Psalm 94. This Psalm gives us the cry of the faithful Jewish remnant as they suffer under the reign of Antichrist in the midst of apostate Israel in the great tribulation. They cry or for deliverance, that the Lord would rise up and defend them, punish the evildoers, and set up His kingdom. This Psalm gives is the expressions of the faithful remnant just before the appearing of Christ. It is an orphan Psalm, and so be cannot be sure who the author is, but most likely it was written by David. Psalm 94 gives us one of the fullest views of the position of the Jewish remnant in the great tribulation.

 

 

vv.1-2 Call For God To Lift Himself up in Judgment. The remnant call for God to lift Himself up, to publicly intervene in the earth. They address Him as “God of vengeances, Jehovah, God of vengeances”, and they are anxiously awaiting the Lord to “shine forth” in power and glory, and judge the earth according to His own character. The “proud”, the apostate Jews under the leadership of antichrist, will be rewarded according to their works.

 

 

vv.3-7 Longing for Judgment on the Wicked. These verses give is the imprecatory prayer of the remnant as they long for Christ to return and judge their enemies. They care confident that Jehovah will return, but the question is “How long?” (v.3). The term “the workers of iniquity” (17 times in the Psalms) always refers to the apostate Jews who follow Antichrist, whose rule is referred to as a “throne of iniquity” (v.20). The wicked appear to triumph (v.3), speaking boldly and boastfully (v.4), crushing the Lord’s people and inheritance (v.5), and killing, oppressing and abusing the helpless (the martyrs of the remnant, v.6). In all of this, there is a brazen disrespect for Jehovah; “And say, Jah will not see, neither will the God of Jacob regard it” (v.7). The answer to this ignorant idea is in vv.8-11.

 

 

vv.8-11 The Omniscience of God. In answer to the “brutish” or stupid idea of the enemies, the faithful exclaim about the omniscience of God. Notice that the enemy in this Psalm would appear to be the apostate Jews; “brutish among the people“. How foolish to think that the Creator of the ear cannot hear, or that the Creator of eye cannot see, or that the Teacher of man will not correct evil at length! Jehovah not only knows the actions of man, but “Jehovah knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity”.

 

 

vv.12-15 An Appreciation for Chastening. The remnant seem to have reached a point where they appreciate the chastening of the Lord; “Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest”. This is a great milestone for them. “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Heb. 12:6). First, God’s chastening is good in that it preserves the soul from evil (v.13), while the wicked carry on into desctruction. Second, it is proof that God loves us; He loves us too much to allow us to carry on uncorrected; “But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons” (Heb. 12:8). Finally, chastening yields the peaceable fruits of righteousness to those who are exercised by it; “For judgment shall return unto righteousness, and all the upright in heart shall follow it”. 

 

  

vv.16-19 Comfort to the Anxious Mind. The remnant are in need of a deliverer; someone to stand up for them against the wicked around them. But the remnant are confident that Jehovah is for them – He is their help, and that He will come through for their deliverance in the end. Without Him, their soul would have remained silent, stony, and afraid. But, at the very extent of their faith, when stretched to the limit (Matt. 24:22), they cried out “My foot slippeth”, and the loving-kindness of Jehovah came in, and held them up (e.g. Matt. 14:30-31). Then comfort flooded the soul, in spite of a mind full of anxious thoughts!

 

vv.20-23 Confidence in Jehovah’s Deliverance. The remnant are confident that the Lord will deliver them because of His own character. They know that wickedness cannot long persist in association with the name of God; “Shall the throne of wickedness be united to thee?” They know that God will not allow such utter unrighteousness – the throne of Antichrist – to continue forever unchecked; “They band together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn innocent blood”. In v.22 we have the effect of Jehovah’s intervention on the faithful; He will be their “high tower” and “rock of refuge”. But on the wicked, the proud, boastful followers of Antichrist, Christ will “bring upon them their iniquity, and will cut them off in their own evil”. This is the confidence of the faithful, drawn from a knowledge of the character of God.