In Psalm 93, the poet rejoiced in the sovereign and holy God who rules His world. The world is ″firm and secure″ when the Lord reigns (v. 1). But what is life like under corrupt and cruel rulers? Psalm 94 paints a dark picture of the suffering of people when there is ″a throne that brings on misery by its decrees″ (v. 20).

The psalm has three parts. In verses 1-7, the unnamed psalmist calls on God the avenger. He asks God to judge the wicked. These arrogant evildoers prey upon the most helpless in society, like the widow, the foreigner, and the fatherless (v. 6). We've seen throughout the psalms that such terms, while they express the social and economic condition of people, are also symbols for God's faithful and oppressed people. The wicked ″crush your people; they oppress your inheritance″ (v. 5, emphasis added).

In verses 8 to 15, the psalmist describes God as the teacher. The wicked are fools. One commentator translates ″senseless ones″ (v. 8) as ″you stupid ones″. These wicked people don't deny that there is a God in heaven but, in their arrogance, they believe that the God who made us is somehow blind and deaf to all we do and think (vv. 9-11). How foolish! God not only sees and hears what we do, He also blesses those who learn from His law and accept His discipline when they wander from it (v. 12). In Hebrews 12:6, we are told that ″the Lord disciplines the one he loves″ (see also Proverbs 3:11-12). Like the righteous of Psalm 94, the readers of Hebrews, too, suffered under cruel and unjust rulers. Both Hebrews and Psalm 94 remind us that the Lord will protect us and use these sufferings for our spiritual good.

In verses 16-23, the psalmist looks to God the protector. When the psalmist feels he couldn't endure anymore hardship, God's ″unfailing love″ (v. 18) and consolation keep him persevering. More than that, they fill him with joy. In the end, he is confident that the God of justice will ″destroy them for their wickedness″ (v. 23).

Paul tells us in Romans 13:1-6 that governing authorities are God's servants, appointed to bring about justice and order. But in our fallen world, there are governing authorities that promote evil and oppress the church. In Revelation 6, John sees all those who've been martyred because of ″the word of God and the testimony they had maintained″ (v. 9). They, too, like the righteous in Psalm 94, are crying out to God for vengeance, ″How long . . . until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?″ (v. 10). The Lord's word of comfort to them is ″to wait a little longer″(v. 11). One day soon, God will answer the cries of the psalmist and the martyrs. ″Amen. Come, Lord Jesus″ (Revelation 22:20).