Psalm 94

1 O Lord, the God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, let your glorious justice shine forth!
2 Arise, O judge of the earth. Give the proud what they deserve.
3 How long, O Lord? How long will the wicked be allowed to gloat?
4 How long will they speak with arrogance? How long will these evil people boast?
5 They crush your people, Lord, hurting those you claim as your own.
6 They kill widows and foreigners and murder orphans.
7 “The Lord isn’t looking,” they say, “and besides, the God of Israel doesn’t care.”
8 Think again, you fools! When will you finally catch on?
9 Is he deaf—the one who made your ears? Is he blind—the one who formed your eyes?
10 He punishes the nations—won’t he also punish you? He knows everything—doesn’t he also know what you are doing?
11 The Lord knows people’s thoughts; he knows they are worthless!
12 Joyful are those you discipline, Lord, those you teach with your instructions.
13 You give them relief from troubled times until a pit is dug to capture the wicked.
14 The Lord will not reject his people; he will not abandon his special possession.
15 Judgment will again be founded on justice, and those with virtuous hearts will pursue it.
16 Who will protect me from the wicked? Who will stand up for me against evildoers?
17 Unless the Lord had helped me, I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave.
18 I cried out, “I am slipping!” but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me.
19 When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.
20 Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side— leaders whose decrees permit injustice? 21 They gang up against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.
22 But the Lord is my fortress; my God is the mighty rock where I hide.
23 God will turn the sins of evil people back on them. He will destroy them for their sins. The Lord our God will destroy them.

“The Lord isn’t looking, the God of Israel doesn’t care.”

And that would be somebody's justification for bad behavior? This kind of talk tells us something important. Evildoers do bad things...that's what the word means. The only reason they behave is because they think somebody might be watching. They don't want to behave.

Don't trust them...as though they may have turned over a new leaf. They haven't. They're just waiting for an opportunity when nobody's watching.

Evildoers are not that smart either...to think God might not notice. Our psalmist asks. "Is he deaf—the one who made your ears? Is he blind—the one who formed your eyes?" I'm guessing that's a rhetorical question...no answer necessary.

The world is full of wicked people who are arrogant and boastful in their belief that God isn't engaged. As our psalmist says "They crush your people, Lord, hurting those you claim as your own. They kill widows and foreigners and murder orphans." And lots of other things we've seen. The truth is, "The Lord knows their thoughts; he knows they are worthless!"

Believers occasionally give in to temptation believing God is not paying attention. Don't fool yourself. God is aware of every detail in our lives. If this is the case...and it is...we also know that God cannot tolerate abuse against His children for long. If you feel under the gun today...abused by wickedness and wonder if it will ever end...relax. When all is said and done, this will not last. Judgment will bring justice, God's people will be restored because "the Lord is our fortress; our God is the mighty rock where we hide."

Live boldly out there today...