Psalm 94: Restore Redemptive Perspective

Key Verses
17 If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
 
Meditation
Circumstances are a platform for God to reveal His character and worshipping God restores redemptive perspective.  In times of trouble, He is our stronghold. In injustice, He is our just judge. In struggle, we savor His steadfast love. When the cares of our heart are many the compassion of God is our consolation (v. 19).
 
Today’s Psalm begins with broad petition for justice (vv. 1-7) and ends with confidence in the Lord as “stronghold, my God the rock of my refuge” (vv.22-23). Difficulties drive us to God so we know divine character. 
 
The center celebrates the Lord’s discipline as blessing (v. 12). The Lord disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:5-6), displaying His fatherly care by directing us in God’s ways (v. 12), giving rest for our soul (v. 13), and reinforcing His faithfulness (v. 14).
 
Worshipping with this Psalm restores redemptive perspective. First, we see God as our champion- He stands for us, rises up on our behalf, helps us, holds us up, and cares for us (vv. 16-19). Second, we have patience in present problems. We know God is the creator (vv. 9-11) and the just judge of all the earth (vv. 1-2). With the Psalmist we can ask, “how long” will the wicked seem to flourish and the righteous be frustrated (vv. 1-7), while knowing God’s intimate involvement in our lives surely means His promises to right the wrongs of the world will come to pass.
 
God is restoring us personally and making things right in the world. He is our champion, our stronghold, and we can trust Him.
 
Today’s Reading
O Lord, God of vengeance,
    O God of vengeance, shine forth!
2 Rise up, O judge of the earth;
    repay to the proud what they deserve!
3 O Lord, how long shall the wicked,
    how long shall the wicked exult?
4 They pour out their arrogant words;
    all the evildoers boast.
5 They crush your people, O Lord,
    and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill the widow and the sojourner,
    and murder the fatherless;
7 and they say, “The Lord does not see;
    the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 Understand, O dullest of the people!
    Fools, when will you be wise?
9 He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who teaches man knowledge--
11     the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
    that they are but a breath.
 
12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord,
    and whom you teach out of your law,
13 to give him rest from days of trouble,
    until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 For the Lord will not forsake his people;
    he will not abandon his heritage;
15 for justice will return to the righteous,
    and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16 Who rises up for me against the wicked?
    Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 If the Lord had not been my help,
    my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
18 When I thought, “My foot slips,”
    your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
    your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
    those who frame injustice by statute?
21 They band together against the life of the righteous
    and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord has become my stronghold,
    and my God the rock of my refuge.
23 He will bring back on them their iniquity
    and wipe them out for their wickedness;
    the Lord our God will wipe them out.
 
Richly Dwelling
-What stands out to you in today’s reading, especially how difficulties (personally and globally) drive the psalmist to know God’s Divine character?
 
-Are your difficulties drowning out or driving you to God, that you may know Him more no matter what you are going through?
 
-The discipline of the Lord leads to renewed perspective- God is our champion and we can have patience in present problems. Where do you need to celebrate God being your champion, most clearly seen in Christ?
 
Key Verses
17 If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.