Exposition on Psalm 94

Psalm 94: A Message of Hope Amidst Strife

The Psalmist converses with God about sinners.

The Psalmist asks God how long before vengeance is taken on the wicked.

God is asked to come forth and take action.

God is asked how long he will allow the wicked to rule.

The acts of the wicked are pronounced.

They speak arrogantly.

They crush the people.

They murder widows, strangers, and orphans.

They ignore the possibility of the wrath of God.

The Psalmist addresses sinners regarding God.

Sinners are asked to listen.

The author calls the sinners senseless and stupid.

The author asks to sinner to understand.

The author asks sinners to acknowledge the God of all creation.

He asks if the one who created us cannot hear, even though he created the ear.

He asks if the one who created the eye cannot see.

He implies that the Lord will rebuke the nations who do not listen.

The author proclaims that God knows the thoughts of man.

The Psalmist addresses the righteous about God.

The author addresses those that teach the law of God.

He asks God to grant the righteous relief from adversity.

He also implies that the adversity will only last until the wicked are punished.

The psalmist assures the righteous that God will not abandon them.

The coming judgment will be righteous.

The righteous will be rewarded for what is in their hearts.

The Psalmist exhalts God.

The author asks who will standup against the evildoers on his behalf.

The Lord has helped him and saved him from death.

The Lord holds up the author if he should slip.

The Lord brings solace amidst anxiety.

Consolation brings delight to the author.

B. The author asks if the righteous can be aligned with the wicked.

1. The evils ones band together against the life of the righteous.

2. They put the innocent to death.

C. The author declares that the Lord is his stronghold.

1. They Lord give the wicked what they deserve.

2. The Lord will destroy the wicked.

Psalm 94: A Message of Hope Amidst Strife

The overall message of Psalm 94 is one of hope amidst strife. In this psalm, the author addresses four different groups of people. The first group are the sinners, who wreak havoc upon the group of people to which the author belongs. Secondly, the author makes an appeal directly to God to stop the sinners from further destruction. The Third group are the righteous. The author assures them that the wicked will be punished and that the crisis will be over some day. In the fourth section of the Psalm, the author declares the Lord to be his savior and protector during the crisis that ensues. Psalm 94 presents a balanced message to several different groups of people. The following will explore the message to each of these four groups in detail.

The Book of Psalms consists of 150 chapters. Each chapters is considered to be a religious song, or chant. Psalms were meant to be canted in the temple. Two different numbering systems exist for the Psalms, depending on whether one is reading the Hebrew or Greek version. However, the differences are slight and do not interfere with the interpretation of the meanings of the Psalms in any language. Many attribute authorship of the Psalms to King David, but modern Biblical scholars now attribute them to several authors. However, scholars have identified many different approaches to study of the psalms, all of which lead to different conclusions and attributions.

Authorship of this Psalm is questionable. Herbrew sources attribute the Psalm unquestionably to King David. However, others believe that the Psalm was written before the Babylonian exile when the Balylonian army took the Jews from Judah and made them live in Babylon. However, unlike other Psalms, this one does not contain a clear introduction that provides clues as to the origins of the Psalm.

This group of Psalms belongs to the group called the "Royal Psalms" because they proclaim God as King. The message of Psalm 94 makes it clear that the societal group of which the author is a member is being persecuted and harmed by the dominant group. The group to which the author belongs is referred to as the righteous. The evil doers are numerous and represent governmental authority. The righteous are oppressed and have been for quite some time. This is what we know about the setting and time of the Psalm.

Exposition and Meaning of the Psalm

Division of the Psalm into four parts makes it necessary to address the four distinct audiences and message to those audiences. This Psalm could be viewed as four different psalms due to the fact that four different recipients of the message can be distinguished. However, when read as a whole, the four sections present a clear overall message. Therefore, all four sections of Psalm 94 will be considered to be an entire work, rather than four distinct Psalms. This research will support the thesis that Psalm 94 should be viewed as a single work, rather than as four separate works.

Verses 1-7: The Psalmist converses with God about sinners.

In verses 1-7, the Psalmist talks to the sinners. The opening verse calls upon God to show himself. God is referred to as a God of vengeance. Therefore, it is evident that God should show himself by actions: acts of vengeance to be specific. It implores God to take action, not just stand by and watch. Major versions agree as to the translation of this verse.

However, in verse 2, not everyone agrees with the interpretation of the original text. All agree with the first part of the verse, "Rise up, O Judge of the Earth" (NKJV). This phrase does two things, it asks God to come forth. It also recognizes him as the Judge of the Earth. The second portion of this verse differs in interpretation according the Bible version being used. KJV says, "render a reward to the proud." Whereas, NKJV translates, "render punishment to the proud." These two translations are confusing, until one considers the ESV, which reads, "payback to the proud what they deserve." This translation clarifies the other translations and makes it clear that "reward" in the King James version does not necessarily refer to something good, but rather to something just.

Verse 3 asks God how long the wicked will be permitted to triumph over the righteous. Verse 4 tells the reader something about the actions of the sinners (evildoers). They speak arrogantly and boast of themselves (ESV). Verse 5 tells us something about them. We find that they break apart the people and that they harm the heritage of the people. By the people, it is clear that the author means the Jewish people and the descendants of Abraham, Jonah, and Judas. The people are oppressed by the evildoers, their cultural heritage is being harmed.

Verse 6 tells of more horrific deeds by the evildoers. They slay the widow and the fatherless (KJV, NKJV, ESV). This implies that the fathers have already been killed and that the oppressors are now down to murdering the women and children who are left. This would indicate a desire for complete genocide, not merely to end a squabble. This is a war of total conquest and domination, possibly eradication of a people. One may note that the speaker moves from minor to major, in terms of deeds. First, the evildoers speak arrogantly, then they destroy the heritage and break apart the people, by verse 6 they are murdering innocent women and children, after having apparently slain the fathers already. The author builds the reader up for the most horrific atrocities in the end.

Verse 7 is the final verse of this section of Psalm. Here, the author seems to be complaining that these terrible things are being done, yet God does not appear to see or recognize them. The speaker is questioning God and God's intentions in an indirect manner.

Verses 8-11: The Psalmist addresses sinners regarding God.

Now the Psalmist switches to addressing the evildoers directly. In verse 8, he calls them senseless, stupid brutes and asks them when they will ever understand. He does give them credit for having the capacity to understand, implying that they are intelligent, but being stubborn at the moment. Verse 9 warns the evildoers that God hears and sees all that they do. Verse 10 continues the warning, telling them that God punishes nations that act in a manner unbefitting of mankind. The Psalmist warns that God will punish the evildoers for what they continue to do.

The final phrase of verse 10 recognizes God as the source of knowledge for man. It implies that man is considerably lower than God and that without God, man would be lost and without knowledge. Versions differ between translating the Hebrew word "yacar" to mean either instruct, punish, or discipline. All are means of learning, only one is harsher than the others. When one considers the tone of the rest of this section, it would appear more appropriate to translate the word to mean discipline, or punishment for the sake of learning. This meaning would fit more with the call for vengeance in the first section of the Psalm.

Verse 11 concludes this section addressing the evildoers. Like the previous section, it summarizes the passage with a declaration of the power of God and the weakness of man. At the end of the last verse, we learned that God is the source of knowledge for man. At the end of this verse, we learn that the thoughts of man are vain, futile, or worthless, depending on the version that one chooses. Regardless, all of these translations imply that the thoughts of man are nothing compared to the thoughts of God. The Psalmist is attempting to make the evildoers recognize a power greater than themselves.

Verses 12-15: The Psalmist addresses the righteous about God.

In verse 12, the audience switches to the righteous, the group to which the speaker belongs. A comparison of versions tells us about who these people may be. All versions agree that these people are blessed. KJV calls them, "the man whom thou chastenest." NKJV calls them, "the man whom your instruct." ESV, once again uses the word "discipline." Discipline can be considered a form of instruction. The word "instruct" implies a willing student. Punish implies a student that is not willing. Whereas, discipline, does not tell us whether the student is willing or resists. Once again, the translation of "discipline" is more in line with the earlier tone of the passage.

The second phrase in the verse tells us that they are taught from the laws of God, which implies the Torah. This supports the reference in verse 5 to the descendents of Abraham. This also gives us a time reference and we know that the verse was written, more than likely, during a time when the Jews were in captivity.

Verse 13 asks God to give the people rest from the adversity until the days when the wicked are punished. Different versions are in agreement with this translation. This implies that the author is hopeful that the days of hardship have an end and that the evildoers will be punished in the end. This is a verse of prayer and of hope.

Verse 14 continues the promise that the Lord will not abandon his people, nor will he abandon his inheritance. Some versions use the word inheritance (KJV, NKJV), while others say heritage (ESV). Either way, it reaffirms the special place for the Jewish people as God's chosen people. This verse if further reassurance that God will not abandon them.

Verse 15 is the closing verse of this section of the Psalm. Just as the author reassures the evildoers that they will be punished in the end, he reassures the righteous that they too will receive their just reward in the end. The implication is that the righteous will receive a reward, as opposed to the punishment promised the evil ones in the previous section of the Psalm.

Verses 16-23: The Psalmist Exhalts God.

The first three sections of Psalm 94 are in third person. In the final stanza of the Psalm, the author switches to second person. He is still speaking to the righteous. Just as he directly addressed the evildoers in the second portion of the Psalm, he directly addresses the righteous in the final verses. In verse 16, he asks them who among them will join him. He calls for action from the righteous. He called for the evildoers to gain wisdom and stop what they are doing. He now calls on the righteous to rise up and stand up against the evildoers.

Verse 18 offers testimony that if God had not been on his side, he would be in the silence of death. This verse gives the righteous hope that the Lord is with them too. It reaffirms God's presence and is meant to comfort and inspire them into action. There are major differences in verb tense in this verse. KJV uses, "held me up." NKJV uses future tense, "will hold me up." ESV also uses past tense, "held me up." KJV and NKJV indicate that God's mercy held them up. ESV uses, "Your steadfast Love."

As one can see, there is quite a bit of disagreement in the translation of this verse. If one agrees with the past tense translation, then the message is one of hope and supports the previous verse. However, if one uses future tense, then it is a call to action, reassuring the righteous that God will hold them up as they rise up against their foes. One of the most interesting facts about this verse is that the Greek translation completely skips it. It only appears in the Hebrew version of the text. The Hebrew word is Ca'ad, which is a primitive root, which means to "support, sustain, stay, establish, strengthen, comfort." This word has many connotations, that differ from the physical holding up indicated in any of the verses.

It is agreed among most versions that this verb is past tense, therefore, the NKJV use of future tense can be discarded. The actual translation of the word is less physical than any of the versions consulted indicated. It is the opinion of this researcher that the reference to the foot slipping was taken literally, leading to the physical interpretation of holding up. However, the reference to foot slipping, may be figurative and refer to emotional slipping, rather than actual physical slipping. If this is not the case, then the verse seems out of place by referring to a physical act.

The message is one of hope and a plea to keep the faith that God will rescue them. If this is not the case, then it would be the first reference to physical happenings since the reference to murdering the widows and orphans in verse 6. Verse 19 supports the ideal that verse 18 refers to emotional support, rather than physically catching someone when falling. This verse clearly refers to consolation in times of anxiety. When someone's thoughts are many, it usually means that they are going though a period of stress. Taken in context, of verses 17 and 19, it is more likely that the author was referring to emotional support, rather than physical support.

Verse 20 poses a question to the audience in the form of a challenge. He asks if they wicked rulers can possibly be on their side, when they commit injustice by their laws. This alludes to the opinion that some of those in the audience may be supporting the new government and that they may not be able to see what is going on around them clearly. It may also represents a new challenge and a new call to action against those who choose to repress them.