Psalm 93 — 94
God's people to question His rule more than "Why do the helpless and the godly suffer and the wicked get away with their crimes?" When it comes to dealing with the injustices in society, the psalm teaches us that the righteous have four responsibilities.
as symbols of the rise and fall of the nations and the great noise that rulers make as they try to impress people. (See 46:1–3, 6; 60:5; 65:6–7; 74:13–14; Isa. 17:12–13; 51:15; 60:5; Jer. 31:5; 51:42; Dan. 7:1–3; Luke 21:25; Rev. 13:1; 17:15.) God used the Euphrates River to illustrate the Assyrians (Isa. 8:7–8), and He connected Egypt with the Nile River (Jer. 46:7–8). No matter how stormy the nations on earth may become, God is still on His throne and is not frustrated by the foolish words and deeds of "great leaders" who are only made of clay. Do not focus on the threats around you; focus on the throne above you (see 29; Isa. 6; Rev. 4—5).
Praying to the Lord for Justice (vv. 1–7) God's requirement for His people is that they "do justly … love mercy, and … walk humbly with [their] God" (Mic. 6:8), for the Lord loves justice (33:5; 37:28) and hears the prayers of those who have been treated unjustly (Ex. 22:26–27; Deut. 24:14–15; James 5:1–4). The word vengeance is often misinterpreted to mean "revenge" or "being vindictive," as though God were having a temper tantrum, but "to avenge" means to uphold the law and give justice to those who have been wronged. Since the Lord is omniscient, He is able to judge motives as well as actions and deal with situations and people justly (Lev. 19:18; Deut. 32:35, 41; Rom. 12:17–21; Heb. 10:30–31). He is the Judge of all the earth (58:11; 82:8) and always does what is right (Gen. 18:25). "Shine forth," means "show yourself, reveal your power and glory" (50:2; 80:1; Deut. 33:2; Hab. 3:1–5).
God Always Keeps His Word (v. 5) When the tempest is around us, we look by faith to the throne of grace above us and the Word of God before us. The truth about what is going on in this world is not in the newspapers but in the Scriptures. The false prophets among the Jews in Babylon gave a message different from that of Jeremiah, the true prophet of the Lord (Jer. 29), but it was the messages of God's servants that finally proved true. "Your testimonies are very sure" (v. 5 nkjv). (See Jer. 25:12; 27:22; 29:10; 2 Chron. 36:22–23; Ezra 1:1; Isa. 44:28—45:3.) False prophets, false teachers, and scoffers abound (2 Peter 2–3), but God's promises will all be fulfilled in their time, and God's children live by promises, not explanations. Satan has attacked God's Word since he lied to Eve in Genesis 3, but the Word still stands. "The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations" (33:11 nkjv).
We want the Lord to act immediately (v. 3; see 6:3), but He is gracious and longsuffering (Ex. 34:6–7), and we must walk by faith (Luke 18:1–8). The proud and arrogant "belch out" evil words and commit evil deeds (10:2–11), and the godly can do nothing to stop them. Orphans, widows, and aliens in the land were under the special care of the Lord (68:5–6; 146:9; Ex. 22:20–24; Deut. 10:18–19; 14:28–29; 24:17–18; 26:12–13; 27:19; Isa. 1:17; 7:6; 22:3). The helpless are God's covenant people and He is Jehovah—the Lord— a name used nine times in the psalm (vv. 1, 3, 5, 11, 14, 17, 18, 22, 23). The wicked convince themselves that God does not see their evil deeds (v. 7; 10:11; 59:7), but He does!
Led by Zerubbabel the governor, Joshua the high priest, and the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, the Jewish remnant trusted God, labored, sacrificed, and completed the temple. We don't read that the glory of the Lord moved into the second temple, as it did the tabernacle (Ex. 40) and the first temple (1 Kings 8:10–11), but the Lord was with His people just the same and accomplishing His purposes. It is a holy people that makes the temple holy, and "the beauty of holiness" (29:2) is the greatest adornment for any structure dedicated to the Lord.
Warning the Wicked of Their Danger (vv. 8–11) After praying to the Lord, we must confront the wicked with the truth, as the Lord gives us opportunity. In verses 8–11, the psalmist speaks to the offenders and calls them "senseless people," the word "brutish" that we have met before (49:10; 92:6 kjv; and see 2 Peter 2:12; Jude 10). These people were behaving like animals and not like humans made in the image of God. They had such a low view of God (v. 7) that they were unable to think logically. If God made the eye and ear, is He unable to see and hear? Is the creature greater than the Creator? If God is able to rule the nations by His providential decrees (Acts 17:24–28), is He unable to deal with a band of wicked officials who are breaking His law and exploiting His people? The Lord gave Israel His law and taught them what it meant, so is He not intelligent enough to apply that law? The word translated "thoughts" in verse 11 means "inventions, schemes, plans." The subversive plans and plots of these evil leaders cannot be hidden