Verses 1-23

Psalm 94 God the judge of all

The psalmist, tired of the oppression caused by the proud and the wicked, calls for a fitting divine punishment on all those who oppose God and his ways (1-3). They brutally crush the poor and the helpless, thinking that God does not see them (4-7). How foolish of them. They forget that God is the one who made them. He knows what they are and what they do. He controls their destinies and will punish them for their wrongdoing (8-11).

God does not desert the godly in their troubles, and may even use their troubles to teach them lessons of patience and love. Then, when he sees the time has come to intervene, he punishes the tormentors and gives relief to their victims (12-15). But until that day comes, the suffering believer has no defence against the wicked and no source of comfort except in God alone (16-19). The wicked are in places of authority, but they oppose God whose law they should be administering. The believer's only hope is to trust in the overruling government of God (20-23).