Christianity
Psalms 94God to Whom Vengeance Belongeth
Summary
Psalm 94 appeals to God, to whom vengeance belongs, to rise up as judge of the earth against proud rulers who crush his people, slay the widow and the stranger, and say that the LORD does not see. The psalmist answers that the one who planted the ear and formed the eye surely hears and sees. The second half turns personal, describing God's chastening as teaching and his comfort amid a multitude of anxious thoughts, and ends in confidence that God is a refuge.
Key verse
“In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.”
Psalms 94:19
Themes
- Divine Justice
- God Sees All
- Comfort in Anxiety
- Discipline as Teaching
Text
O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.
Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.
LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?
How long shall they utter and speak hard things? and all the workers of iniquity boast themselves?
They break in pieces thy people, O LORD, and afflict thine heritage.
They slay the widow and the stranger, and murder the fatherless.
Yet they say, The LORD shall not see, neither shall the God of Jacob regard it.
Understand, ye brutish among the people: and ye fools, when will ye be wise?
He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?
He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?
The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity.
Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;
That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.
For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance.
But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.
Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?
Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence.
When I said, My foot slippeth; thy mercy, O LORD, held me up.
In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.
Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law?
They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood.
But the LORD is my defence; and my God is the rock of my refuge.
And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off.
Text: King James Version (1611/1769), public domain.
Across traditions
Christianity
Romans 12: Vengeance Is MinePaul tells believers not to avenge themselves but to give place to God's wrath, citing Deuteronomy 32:35 (Romans 12:19). Psalm 94 shares this conviction that vengeance belongs to God rather than to the injured.
Christianity
1 Corinthians 3: The Thoughts of the WisePaul quotes Psalm 94:11 in 1 Corinthians 3:20, that the Lord knows the thoughts of the wise to be vain, to warn against boasting in human wisdom.
Judaism
Psalm 94 in the JPS 1917 TanakhPsalm 94 is the Jewish psalm for Wednesday, recited in the morning service as the Levites once sang it in the temple.
Questions about Psalms 94
Does Psalm 94 approve of revenge?
Psalm 94 asks God, not people, to take vengeance and calls him the judge of the earth (94:1 to 2). Its concern is justice for the widow, the stranger and the fatherless, and it leaves the outcome in God's hands.
What does 'he that planted the ear, shall he not hear' mean?
Psalm 94:9 answers those who think God does not notice injustice: the maker of hearing and sight cannot be deaf or blind. The argument moves from God's work in forming humans to his knowledge of what they do.