The God Who Recompenses

[Psalm 94]

Last Saturday, after proclaiming the word based on Ezra 9, I meditated again on that passage with the title: "God, Isn’t It Amazing?" As I meditated on it again, I thought about how Esdras, sitting there in awe, could not raise his face before God in shame, praying humbly. This made me realize that, as a Christian and a pastor, I too need to learn to feel ashamed before God. I could not deny that, like the people of Israel who forgot God's grace and again betrayed His commandments, I am no different. And just as the leaders of Israel were the ones who most led the people in disobedience to God's word, I also reflected on my own sins as a leader in the church, leading others astray. As I pondered the need to live a righteous life, to walk the right path, I was led to reflect on today’s passage, Psalm 94.

Today, in Psalm 94:1, the scripture says: "O Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth!" The word "vengeance" here can be interpreted in two ways: as "punishment" for the wicked, or as "reward" for the righteous. Under the title "The God Who Recompenses," I want to reflect on how God recompenses both the wicked and His righteous people, and learn from the lessons He gives us in this passage.

First, our God who recompenses is the God who punishes the wicked.

Look at Psalm 94:2: "Rise up, O Judge of the earth, pay back to the proud what they deserve." Our God who recompenses is a just God. He is not the kind of God who remains silent while the wicked continue to boast and rejoice in their evil deeds (v. 3). He is definitely a God who judges the wicked with justice. The God who recompenses is a God who gives the wicked their deserved punishment. But why does this just and recompensing God administer such significant punishment to the wicked?

1. The first reason is that the wicked are arrogant (v. 2).

   Because of their arrogance, the wicked speak boastfully, uttering proud words, and delight in committing sins (v. 4). In other words, the proud wicked are full of malicious speech and harm others by speaking recklessly, even to the point of insulting God without hesitation (Park Yun-seon). Therefore, the just and righteous God punishes the proud wicked with severe punishment.

2. The second reason God punishes the wicked is because they persecute God's people and kill the poor and innocent (Park Yun-seon).

   Look at verses 5-6 of Psalm 94: "O Lord, they crush Your people and afflict Your heritage. They slay the widow and the stranger and murder the fatherless." The wicked persecute God’s people. They gather together to strike at the souls of the righteous, seeking to condemn the innocent and shed blood (v. 21). Moreover, these wicked individuals show cruelty by killing the “widow,” the “stranger,” and the “fatherless”—those whom God especially has compassion for (v. 6). Therefore, the just God punishes them severely. How do the wicked speak while committing such evil acts? Look at verse 7: "They say, 'The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.'" In short, the wicked ignore and despise God (Park Yun-seon). They believe that God does not see their wicked deeds and that God does not care about them. However, God knows that these thoughts of the wicked are vain (v. 11). That is why God says: "Understand, you senseless among the people; you fools, when will you become wise? Does He who implanted the ear not hear? Does He who formed the eye not see?" (vv. 8-9). The wicked, who are foolish and ignorant, must know this: the God who made the eyes sees everything, and the God who made the ears hears everything. Ultimately, our recompensing God will return the wicked's evil upon them, and because of their wickedness, He will cut them off (v. 23).

Secondly, our recompensing God is also the God who disciplines His people.

Look at Psalm 94:12: "Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord, the one you teach from your law." In other words, as the God who recompenses, He is the one who, in His justice, causes things to return to the right path. How should the people of God, who are persecuted by the wicked, view these persecutions? The persecution of the wicked has a purpose of discipline and instruction (Park Yun-seon). Therefore, through the persecution of the wicked, the faithful can receive God's teachings, and they are blessed because of it. This is truly an interesting perspective. Seeing the persecution of the wicked as an opportunity to receive God’s discipline and instruction brings a deep blessing. In verse 10 of the text, the psalmist also emphasizes that the recompensing God, in His righteousness, disciplines us and teaches us through knowledge. Thus, those who view the persecution of the wicked as God's discipline and receive teaching through it are blessed (v. 12). What are these blessings? I’ve thought of three blessings:

(1) Those who think of the persecution of the wicked as God’s discipline and learn from it will receive the blessing of learning the Lord’s statutes (v. 12).

We are blessed to learn the Lord’s statutes through the suffering caused by the persecution of the wicked. In other words, when we suffer because of the persecution of the wicked, that suffering helps us turn away from our wrongdoings and obey God’s commandments, allowing us to walk in the right path. This is why the psalmist confesses in Psalm 119:67 and 71: “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I obey your word… It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.”

(2) Those who think of the persecution of the wicked as God’s discipline and learn from it will also experience the blessing of enjoying God’s peace even in times of trouble (v. 13).

Look at Psalm 94:13: “You grant them relief from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked.” This verse means that those who receive discipline through hardship will have peace in their hearts until that hardship ends (until the persecutor is destroyed). In other words, during the time of their trouble, they will have peace in their soul (Park Yun-seon). How can we enjoy the peace that God gives during times of hardship? The reason is that, through hardship, we learn the Lord’s statutes. When the Lord’s statutes govern and rule our hearts, we can experience the peace that God gives. The Holy Spirit makes God’s word rule and govern our hearts, allowing us to experience a peace that the world cannot understand or offer.

(3) Those who think of the persecution of the wicked as God’s discipline and learn from it will also enjoy the blessing of experiencing the Lord’s mercy during trouble.

Look at Psalm 94:18: “When I said, ‘My foot is slipping,’ your unfailing love, Lord, supported me.” When we are about to slip because of hardship, in that dramatic moment, our God holds us with His mercy. We can already see this in the experience of Asaph in Psalm 73. The righteous suffer, while the wicked prosper… Asaph was almost overwhelmed with envy at the prosperity of the wicked, but God loved him and held him (73:23). Therefore, Asaph experienced God’s love and confessed: “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you… It is good to be near God…” (Psalm 73:25, 28). Our God is the one who, when we are full of many thoughts, comforts our soul and gives us joy (94:19). How many thoughts do we have when we are in trouble? In those moments, the Lord comforts us, not only giving peace to our souls but also filling our souls with joy. The psalmist, who experienced peace and joy in his soul, confessed: “The Lord is my rock and my fortress; my God is my refuge” (94:22). God is our fortress and our rock. When we are persecuted by the wicked, we must humbly accept God’s discipline as we learn from it, receiving the teachings and blessings He gives through that discipline. In such a way, like the psalmist, we should be able to confess: “The Lord is my fortress and my rock of refuge.”

This week, I had the opportunity to speak with one or two pastors. What they have in common is that they are both facing difficulties in their ministry. These difficulties are caused by the trials some of the church members are going through. One of the pastors shared the following with me: there are some members who, because of their trials, have called a few families to speak negatively about the pastor and advised them not to come to church. Interestingly, one of the sisters who received this call warned the person who was in trial, saying, “If you hate God’s servant like that, you will be punished by God.” From what I heard, this sister, whose father is also a pastor, had seen her father go through similar trials, but she had also witnessed how God disciplines those who oppose His servants. After hearing this story from the pastor, I personally felt that God is working in a very interesting way. It was an opportunity for me to believe even more strongly that the Lord loves His servants and His church, and He is protecting and guarding it. So, I shared this story with another pastor who was struggling and reminded him that God loves him and the church he serves, and that the Lord will protect and guard him. My desire is that the God who rewards would bring the members who are in trial back to the Lord through discipline and lead them to walk in the right path. I also pray that the pastors who are suffering because of these trials would experience the blessings that the God who rewards gives, even in the midst of suffering.

Our God is a God who rewards. He is a God who gives a just punishment to the wicked who persecute His righteous people. However, to the righteous who are persecuted by the wicked, He gives a blessing through that persecution or discipline. This blessing is the blessing of learning the ways of the Lord, the blessing of experiencing peace from the Lord even in times of distress, and the blessing of experiencing the Lord’s eternal mercy.

I hope that both you and I can experience all these blessings.

With the hope of enjoying the blessings through God's discipline,

Pastor James Kim
(Remembering the loving discipline of the God who rewards)