Day 629: Toppling tyrants – Psalm 94 vs 16 - 23

16 Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers? 17-19 If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.

20-21 Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute? They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. 22-23 But the Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge. He will bring back on them their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the Lord our God will wipe them out. Psalm 94:16-23 (English Standard Version)

In the study on vs 1-15 of this Psalm I noted that there is a deep longing in human hearts for justice. Both history and our present times are full of examples of people in power exploiting and oppressing others. The Psalm writer was praying that God would rise up and overthrow the arrogant wicked oppressors of His people. In vs 16 he looks for someone to stand with him against all such evildoers. And in vs 17-19 he describes how it was God who had held him up and given him consolation when he was weighed down by the wickedness that was so rampant in the land.

But is this still true of the New Testament? Can believers pray against cruel leaders? Aren't we supposed to pray FOR our leaders? We certainly see that in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 where Paul says: “Pray for all people and ask God to help them - intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.” He puts it even more strongly in Romans 13:1-2 and says: “Everyone must submit to governing authorities, for all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished.” So Christians are called to be prayerful law abiding citizens. But does that mean we believe that wicked and cruel leaders are pleasing to God? Look again at vs 20-21 of the Psalm.

He asks the question “can wicked rulers be allied with God?” The obvious answer is no. We know that God never takes delight in corruption and cruelty, and in a system that is rotten and unjust. And neither should we. But that doesn’t mean we resort to violent riots and armed uprisings. What did he see as the solution to when the wicked are in power? (vs 22-23)

It seems he threw himself (and the needs of the country) upon the Lord's shoulders. In vs 1-2 of this Psalm he had prayed and said: “Lord, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth! Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!” And he believed in his heart that God would, in His own time, break the power of tyrants and bring down evil regimes. We saw that happen with the Nazi's and many Communist countries.

This Psalm was written in the context of Israel so it may have been foreign powers rather than their own Government oppressing them. But in our day it’s longing surely applies to the many Christians who are being persecuted and crushed in places like North Korea and China, and many Islamic countries. And this threat of prosecution and persecution of Christians is looming in Western Countries too. We need to be much in prayer and to cry out to God to arise on behalf of all His suffering people. We need to pray “that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.” He is the one who is able to break the power of the ungodly, and bring about justice and relief for His suffering people. That will certainly be the case at Christ's return.