# Psalm 94 📖: The God Who Avenges
[[📚 Explore the Bible Books]]
[[-Psalm Overview]] | [[Psalm 93]] | [[Psalm 95]]
> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#💬 Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#📂 Internal Notes]]
## 📜 Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
[[#Verse 01.]] O Lord, the God who avenges!
O God who avenges, reveal your splendor.
[[#Verse 02.]] Rise up, O judge of the earth.
Pay back the proud.
[[#Verse 03.]] O Lord, how long will the wicked,
how long will the wicked celebrate?
[[#Verse 04.]] They spew out threats and speak defiantly;
all the evildoers boast.
[[#Verse 05.]] O Lord, they crush your people;
they oppress the nation that belongs to you.
[[#Verse 06.]] They kill the widow and the resident foreigner,
and they murder the fatherless.
[[#Verse 07.]] Then they say, “The Lord does not see this;
the God of Jacob does not take notice of it.”
[[#Verse 08.]] Take notice of this, you ignorant people.
You fools, when will you ever understand?
[[#Verse 09.]] Does the one who makes the human ear not hear?
Does the one who forms the human eye not see?
[[#Verse 10.]] Does the one who disciplines the nations not punish?
He is the one who imparts knowledge to human beings!
[[#Verse 11.]] The Lord knows that peoples’ thoughts
are morally bankrupt.
[[#Verse 12.]] How blessed is the one whom you instruct, O Lord,
the one whom you teach from your law,
[[#Verse 13.]] in order to protect him from times of trouble,
until the wicked are destroyed.
[[#Verse 14.]] Certainly the Lord does not forsake his people;
he does not abandon the nation that belongs to him.
[[#Verse 15.]] For justice will prevail,
and all the morally upright will be vindicated.
[[#Verse 16.]] Who will rise up to defend me against the wicked?
Who will stand up for me against the evildoers?
[[#Verse 17.]] If the Lord had not helped me,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
[[#Verse 18.]] If I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your loyal love, O Lord, supports me.
[[#Verse 19.]] When worries threaten to overwhelm me,
your soothing touch makes me happy.
[[#Verse 20.]] Cruel rulers are not your allies,
those who make oppressive laws.
[[#Verse 21.]] They conspire against the blameless,
and condemn to death the innocent.
[[#Verse 22.]] But the Lord will protect me,
and my God will shelter me.
[[#Verse 23.]] He will pay them back for their sin.
He will destroy them because of their evil;
the Lord our God will destroy them.
## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall.
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Psalm 94 has no Hebrew heading.
2. In the Mishnah (Tamid 7:4), it was the psalm sung by the Levites on Wednesdays.
3. God is called "God of vengeance" (94:1), meaning the One who rightly brings justice, not personal spite.
4. The wicked think God does not see (94:7), and the psalm answers with the logic that the Creator of eyes and ears must see and hear (94:9).
5. Paul quotes 94:11 in 1 Corinthians 3:20 to show that human wisdom is futile apart from God.
6. The victims named are widows, foreigners, and orphans (94:6), the groups God's law protects most.
7. The psalm moves from public lament (94:1-7) to wisdom teaching (94:8-15) to personal testimony (94:16-23).
8. Verse 14 promises that the Lord will not abandon His people or His inheritance (compare 1 Samuel 12:22).
9. "Rock of my refuge" (94:22) is a common image for God's strength and protection.
10. The psalm is placed among the enthronement psalms because the King of the earth is also its Judge (94:2).
## 🧠 Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the Judge of the earth who will make all things right (94:2). God has given all judgment to the Son (John 5:22), and He is also the One who comforts us when our foot slips (94:18; 2 Corinthians 1:5).
## 🔎 Key Principles / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## 💬 Discussion Questions
1. The psalmist asks, "How long will the wicked celebrate?" (94:3). How do you keep trusting God when justice seems delayed?
2. God disciplines and teaches those He loves (94:12). How have you seen God's discipline as a blessing?
3. When anxiety multiplied, God's comfort brought joy (94:19). What comforts from God do you hold onto when you are anxious?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- 📖 verse 9: The One who made the ear certainly hears, and the One who formed the eye certainly sees.
- 📖 verse 18: When I said my foot was slipping, the Lord's loyal love held me up.
- 📖 verse 19: When worries multiply within me, God's comfort brings me joy.
## 🔗 Related Passages/Cross Reference
- 🔗 [[Deuteronomy 32#Verse 35.|Deuteronomy 32:35]] - Vengeance belongs to the Lord.
- 🔗 [[Romans 12#Verse 19.|Romans 12:19]] - Leave room for God's wrath.
- 🔗 [[1 Corinthians 03#Verse 20.|1 Corinthians 3:20]] - The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise are futile.
- 🔗 [[Hebrews 12#Verse 05.|Hebrews 12:5-11]] - The Lord disciplines those He loves.
- 🔗 [[John 05#Verse 22.|John 5:22]] - The Father has given all judgment to the Son.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
📝 SOAP: [[Psalm 94- SOAP|God’s Justice Will Come]]
## 📂 Internal Notes