Vengeance Belongs to God: An Exposition of the 94th Psalm
Everyone is a victim. Everyone has been done wrong by someone. Every group of people have suffered victimhood at some time or another to one degree or another. People want vengeance for the wrongs they have suffered. Some try to avenge themselves for the wrongs of others, but often, they do not have the power to avenge themselves. So they look for a higher power to avenge them and make reparations. People look for advocacy groups, militant groups, or the power of government to make things right. There are those in power who will exploit these desires to their own advantage and by this make the aggrieved a double victim.
Everyone has also done others wrong, whether this be individuals or a group of people. Paul tells us that “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We need to affirm this as well. When is it right to seek vengeance and how. To answer this question, let us look to Psalm 94.
The Hebrew text of the psalm does not state and author, but the Greek translation called the Septuagint says that it is a Psalm of David to be sung on the 4th Sabbath. We cannot be sure of the accuracy of the statement, but it does give us a clue how it was used in the time just before Christ came. Like many of the psalms, we don not know the occasion for its writing. Rather than trying to find an original context other than a generic one that it is Scripture and that it was written in the context of the writer of the psalm being aggrieved for wrong being done to him.
The psalm begins with a parallel statement. We notice the repeat of “O God to whom vengeance belongeth.” We also see that “Yahweh” and “show thyself” are not repeated. The English translations I have read place the Yahweh with the first mention of God. However, Yahweh appears between the repeats and could go with the repeat of the line rather than at the beginning. Literally in Hebrew it reads: “God of vengeance, Yahweh, God of vengeance, show yourself.” I prefer placing the Yahweh with the repeated phrase, rendering “God of vengeance; LORD, God of vengeance, show yourself.” This gives emphasis that Yahweh and not some other god is the God of vengeance. Yahweh is a covenant name for the God of Israel. As a covenant between a suzerain and subject involves a promise for the king to come to the help of his subjects, invoking the name of Yahweh, God of Israel, is a call for Him to do His duty to provide aid and comfort. The vassal also had an obligation to keep the covenant and the stipulations addressed to him as well.
I feel the King James gives a good rendition of the verse when it translates it: “O LORD God to whom vengeance belongeth; O God to whom vengeance belongeth shew thyself.” This takes the phrase “of vengeance” and translates it as a possessive genitive. When read against the verse that says “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” It renders the idea that vengeance in this covenant relation belongs solely to Yahweh. The believer is to trust in Yahweh to right wrongs rather than to try to take personal revenge or to seek the aid of some other authority. As Christians, we are in a covenant relationship with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. This means that the Christian must address his grievances to God rather than a secular power or advocacy group. If all vengeance belongs to God in a global capacity as creator, how much more does this ring true for the Christian?
The psalmist now calls upon Yahweh to avenge the wrong as He is judge of all the earth. It is Yahweh who will judge the proud. The call is for Him to act speedily on his behalf. The wicked seem to be winning the day. They were persecuting His people and scattering them. Believers are the heritage of the LORD. By defaming them, they were also defaming the LORD. Our opponents say that God is either deaf or dead. They call upon us to abandon our hope in Him. Christians are being persecuted and killed all over the earth, and the rulers are fearless in their evil pursuits. The psalmist now responds by saying that God does both see an hear what is going on. We also must think upon the truth and justice of our God. God who has created the ears to hear can certainly hear Himself. He is the creator of knowledge, so certainly He must know Himself. He will both chastise the nations as well as His people. All human thought apart from God is futility. This is echoed in the 2nd Psalm: “Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The 2nd Psalm sees this as a conspiracy between the nations and the leaders of Israel against the LORD’s anointed. We are also reminded in this psalm that they shall be shattered even as a clay pot.
Starting in verse 12, the Psalmist now addresses the believers with words of comfort. He pronounces a blessing on His people because they are chastened by the LORD. The LORD does not let His people get away with sin and injustice. The fact that He corrects us is proof that He loves us. This is also elaborated at the end of the book of Hebrews. By this, we remember that we are not to make victims of others. God hears their cries also as He does for every injustice. We must not presume upon our covenantal relationship through Jesus to act in such a manner. God will certainly chastise His people as well.
The evildoers will be punished in God’s time and vengeance for the wrongs we suffer shall come. We will not suffer above what we can stand. God has promised to work out our tribulations for good. We certainly do groan, even as the Psalmist does for deliverance. We feel as though we are about to slip and fall. Without knowing that the LORD will help us, we might remain silent out of fear. Our enemies have spilt the blood of many a Christian martyr, even to this day. This greatest of trials in this life may come to where we live on earth as well. We think of Jesus whose innocent blood was shed. If they did this to the Master, they will do it to His servants as well. We remember that His innocent blood was shed for our iniquities and injustices. We remember that God has showed us the greatest forbearance and grace.
We also remember that Christ arose from the dead. We call Jesus the ultimate victim. In a sense, this is true. But the resurrection turns Him into the greatest Victor. He is seated at the right hand of the Father and makes intercession for us. He hears our prayers and cries. He might answer as He did to the martyrs whose souls were under the altar. He says: “Wait a little longer and your deaths shall be avenged. As the Psalmist says: “God will come to my (our) defense.” The wicked will be cut off.
We must remember that Christ will return. The wait seems to be endless, but Christ will come. We must not be enrolled with the scoffers whose doom is sure. They will find out some day that God has seen all and heard all. We can only pray that they come to Jesus before it is too late. We, too, were just as they were. We stood condemned. But we have received grace. We can only pray that they also might find God’s grace in Jesus Christ. The Psalmist calls upon the LORD to show Himself. The Greek translates the word here “to be bold”. Will we be as bold to show ourselves as His witnesses to warn the world of its plight? The devil would like us to render us to silence and fear. We know that there are few who have ears to hear at this point. Many have dismissed God as irrelevant. There is no fear of God anymore. We are inviting more persecution and even martyrdom for the sake of the Gospel. We should respond to this in prayer as the Apostles did after Peter and John were beaten by the Sanhedrin for preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus Christ. They quoted the second psalm and prayer for boldness. The Spirit shook the place in response, and they became bold in their testimony.
One more thing we must learn. This bears repeating. We must not seek earthly means to right the wrongs we suffer. Appealing to secular authorities always bears a price, the price of compromise. The rulers that might avenge us will expect something in return. This might mean that we must overlook the sins our deliverers are doing. It might make us water down the Gospel or make us make substitutions. It may be true that one party is more wicked than the other. But neither side is without sin. Christians need to speak for the sovereign God of heaven and earth boldly and without favor. By taking sides, we are saying we put our trust in some person or political party either alongside the Sovereign God or in place of the Sovereign God. Political party platforms are covenantal statements as well. The stipulations of God are to be put before those of any earthly organization.
By saying these things, I am not saying that God will not use secular means to deliver us. God is God, after all. But at the same time, He is not limited to earthly powers either. So we must wait on God in our suffering for Him to act as He chooses and when He chooses. He is faithful to the covenant He has made, so in the end, justice will come. Let it be sufficient to live quiet and at peace with all, as much as this lies within us. We should be model citizens I this regard.
Even if we think it in our power to avenge ourselves, we must remember that vengeance belongs to God alone. Who knows if the wrongs we have suffered have not been the result of our own actions or the result of a misunderstanding? We must submit the right to assign what is right and wrong and allow ourselves to be instructed by the Lord. Who also knows whether the things we wrongfully suffer might be the means to provoke our tormentors to faith in Jesus? What influence did the stoning of Stephen have upon Saul of Tarsus? Soon the Lord would miraculously convert Paul on the way to Damascus. What would have been the result if Stephen had uttered a curse upon those stoning him, and the Lord had responded in kind? Instead, Stephen dies as Jesus did. “Do not lay tis sin to their charge?” Stephen boldly earned his crown that day. Let us do likewise when we face death.
