Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2742 of our trek. The purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.

Today, we continue our journey through the courtroom of the cosmos in Psalm 94, covering the second half of this intense psalm, verses 12-23, in the New Living Translation.

In our previous trek, we stood with the psalmist as he presented his case against the "practical atheists"—the wicked rulers who crush the widow and the orphan, arrogantly claiming, "The Lord isn’t looking." We used the logic of creation—the Eye and the Ear—to dismantle their foolishness. We established that the God of Vengeance is not blind; He is simply waiting for the proper time to shine forth.

Now, in this concluding section, the tone shifts dramatically. The psalmist turns from addressing the wicked fools to addressing the faithful sufferer. He moves from the external problem of evil to the internal solution of divine discipline. He asks a fundamental question: How do we survive while we wait for justice?

The answer lies in the distinction between punishment and instruction. We will see that while the wicked are digging their own graves, God is building a fortress for His people through the hard lessons of life. We will also see a stark confrontation between the corrupt thrones of men and the righteous throne of God.

So, let us settle our hearts and learn why correction is actually a blessing in disguise.

The psalmist begins with a beatitude, a statement of blessing that seems contradictory to our human nature: "Joyful are those you discipline, Lord, those you teach with your instructions."

We usually equate joy with ease, comfort, and the absence of struggle. But here, the psalmist connects joy (’ashrê, or blessedness) directly with discipline (yāsar). This word, yāsar, implies correction, chastisement, and instruction. It is the loving but firm hand of a father guiding his child.

Why is this a cause for joy? Because it signifies relationship. God ignores the wicked for a season, allowing them to pile up guilt, but He actively engages with the righteous. He takes the time to "teach" them from His "instructions"—literally, His Torah, His law. When we go through hardship, if we belong to God, we are not being punished as criminals; we are being educated as sons and daughters.

The purpose of this education is revealed in the next verse: "You give them relief from troubled times until a pit is dug to capture the wicked."

This is a profound insight into the timing of God's justice. There is a "pit" being dug. The destruction of the wicked is certain; it is currently under construction. But digging a pit takes time. While the wicked are busy arrogantly strutting about, unwittingly excavating their own grave, God uses that waiting period to give His people "relief" (šāqaṭ—quietness or rest) through His Word.

The discipline of God settles our hearts. It teaches us patience. It gives us the internal stability to endure the "troubled times" without losing our faith. If we were not disciplined, we might become like the wicked, or we might despair. But God’s instruction keeps us steady while the trap is set.

The psalmist then anchors this stability in the covenant: "The Lord will not reject his people; he will not abandon his special possession."

This language draws deeply from the Ancient Israelite worldview regarding the nations. In Deuteronomy Thirty-two, God disinherited the nations, assigning them to lesser spiritual beings, but He chose Jacob (Israel) as His "special possession" (naḥălâ—inheritance). Even though the world seems chaotic and unjust rulers seem to dominate, Yahweh will never walk away from His portion. He is legally and relationally bound to them.

The result is the eventual restoration of order: "Judgment will again be founded on justice, and those with virtuous hearts will pursue it."

Right now, the legal systems of the world—the "thrones" of men—are often divorced from true justice. But the psalmist promises a return to alignment. There is a day coming when Judgment (mishpat) will return to Righteousness (tsedeq). They will be reunited. And when that happens, the "virtuous hearts"—the upright—will no longer be marginalized; they will follow in the train of that victorious justice.

The psalmist now moves from general theology to intense personal experience. He asks a rhetorical question that highlights his isolation: "Who will protect me from the wicked? Who will stand up for me against evildoers?"

He looks around at the human landscape. There are no allies. The courts are corrupt (as we will see in a moment). The rulers are "practical atheists." Society is indifferent. He is alone in the arena.

His conclusion is stark: "Unless the Lord had helped me, I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave."

This is not a poetic exaggeration. He was on the brink of death. The Hebrew phrase for "silence of the grave" is dûmâ—a place of absolute stillness, the silence of Sheol. Without Yahweh’s intervention, the wicked would have silenced him permanently. God was not just a helper; He was the only helper.

He recalls the visceral sensation of falling: "I cried out, 'I am slipping!' but your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me."

We have all felt this. The ground gives way. Stability vanishes. It is that stomach-churning moment of losing your balance on a cliff edge. Notice that he didn't have time for a long, theological prayer. He just cried, "I am slipping!" And immediately, God's Unfailing Love (ḥesed)—His covenant loyalty—propped him up. God’s hand is faster than our fall.

The psalmist then addresses the internal battle that accompanies external pressure: "When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer."

The Hebrew word for "doubts" (sar‘appîm) refers to anxious, disquieting thoughts—the kind that branch out and multiply in the middle of the night, keeping you awake with "what-ifs." "What if the wicked win? What if I lose everything?"

In the midst of this mental storm, God provides "comfort" (tanḥûm). But notice the effect of this comfort. It doesn't just calm him down; it gives him "renewed hope and cheer" (literally, "delight"). God doesn't just tranquilize our anxiety; He replaces it with joy.   Even while the pit is being dug for the wicked, and the battle rages, the soul that is "disciplined" by the Lord finds actual delight in His presence.

The psalm concludes by confronting the source of the societal evil: the corrupt government. The psalmist asks: "Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side—leaders whose decrees permit injustice?"

The NLT translates this dynamically, but the literal Hebrew is fascinating: "Can the throne of destruction be allied with You?" (kissē’ hawwôt).

This connects powerfully to the Divine Council worldview.   A "throne" represents authority, governance, and legislation.   In the ancient world, kings claimed to rule as sons of the gods, enacting the will of heaven.   The psalmist is looking at the human rulers who are "framing mischief by statute"—legalizing sin, codifying oppression—and he asks, "Can Yahweh have any fellowship with this throne?"

The answer is an emphatic NO! Just because a government has power does not mean it has God's sanction.   When a throne creates laws that "permit injustice," it becomes a "throne of destruction." It aligns itself with the forces of chaos rather than the Order of Yahweh. It becomes an enemy combatant against the Kingdom of Heaven.

The actions of this corrupt throne are brutal: "They gang up against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death." They use the legal system ("condemn") to commit murder. This is the ultimate perversion of the justice God demanded in Psalm 82.

In the face of this legalized evil, where does the believer go? "But the Lord is my fortress; my God is the mighty rock where I hide."

The believer secedes from the "throne of destruction" and takes up citizenship in the Fortress of Yahweh. God is not just a concept; He is a "high tower" (misgāḇ) and a "rock of refuge" (tsûr maḥseh). When the laws of the land turn against the righteous, the presence of God becomes their asylum.

Finally, the psalmist pronounces the sentence. The God of Vengeance (from verse one) shines forth: "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."

This is the principle of lex talionis (divine retribution). God often judges evil by letting it boomerang. He "turns their sins back on them." The pit they dug for the righteous (verse 13) becomes their own grave. The violence they plotted consumes them.

The psalm ends with a definitive, repetitive declaration: "He will destroy them...The Lord our God will destroy them." This is not a wish; it is a prophetic certainty. The "throne of destruction" will be destroyed by the King of Righteousness. The silence they tried to impose on the innocent (verse 17) will become their own eternal silence (verse 23, implied "cut off").

Psalm 94 leaves us with a stark choice. We can align with the "throne of destruction"—the systems of this world that rely on power, arrogance, and the exploitation of the weak—or we can submit to the School of God.

If we choose God, we accept His discipline. We accept the waiting. We accept that we may "slip" and feel anxiety. But in exchange, we get a Fortress. We get Unfailing Love. We get the comfort that brings joy in the midst of sorrow. And ultimately, we get to see the victory of the God who hears, sees, and acts.

If you found this podcast insightful, subscribe and leave us a review, then encourage your friends and family to join us and come along tomorrow for another day of Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.

Thank you so much for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and, most importantly, I am your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal.

As we take this trek together, let us always:

I am Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Everyday! See you next time for more wisdom from God’s Word!