THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

XCIV. Resting In God Until He Takes Vengeance

(Psalm 94:1-23)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

Romans 12:19 tells us to let God take vengeance for us, but with the wrongs we face, that can seem hard to do: (1) It can seem hard with what we face from federal officials: (a) “(President Biden) did nothing to dispel the” harmful “facts included in Hur’s report” that he was guilty but too old and senile for a jury to be willing to convict him of mishandling classified documents. “And worst of all, he seemed . . . far too old to continue to be responsible for running the executive branch of the most powerful, indispensable nation in . . . the world.” (Isaac Schorr, “Joe Biden’s ‘My Memory Is Fine’ Press Conference Was An All-Time PR Blunder,” Mediaite, Feb. 9, cited in “Quotable,” Republican-American, February 13, 2024, p. 6A). (b) Also, “(c)ounting large illegal alien populations in the Census appropriates voting power from Americans and bestows it on other[s],” and as “(s)anctuary jurisdictions like California, Illinois, and New York . . . need to keep their population numbers inflated with illegal aliens because American citizens are fleeing” them “in droves due to their disastrous policies,” President “Biden’s intentional border crisis has produced unprecedented apportionment issues, distorting the representation that states have in the House, and how many electoral votes they have in presidential elections.” (Lora Ries and R. J. Hauman, “Stop allowing noncitizens to determine representation in D. C.,” Ibid., February 9, 2024, p. 8A) (c) In addition, “Biden’s administration and Congress have brought about an inflationary trend” by “deficit spending, which is crowding out discretionary spending, and affecting the costs of corporate and consumer loans. Congress could also cut taxes or at lease keep them stable and avoid regulatory incursions that compel price increases by private-sector operators.” (“Democrats’ economic scapegoats,” Ibid., February 16, 2024, p. 6A)

(2) It can seem hard with what we face from the mainstream media: “‘President Biden thinks that he should be more popular than he is – and so, evidently, does the press . . . Week in, week out, this topic is covered as if the public is failing the president, rather than the other way around.’” (Charles C. W. Cooke, “Joe Biden’s Poll Numbers Are Not ‘Unacceptably Low,’” National Review Online, December 18, cited in “Quotable,” Ibid., Dec. 20, 2023, p. 6A)

(3) It can seem hard with what we face from state officials: At the February 5, 2024, legislative breakfast in Litchfield of the Northwest Connecticut Council of Governments, Washington First Selectman Jim Brinton said of his colleagues, “‘I’ve heard everything except concern for the people around these tables . . . I think (legislators) do a great job, but you go back to Hartford and someone hits you over the head with a partisan bat and it all falls apart.’” (John McKenna, “Legislators Warned of ‘Affordability,’” Ibid., February 6, 2024, p. 4A) (Ibid.)

(4) It can seem hard with the reckless driving we face by other motorists in a road rage-inflicted world.

(5) It can seem hard with what many believers face from pastors: We hear from believers in other area churches and other states that they face a dearth in Bible teaching. Remarkably, 2 Timothy 4:1-2 calls all pastors to preach the Word of God in view of their accountability to Christ at His return, but many pastors are not doing so!

Need: So, we ask, “With the severe wrongs we face today, how can we wait on God to take vengeance for us?”

I. The psalmist asked God to take vengeance for those who had long been badly wronged, Psalm 94:1-7:

A. In Psalm 94:1-2, the psalmist prayed for the Lord of vengeance to recompense the proud for their wrongs.

B. The psalmist then asked how long would God let the wicked exult in abusive triumph, Psalm 94:3.

C. The wicked were full of boasting as they crushed and oppressed God’s people, slaying the widow, the foreigner, and the fatherless while claiming that Israel’s God did not see nor discern their acts, Psalm 94:4-7.

II. The psalmist then warned the wicked of God’s sure judgment for their great wrongs, Psalm 94:8-11:

A. Addressing the wicked, the psalmist warned them to consider that God Who implanted the ear heard of their abuses, He Who formed the eye saw their wrongs, He Who disciplines nations punishes them for their evils, and He Who teaches man has full knowledge of the wicked and their sins, Psalm 94:8-10.

B. Indeed, God knows the thinking of wicked people and knows that their thoughts are futile, Psalm 94:11.

III. However, Psalm 94:12-19 reveals God’s help to those who are badly wronged until He takes vengeance:

A. First, the Lord disciplines the godly to teach them to heed His Word though wronged that they might remain calm in the calamitous days that they face from the wicked until God punishes their oppressors, Psa. 94:12-15.

B. God then helps the godly who understand the need to remain calm but who still struggle with distressing thoughts over the wrongs they face by giving them comfort that delights their inner man, Psalm 94:16-19.

IV. Psalm 94:20-23 predicted God’s sure eventual and complete vengeance on the wicked:

A. The psalmist found consolation in noting that the actions of wicked abusers who band together to condemn the upright to death are not allied with the righteous Creator God of Scripture, Psalm 94:20-21.

B. Conversely, the Lord had become the psalmist’s Strong Defense in Whom he took refuge from abusive wrongdoers, for the Lord would fully recompense the wicked for their evil actions, Psalm 94:22-23.

Lesson: God knows the wrongs that we face from abusers, and He will take vengeance for us. However, as we face such wrongs, God disciplines us to direct us to obey His Word that we might stay calm though being wronged until God punishes our oppressors. If the wrongs are so great that we are still distressed over them, God will comfort us.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) May we respond to being wronged by (a) heeding God’s discipline under trial to keep obeying His Word that we learn to stay calm while being wronged, (b) and by trusting God to give the balm He sees that we need to handle the pain of the wrong (c) until He takes vengeance for us.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message and provide additional guidance . . .)

While waiting on God to recompense our wrongdoers and trusting Him to supply the balm He knows we need, we heed Scripture on the issues of concern in our introduction in order to stay calm while being wronged (as follows):

(1) On the wrongs we face from federal officials, (a) Romans 13:1 tells us to be subject to those who are in power since they are in power by God’s permission. The limit of our obedience to them is set by Acts 5:29, for we must obey God’s commands over man’s commands when they differ. (b) Also, we before noted how Revelation 3:21 with 7:17 predicted a “mini-Great Tribulation” for our era of Church History when God lets rulers full of intrigue gain power in the world government-business-academic-religious complex, rulers who oppress their subordinates, creating a spiritual hunger in the subordinates for balm that is found in Bible teaching churches. Thus, we should respond to the wrongs we face from federal officials by focusing on Bible exposition and its application in our lives that we might be edified in our own spiritual walk and in turn be used of God to disciple other needy people!

(2) On the wrongs we face from the mainstream media, (a) 1 Corinthians 2:6-16 reveals that if we rely on the Holy Spirit, He causes us to discern the ungodliness of others around us that we not be deceived by them. We thus need to rely on the Spirit of God to reveal to us the errant narratives of the mainstream media. (b) Also, 2 Timothy 3:13-17 directs us to use written Scripture for every good work, what includes discerning truth from error.

(3) On the misdeeds of state officials, we can apply the directives given in section “(1)” in this Conclusion section on federal officials, for we are to handle federal and state officials the same spiritual way.

(4) On the wrongs in society that are evidenced by reckless driving, (a) as in “(1,b)” in this Conclusion on federal officials, Revelation 3:21 with 7:17 predicted a “mini-Great Tribulation” for our era that includes God’s allowing rulers full of intrigue oppress their subordinates. Much of the deterioration of good behavior in today’s society as evidenced in the recklessness of unsettled drivers on the highway is an end result of the actions by abusive leaders in the government-business-academic-religious complex. (b) We must thus heed 1 Peter 3:13-17 that was written to Christians in a pagan society to (+) be followers of what is good (v. 13), (+) to stay happy if we suffer for righteousness’ sake (v. 14), and always to be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks us a reason for our faith, doing so with humility and respect (v. 15) while we also (+)let our godly lives disprove false charges from others.

(5) On the wrongs many Christians face from many pastors who do not expound Scripture, (a) Paul predicted that this situation would arise in 2 Timothy 4:3-5 (as follows): (+) Many people in churches are turning away from Bible truth to other sources to gratify their lusts, (+) so many pastors yield to the will of such wayward people and exchange preaching Scripture for promoting popular ideas. (b) The solution is two-fold: (+) Pastors (-) must realize the great value that God places on the minority who accept Bible teaching, those bearing thirtyfold, sixtyfold or a hundredfold (Parable of the Sower, Matthew 13:18-23) so as to work at expounding Scripture’s priceless discipling truths to that receptive minority (Matthew 13:44-46, 51-52) for God’s eternal reward (Matthew 13:43; Daniel 12:3-4). (-) A pastor will know that he pleases God in this effort if he sees that he “feeds” himself by his own study and by the response he gets from receptive hearers (2 Timothy 2:6). (+) As for the hearers, Mark 4:21-25 directs that (-) their response to Bible teaching will eventually be public knowledge, so they had better respond well, Mark 4:21-23! (-) If a hearer wants to be fed, God will make sure he gets all he desires, and a little more, Mark 4:24. (-) However, if one does not desire more, even what he has will be taken away to his eventual humiliation and loss of reward, Mark 4:25!

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God’s gift of eternal life. May we then heed Psalm 94:1-23 to rest in God’s nurture until He takes vengeance on evildoers.