Psalm 94:16-23 - "Who Will Rise Up for Me..."

Psalm 94 deals with the unjust treatment of the poor and helpless by wicked and evil people. We live in a day when we don’t know who to trust. Not only do we see corruption and injustices around the world, but we are also experiencing it in our own blessed America. The culture today calls evil good and calls good evil. This is nothing new. Isaiah describes this very same thing in his own day in Isaiah 5:20-23: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;"   The unknown writer of Psalm 94 gives us at least four things we can do when we are perplexed about the injustices in our society. In verses 1-7, we need to pray and cry out to God to take “vengeance” on these evil people. In verses 8-11, we must live and speak “the truth” to warn the wicked of the judgment they are going to face from God one day if they don’t change their ways. In verses 12-15, we need to look inwardly at our own hearts and make sure that we are willing to receive God’s chastening and discipline when we do wrong.   Now the fourth thing we can do is found in verses 16-23. We can and should work with God for justice in the world we presently are living in. And that is where you actually live. That is your community, your church, your work place, your school, your neighborhood, and wherever you are. Even in Solomon's day, people who were abused and exploited had no redress and found no one to execute justice on their behalf. He wrote: “Again, I observed all the oppression that takes place under the sun. I saw the tears of the oppressed, with no one to comfort them. The oppressors have great power, and their victims are helpless.” (Ecclesiastes 4:1).   It must have been much worse in the days of wicked King Manasseh, just before the fall of Jerusalem. This is when we believe the psalmist who wrote Psalm 94 was possibly living. In verse 16 he asks “Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?” This question is rhetorical and the writer answered it himself in verse 17 with "the Lord." The Lord of all the earth will stand up and we should rise up and stand with Him!   The psalmist was experiencing the devious plots of the evil leaders and cried out to God for help. He knew that the judges were twisting the law to exploit the poor. They were “devising evil by law” (v. 20). He felt like he was slipping into a deep and dangerous situation. His heart was anxious within him, but the Lord held him up, pulled Him out, and gave him peace within.   He was grateful for other believers who stood with him and prayed with him, for "my God" in verse 22 became "our God" in verse 23: “The LORD our God shall cut them off.” He trusted the Lord to bring about the judgment that the evil leaders deserved. Like Asaph in Psalm 73, he had been slipping in his faith and walk, but God showed him that the wicked were in slippery places and heading rapidly toward judgment (Psalm 73:2-3, 18, 27-28).   In these evil days, we give thanks that we have the Lord as our refuge and fortress. But we hide in Him, not that we may escape responsibility, but that we might be equipped to go forth and fight the enemy. Jesus said that we are to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world (Matt. 5:13-16). God's people should do all they can to encourage justice in this world. As Edmund Burke said, "It is necessary only for the good man to do nothing for evil to triumph."   Jesus gave us an encouraging parable in Luke 18:1-7 that also reminds us that our Father in heaven is a just judge and He will avenge us of our adversary when we cry out to Him. Today we need to rise up, stand up, and speak up for the innocence blood of the babies that is being shed.  May the Lord give us courage to do so!   God bless!