Psalm 94:1-3, 20-23 (NIV)
The Lord is a God who avenges. O God who avenges, shine forth. Rise up, Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve. How long, Lord, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant? Can a corrupt throne be allied with you—a throne that brings on misery by its decrees? The wicked band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge. He will repay them for their sins and destroy them for their wickedness; the Lord our God will destroy them.
The Founding Fathers of our country sought to establish a nation where men would be free to worship as they chose, or free not to worship at all. Government was to protect man’s freedom to worship, not to infringe upon it. We have certainly lost our way. Today our government seems intent upon prohibiting religious groups and activities, yet evolutionism and secular humanism are freely propagated and promoted in the classroom. Bible reading and prayer is prohibited by government in our schools, yet it provides our children with access to birth control pills and abortions while denying the parents of these children the knowledge that such “services” are being furnished. Government now seems more inclined to prosecute religion than to protect it.
Such evils are not unique to our country as there is nothing new under the sun (Ecc. 1:9). The author of Psalm 94 lived in such perilous and frustrating times when “the wicked band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death” (v. 21). The parallels to life in 21stcentury America are numerous and obvious. Socialist ideology is on the rise, radical sexual ethics are promoted and protected, government corruption and abuse of power has become the norm, and child sacrifice by the hundreds of thousands every year is enshrined into the law of most states…just to name a few. Hopefully, God’s people in America share in the psalmist’s heart cry when he asks, “How long, Lord, will the wicked, how long will the wicked be jubilant? Can a corrupt throne be allied with you—a throne that brings on misery by its decrees?”
The answers? Not much longer…and no.
The jubilation of the wicked ends with their last breath here on earth as it is appointed for each person to die and then face the judgment (Heb. 9:27). If they did not repent and receive Christ, their punishment is severe and everlasting. And while no Christian should delight in that fact, we should rest in its final application of perfect justice. In the end, nobody gets away with anything. Every single injustice perpetrated by man will be accounted and paid for, either by the perpetrator or the propitiator—the guilty party or Jesus Himself. Additionally, no government can expect the Lord’s blessings if it sets itself up against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:5). Presidents, Senators, Representatives, Governors, etc. can claim to appeal to God as “good Christian people,” but He is not impressed with hollow sentiment and empty words. If their motivations and actions are evil, no pleasant utterances will cover them up (Num. 32:23).
Spurgeon summarized this psalm well, and it should offer hope to every Christian:
“The natural result of oppression is the destruction of the despot; his own iniquities crush him ere long. Providence arranges retaliations as remarkable as they are just. High crimes in the end bring on heavy judgments, to sweep away evil men from off the face of the earth; yea, God himself interposes in a special manner, and cuts short the career of tyrants while they are in the very midst of their crimes. He shall bring upon them their own iniquity and shall cut them off in their own wickedness. While the stolen bread is in their mouths wrath slays them, while the ill-gotten wedge of gold is yet in their tent judgment overtakes them. God himself conspicuously visits them, and reveals his own power in their overthrow, yea, the Lord our God shall cut them off. Here, then, the matter ends; faith reads the present in the light of the future and ends her song without a trembling note.”
