORD.
When I am filled with cares,
your comfort brings me joy.
Can a corrupt throne be your ally,
a throne that makes evil laws?
They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.
But the LORD is my refuge;
my God is the rock of my protection.
He will pay them back for their sins
and destroy them for their evil.
The LORD our God will destroy them. Psalm 94:1-23
The whole point of this entire psalm and today’s passage taken from it specifically is that God is a just judge. And that if we are looking for justice and redress for the wrongs that have been to us there is no better place to turn than to God. Peter tells us this in 1 Peter 5:6-7: “Humble yourselves, therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you”. Which echoes the words that Jesus spoke in Matthew 11:28-30:
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
If you are burdened with a sense of injustice and a need for the redress of the wrongs done to you, then take it Jesus. Quit trying to solve all the wrongs and injustices that have been to you yourself and let the only just judge there is take care of it. Because when you let go of your need for solving all the injustices done to you, then you will truly find rest for your sou.