Psalm 94
English
Standard Version (ESV)
94 O Lord,
God of (A)vengeance,
O God of vengeance, (B)shine forth!
2 (C)Rise up, O (D)judge of the earth;
repay to the (E)proud what they deserve!
3 O Lord, (F)how long shall the wicked,
how long shall (G)the wicked exult?
4 They pour out their (H)arrogant words;
all (I)the evildoers boast.
5 They (J)crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill (K)the widow and the sojourner,
and murder (L)the fatherless;
7 (M)and they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
O God of vengeance, (B)shine forth!
2 (C)Rise up, O (D)judge of the earth;
repay to the (E)proud what they deserve!
3 O Lord, (F)how long shall the wicked,
how long shall (G)the wicked exult?
4 They pour out their (H)arrogant words;
all (I)the evildoers boast.
5 They (J)crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your heritage.
6 They kill (K)the widow and the sojourner,
and murder (L)the fatherless;
7 (M)and they say, “The Lord does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.”
8 (N)Understand, O dullest of the people!
Fools, when will you be wise?
9 (O)He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who (P)disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who (Q)teaches man knowledge—
11 (R)the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
that they are (S)but a breath.[a]
Fools, when will you be wise?
9 (O)He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10 He who (P)disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who (Q)teaches man knowledge—
11 (R)the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
that they are (S)but a breath.[a]
12 (T)Blessed is the man whom you (U)discipline, O Lord,
and whom you teach out of your law,
13 to give him (V)rest from (W)days of trouble,
until (X)a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 (Y)For the Lord will not forsake his (Z)people;
he will not abandon his (AA)heritage;
15 for (AB)justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will (AC)follow it.
and whom you teach out of your law,
13 to give him (V)rest from (W)days of trouble,
until (X)a pit is dug for the wicked.
14 (Y)For the Lord will not forsake his (Z)people;
he will not abandon his (AA)heritage;
15 for (AB)justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will (AC)follow it.
16 (AD)Who rises up for me against the wicked?
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 (AE)If the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of (AF)silence.
18 When I thought, (AG)“My foot slips,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, (AH)held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can (AI)wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who frame injustice by (AJ)statute?
21 They (AK)band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn (AL)the innocent to death.[b]
22 But the Lord has become my (AM)stronghold,
and my God (AN)the rock of my (AO)refuge.
23 He will bring back on them (AP)their iniquity
and (AQ)wipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.
Who stands up for me against evildoers?
17 (AE)If the Lord had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of (AF)silence.
18 When I thought, (AG)“My foot slips,”
your steadfast love, O Lord, (AH)held me up.
19 When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
20 Can (AI)wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who frame injustice by (AJ)statute?
21 They (AK)band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn (AL)the innocent to death.[b]
22 But the Lord has become my (AM)stronghold,
and my God (AN)the rock of my (AO)refuge.
23 He will bring back on them (AP)their iniquity
and (AQ)wipe them out for their wickedness;
the Lord our God will wipe them out.
The
age old questions, “why and when?” can have devastating effects on our faith. We used to be farmers and on the farm, time
after time, we would see farmers who did not trust in the Lord buy they prospered
while we would endure hail storm after hail storm. At that point we would wonder why this was
happening to us we worked hard and honored God so, “why?”. There are many rich people in this world and
it appears to us that God is blessing them and not us but in actuality they are
receiving their reward here on this earth.
When they die so does all of their money but if you are a follower of
Christ it will be our beginning.
As
we read in the Old Testament we can see times when God disciplined His people by
allowing them to live in captivity and then we see stories like the story of
Joseph who tried to do what was right in the sight of God and his brothers even
turned on him. Both of these incidences
brought hardship to God’s people but in Joseph’s case he continued to
prosper. God was not finished with Him
and God had not forsaken Him and Joseph knew it. The point is, God’s people will have trials
and tribulations, no matter how “good” we are, that does not exempt us from
trials, tribulations and persecution. It
is not what happens to us but how we respond in that situation. The Israelites often times turned from God,
adopted the gods of their enemies. They
even tried to make up their own god with the golden calf. Joseph on the other hand held true to his
faith in God. He did not compromise or
try to take charge of the wrongdoings that were before him. His faith sustained him through false acquisitions,
imprisonment, and forgetfulness and in the end his faith sustained his
people. Wow, God has a plan for each and
every one of us. Some of us may prosper
on this earth for the glory of God while others of us may struggle day after
day and won’t ever understand our circumstance on this side of life, but one
thing is for sure, if we hold to our faith we will see our just reward.
Hold
true to your faith, stand strong, and seek Him with all your heart.
Seeking
Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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