Embrace the Word for Friday, July 24, 2026
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Psalm 94 appeals to the LORD to enact His justice on the wicked. While Psalm 94 does not provide a superscription, the assumption is that the Psalms in Book 4 of the Psalter are addressed to a defeated and exiled nation. Hope was introduced at the outset of Book 4 with Psalm 90 consisting of Moses’ intercessory prayer. From there, Psalm 91 promised victory, Psalm 92 spoke of victory achieved, and Psalm 93 celebrated the LORD’s reign over all. Continuing this sequence, Psalm 94 calls upon the LORD to visit justice upon the wicked. In this context, the wicked are the ones who have devastated Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, and carried off many of the Israelites to experience Babylonian captivity. The generation who experienced all of these things, truly experienced what today would be called trauma, as the nation was defeated and left in ruins: “Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon…And [Nebuzaradan] burned the house of the LORD and the king’s house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. And all the army of the Chaldeans…broke down the walls around Jerusalem. And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile” (See 2 Kings 25:6-11). This historical description helps to provide a glimpse of understanding to the strong pleas for justice expressed in Psalm 94. There are several links between Psalm 94 and Psalm 93 as common words are used in each Psalm. Psalm 94 begins and concludes with a prayer concerning justice for the wicked (94:1-7, 16-23), and in between there is a section that is addressed to the wicked (94:8-11), as well as a section that is addressed to the righteous (94:12-15).
Psalm 94 begins with an urgent call for the LORD to execute His vengeance: “O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth! Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!” (94:1-2). The Psalmist appeals to the LORD, that is, the God with whom he lives in a covenant arrangement with. Some of the arrangements of the covenant include protection from and even the destruction of their enemies. As such, the LORD is a God of vengeance. This in no way suggests that the LORD is an unstable hothead, who is arbitrary and vindictive for petty and personal reasons; but He is righteous and enacts just retribution against those who have offended His holiness. Further, the LORD, the God of vengeance is the judge over all the earth. The Psalmist, who is responding to the severe wrongs that he and his nation have personally experienced, is not taking matters into his own hands, but appealing to the judge who has stated, “Vengeance is mine…For the LORD will vindicate his people” (See Deuteronomy 32:35-36). And what the Psalmist is urgently asking is that the LORD would “shine forth,” “rise up,” and “repay” the wicked, that is, show Yourself to actively give back to the wicked what they have done to others. The Psalmist trusts that the LORD will deal with the wicked, but he does wonder when the LORD will do it: “O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?” (94:3).
The Psalmist focuses on the wicked for just a moment. First, the Psalmist highlights the demeanor of the wicked: “They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast” (94:4). The Psalmist has already referred to the wicked as being “proud” (94:2), who “exult” or gloat over their wicked devises; and now he touches on this further by stating that their words gush with confidence as they incessantly brag about their evil shenanigans. The wicked seem fairly easy to detect, for they delight in describing their mean and harmful escapades. Second, the Psalmist highlights the actions of the wicked: “They crush your people, O LORD, and afflict your heritage. They kill the widow and the sojourner, and murder the fatherless” (94:5-6). The actions of the wicked are terrifying. They crush, afflict, and murder, particularly zeroing in on the most vulnerable segments of society. Finally, the Psalmist highlights the reasoning of the wicked: “and they say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob does not perceive” (94:7). What empowers the wicked, and they actually say it out loud, is that they believe that are escaping God’s notice. Perhaps this notion is even some of what they gloat over and brag about, as they are of the opinion that God neither sees nor understands what is going on.
The Psalmist speaks directly to the wicked as he orients them to grasp that actually, the LORD is very aware of what they are doing: “Understand, O dullest of the people! Fools, when will you be wise?” (94:8). The wicked believed that the the LORD was unaware of what they were doing. As it turns out, the LORD was not clueless; they were! The term “dullest” is actually the same term used in Psalm 92:6 as “stupid.” They were the ones who did not understand. The wicked were sure and confident, to hear them tell it, but actually they were completely lacking in wisdom. It should come as no surprise that the wicked are truly foolish, for with their wrong view of God, there was nothing in then that desired wisdom. As the Psalmist starts with addressing them as fools, he continues with an attempt to instruct them: “He who planted the ear, does he not hear? He who formed the eye, does he not see? He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke? He who teaches man knowledge—the LORD—knows the thoughts of man, that they are but a breath” (94:9-11). The Psalmist attempts to offer instruction through a series of rhetorical questions that emphasize that God is all-seeing, all-knowing, ever-instructing, and ever-evaluating man. The Psalmist ends with a sobering reminder that for the wicked, life is fleeting. The Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of all things, would soon render a judgment and their life would be brought to an end.
In contrast to the Psalmist’s words to the wicked, are the words he speaks to the LORD’s people: “Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD, and whom you teach out of your law, to give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked. For the LORD will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage; for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it” (94:12-15). Making a connection to the start of Psalm 1, the Psalmist declares that His people have been enabled to enjoy the favor that God bestows upon them. While this may sound unusual, such enjoyment comes through the training and instruction provided in the context of affliction. The actions of the wicked are designed to destroy, but the LORD has an altogether different purpose that He accomplishes through the affliction that the wicked carry out. When the training is complete, the day will come when the classroom of affliction will conclude in a restful peace. In the meantime, the LORD will not forsake His people as He sustains them until such time that he vindicates them in righteousness.
The Psalmist turns back to the LORD once again in prayer: “Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers? If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul” (94:16-19). The Psalmist knows that the LORD will rise up against the wicked as well as vindicate His people, but he longs for the LORD to do it immediately. Nevertheless, the Psalmist is confident that even while the wicked are allowed to carry on, the LORD will be his help to preserve his life, hold him from slipping as he navigates dangerous terrain, and give comfort and consolation to him.
As the Psalmist concludes, he reassures himself that the LORD will not ally with the wicked: “Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute? They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death” (94:20-21). The Psalmist knows the answer to his question—the LORD will not form an alliance with the wicked, for they strive for everything that the LORD is against. Therefore, the Psalmist confesses who the LORD is to him: “But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge” (94:22). Thus, the Psalmist is confident that the LORD will implement His vengeance: “He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the LORD our God will wipe them out” (94:23). The Psalmist doesn’t know when, but he knows that the LORD will repay the wicked in due time. As he waits, the Psalmist focuses on the LORD.
As we reflect on Psalm 94, we can consider the role that the Lord Jesus Christ will play in carrying out vengeance upon the wicked. While there is no being in all of creation who is more full of love than God, we must not adopt warped views of love that reduce love down to simply being nice. It is common today to hear it suggested that while there was wrath and vengeance in the Old Testament, those notions are now surpassed by the revelation of Jesus who moves us beyond such ancient concepts. In their delusional minds, Jesus has come and He is just nice—He dismisses all violations of God’s law and permits all perversions against God’s designs. Any and everything goes with the nice version of Jesus that many have created from their own imaginations. But we should not be fooled by the false versions of Jesus. The Jesus revealed through the Bible currently offers a pathway of repentance and faith that we might follow Him as our LORD. But this loving offer will expire when He returns. When He returns, all who are opposed to Him will face His vengeance: “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (See 2 Thessalonians 1:7b-8).
That’s all for Embrace the Word for Friday, July 24, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Monday, July 27, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 95.