Psalm 94

Vengeance Belongs Only to God

 

Psalm 94:19 is one of my favorite verses in the Bible!  Have you ever felt anxious, or been plagued with anxiety?  Feel like your feet are slipping, like you are out of control?  Commit Psalm 94:19 to memory, hide it in your heart, and say those words aloud each time you feel a cloud of anxiety blowing over you.

 



In the multitude of my anxieties with me,
Your comforts delight my soul.
~ Ps. 94:19

Psalm 94 was penned when the church of God was oppressed, and it is an appeal to God for His people against His and their enemies.  We are reminded in verse 1 that vengeance belongs to the Lord!  When we avenge ourselves, we are trying to take God's place.  He has reserved for Himself the right to repay evil!

 

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather, give place to wrath; for it is written,

'Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. 

~ Rom. 12:19

 

We are reminded in this passage in Romans to do GOOD to those who wrong us . . . for the express purpose of 'heaping coals on his head" to melt him into repentance and friendship.  Easy to say, hard to do, right!



Another wonderful verse is Ps. 94:12:  

Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O Lord,

And teach out of Your law. 

Some Bible translations translate "chasten" with "instruct" - as Job says,

 Happy is the man whom God corrects; therefore, do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.

~Job. 5:17



How well do you respond to God's "pruning shears?

May we take heed to learn from the lessons God is trying to teach us, often through difficulties and trials.  As Matthew Henry notes: 

When God chastens His children, He will teach them, and blessed is the man who is thus taken under a divine discipline, for none teaches  like God. 

Don't waste your pain!  If you are going through a difficult trial, search for the purpose God has in allowing it in your life.  

Psalm 94 is rich with truth to claim . . . I love this verse too:

The Lord has been my defense,

and my God the rock of my refuge.  

~ Ps. 94:22  

Have you ever been wronged and just wished for someone to stand up for you, to vouch for you?  Remember how grateful you are when someone comes to your defense?  Hide verse 22 in your heart for these times, and ask the Lord to defend you.

WHAT CAN I LEARN ABOUT GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• Vengeance belongs to the Lord
• God knows my thoughts
• The Lord sees
• God instructs me out of His word
• God gives me rest from adversity
• The Lord is my help and comforter
• God's mercy upholds me
• God is my defense
• God is the rock of my refuge

HOW CAN I PRAISE GOD THROUGH THIS PSALM:

• I bless the Lord that, in my anxieties, His comforts delight my soul
• I praise God that I can leave my enemies to His tending - that He is my defense and refuge . . . at all times
• I praise the Lord that He chastens & instructs those He loves
• I praise the Lord that His mercy upholds me

PRAYER:

     O Lord, as I read Your word this day and contemplate the truths it holds, my heart is full of joy & peace that my enemies are in Your hand.  That You are my defense and the rock of my refuge.  Thank You, O Lord, for the safety and security in that truth.  May I live victoriously through it, and not try to exact my own revenge upon my enemies.  I pray that I would learn to do good to those who persecute me, reacting with a Godly response and not out of my flesh.

     How I bless You, Father, that if my foot slips, I am upheld by your mercy.  That in the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul.  What lovingkindness You show to me, O Lord.  May I find rest in that truth and cease the strivings in my soul. 

     Make my heart moldable to Your instruction, O God.  I long to learn those things You have for me, and pray that my heart would be soft to receive all things.  In Christ's name I pray ~ Amen