Sharper Iron — Spring into the Psalms – Psalm 94: Blessed by the LORD’s Discipline

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In Psalm 94, we cry out to the LORD as the God who takes vengeance, lest we take it ourselves against the wicked. Although the wicked afflict the weak as if God cannot see, He truly is the One who sees, hears, knows, and rebukes. The righteous receives discipline from the LORD’s hand as a blessing, knowing that following God’s Word during persecution does give rest. The LORD rises against the wicked and wipes them out because He is the refuge for His people.

Rev. Jason Schockman, pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, School, and Early Childhood Center in Oconomowoc, WI, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Psalm 94.

To learn more about St. Paul’s Lutheran, visit splco.org.

Join Sharper Iron this spring to study selected Psalms. In the Psalter, God speaks His Word to us and teaches us how to speak back to Him in prayer. Even in the great variety of the Psalms, each one points us to our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy Scripture both in its broad context and its narrow detail, all for the sake of proclaiming Christ crucified and risen for sinners. Two pastors engage with God’s Word to sharpen not only their own faith and knowledge, but the faith and knowledge of all who listen. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org

Sharper Iron is underwritten by Lutheran Church Extension Fund. Together in faith, LCEF helps to start, sustain and strengthen LCMS ministries through financial and strategic partnerships. Visit lcef.org.

Psalm 94

The LORD Will Not Forsake His People

[1] O LORD, God of vengeance,

O God of vengeance, shine forth!

[2] Rise up, O judge of the earth;

repay to the proud what they deserve!

[3] O LORD, how long shall the wicked,

how long shall the wicked exult?

[4] They pour out their arrogant words;

all the evildoers boast.

[5] They crush your people, O LORD,

and afflict your heritage.

[6] They kill the widow and the sojourner,

and murder the fatherless;

[7] and they say, “The LORD does not see;

the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

[8] Understand, O dullest of the people!

Fools, when will you be wise?

[9] He who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

[10] He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?

He who teaches man knowledge—

[11] the LORD—knows the thoughts of man,

that they are but a breath.

[12] Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD,

and whom you teach out of your law,

[13] to give him rest from days of trouble,

until a pit is dug for the wicked.

[14] For the LORD will not forsake his people;

he will not abandon his heritage;

[15] for justice will return to the righteous,

and all the upright in heart will follow it.

[16] Who rises up for me against the wicked?

Who stands up for me against evildoers?

[17] If the LORD had not been my help,

my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.

[18] When I thought, “My foot slips,”

your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.

[19] When the cares of my heart are many,

your consolations cheer my soul.

[20] Can wicked rulers be allied with you,

those who frame injustice by statute?

[21] They band together against the life of the righteous

and condemn the innocent to death.

[22] But the LORD has become my stronghold,

and my God the rock of my refuge.

[23] He will bring back on them their iniquity

and wipe them out for their wickedness;

the LORD our God will wipe them out.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.