Psalm 94:1-7 ESV
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!
O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
how long
shall the wicked exult?
They pour out their arrogant words;
all the
evildoers boast.
They crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict
your heritage.
They kill the widow and the sojourner,
and murder
the fatherless;
and they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of
Jacob does not perceive.”
A Cry for Mercy
Oh, how very much I get this!
This is the cry of the afflicted, asking God for deliverance from the power and
the oppression of the wicked. This is a heart cry to God for mercy, for relief
from suffering. But, it is much more than that. It is a cry for God to deliver
from the influences of the wicked over the righteous, too, and for him to
expose the wicked deeds of those who pretend to be righteous but who are
leading God’s people astray.
For, there are two ways in
which the wicked are presently assailing God’s people, the church. One is
through physical persecution, literally killing people because of their faith
in Jesus Christ or severely persecuting them physically, verbally, mentally, emotionally
and spiritually.
This persecution may come
through false accusations, firing people from jobs, denying them the basic
necessities of life, falsely imprisoning them, raping them, stealing from them
their personal properties, and via destruction of their property. Or, it may come
through harassment, much like the Pharisees did to Jesus where they were
constantly on his trail trying to find a way to accuse him and/or to trip him
up with his words, etc.
The other way in which the
wicked are assailing God’s people is through deception, i.e. through wolves in
sheep’s clothing who are pretending to be servants of righteousness when they
are not. They are liars and deceivers who take advantage of the weak and the naïve.
They are in positions of
shepherding the people of God via the pastorate in churches or via the
governments of the people or via the media or via educational institutions.
And, they are leading people astray in very large numbers, at least here in
America they are. And, they do feel a sense of empowerment because God has not
yet judged them for their wickedness.
Psalm 94:8-11 ESV
Understand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when
will you be wise?
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.
Dull of Hearing
I believe these words can
speak truth both to the wicked who are assailing God’s people and to the people
of God who are being influenced by the wicked to stray from their pure devotion
to Jesus Christ. Either way, this is speaking to people who are being dull of
hearing and who are walking in ways which are unwise.
I see so many people who
claim to be followers of Christ following after the lies and after the ways of
the flesh and after the ways of the world and of man. I was there once, too, so
I know. I bought into the lies and the deception and I was once led astray, too,
but God in his love and mercy brought me back. Amen! All glory to God!
Now my heart aches to see so
many people fall under the deception of the evil one and to be walking in ways
which are contrary to God and to His Word. But, not all fall under deception
because they are naïve to the ways of the world and of the wicked. Many go
after the ways of the flesh even knowing that they are doing wrong, and even
knowing that they have the power in Christ to do what is right. And, that is
heartbreaking.
Psalm 94:12-15 ESV
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.
Justice Will Return
True justice may not come
until our Lord returns for his bride and he comes to judge the people of this
world. But, sometimes he does bring justice to situations in the here and now,
and he does relieve the afflicted from their suffering even in this life. We
just have to learn to wait on the Lord for him to do what his will desires, for
our timing is not his timing.
We have to have a God
perspective about our suffering, too. I don’t know anyone who literally enjoys
suffering, though we are to rejoice in our suffering, for we are counted worthy
to suffer injustice for the sake of Christ, our Lord. We need to understand
that through suffering (God’s discipline) we grow in our faith, we mature in
Christ, and God is making us holy, and he is conforming us to the likeness of
His Son, Jesus Christ.
Through suffering we learn
patience, endurance, hope, faithfulness, discipline for the soul, and
dependence on God alone. And, we learn to rest in our Lord and to trust him and
to believe him for all things, rather than have a “my do it” approach to life’s
circumstances.
When we are afflicted, and
when hope is deferred, we may feel as though God has abandoned us, but he has
not. If we are in Christ Jesus, by genuine faith in him, then our Lord is
living within us in the person of the Holy Spirit. So, we are never left alone.
God is not asleep, either. He
knows what is going on, and he knows what we need, and he will supply. We just
have to keep resting in him and not become anxious because what we hope for has
not yet taken place.
Psalm 94:16-23 ESV
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.
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.
But the Lord has become my stronghold,
and my God
the rock of my refuge.
He will bring back on them their iniquity
and wipe
them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our
God will wipe them out.
My God, My Refuge
Oh, how I get this, too! If
the Lord had not been my help and my sustenance, I don’t think I would even
still be here. Certainly I would not be where I am now doing what I am doing
for his glory, in obedience to him.
I think sometimes, when the
wicked and the deceived are assailing us who are the Lord’s, that we think God
is not coming to our defense if we do not get immediate relief from our
suffering, and if it lingers for a long period of time, especially.
But, the Lord never promised
us full relief from suffering in this life. In fact, he promised us the
opposite. He was quite clear in his messages concerning what it would cost us
to follow him. He didn’t gloss it over as many are doing today. He told it
plainly. It means death. It means death to sin and self and living to
righteousness. And, it means we will be hated, persecuted, abused, abandoned,
falsely accused, etc. It means we will be treated as Jesus was.
But, he does bring us relief,
comfort, encouragement and hope in other ways. He has given us his spiritual
armor with which to fight off Satan’s evil attacks against us, which often come
through evil people (Eph. 6:10-20). And, when we obey him, and we rest in him,
he fills us with his peace, joy, songs of rejoicing in him, and hope.
He strengthens us and
empowers us to remain strong and steadfast even in the face of great suffering.
So, we can walk in victory even when still being assailed by the wicked. We
just have to keep turning our situations over to him, believing him to work out
all things according to his plans and purposes.
And, we must love our
enemies, do good to those who hate us, bless those who curse us, and pray for
those who mistreat us (Lu. 6:27-28).
My Sheep
An Original Work / June 24, 2012
Based off John 10:1-18 NIV
My sheep hear me. They know me.
They listen to my voice and obey.
I call them and lead them.
They know my voice, so they follow me.
They will never follow strangers.
They will run away from them.
The voice of a stranger they know not;
They do not follow him.
So, I tell you the truth that
I am the gate, so you enter in.
Whoever does enter
Will find forgiveness and will be
saved.
Nonetheless whoever enters
Not by the gate; other way,
He is the thief and a robber.
Listen not, the sheep to him.
Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,
Who laid his own life down for the
sheep.
I know them. They know me.
They will live with me eternally.
The thief only comes to steal and
Kill and to destroy the church.
I have come to give you life that
You may have it to the full…
They know my voice, so they follow me.
Thursday, August 23, 2018 –
Thank You, Jesus, for these encouraging words. Thank You for being my refuge
and my strength to help me. Amen!
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