O LORD, God of vengeance, O God of vengeance, shine forth. Sermons
Aglen, in Ellicott's 'Commentary,' proposes to render, "God of retributions, Jehovah, God of retributions, shine forth." The idea in the term "vengeances" would be better expressed by the term "avengements." God is thought of as the great Goel-Avenger of his oppressed and afflicted people, and therefore the One to whom appeal should be made in any particular time of distress. The word "vengeance" includes the idea of heated personal feeling. The word "avengement" sets prominently family relations and duties. The Apostle St. Paul expresses this thought of God, when he commands that "no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter, because that the Lord is the Avenger of all such" ( 1 Thessalonians 4:6). The "avenger of blood" is a familiar figure in the Mosaic constitution. But Moses only adopted and modified an original tribal institution. The main functions of the Hebrew Goel, Avenger, or Redeemer, were three. 1. If any Hebrew had fallen into penury, and been compelled to part with his ancestral estate, the family avenger was bound to redeem it and restore it. 2. If any Hebrew had been taken captive, or had sold himself as a slave, the goel had to buy him back, and set him free. 3. If any Hebrew had suffered wrong, or had been killed, the goel had to exact compensation for the wrong, or to avenge the murder. It is evident that the psalmist lived in a time when wickedness triumphed in high places. We may think of the reign of Ahab and Jezebel, when the condition of Jehovah's prophets and people seemed to be hopeless; they could only cry mightily to God, seeking his preservations and his deliverances. The psalmist had no confidence in the existing rulers, who should have been the avengers of all the poor, the wronged, and the distressed. He had confidence in God, of whom it can be said, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay." I. MAN CANNOT AVENGE HIMSELF. 1. Because those who wrong him are often quite beyond his reach or control. 2. Because he has not at command the requisite forces. 3. Because he is not self master enough to temper justice with mercy. 4. Because he cannot be strictly judicial, but is sure to spoil his avengings by introducing personal feeling. 5. Because he is in grave peril of injuring himself in his avengings. II. MAN MAY RESTFULLY LET GOD AVENGE HIM. 1. Because his power is sufficient. 2. His self-restraints are perfect. 3. His time is best. 4. His avengings prove to be blessings both for the wronged and for the wrong doer. - R.T. Thy testimonies are very sure. Men love things that are sure. Uncertainty is painful, and often maketh the heart sick. We cannot live upon shadows and clouds. It is no use building a house upon the sand. I. THE PROTECTION OF GOD (Psalm 18:2; Psalm 125:2). God is our strength, our shelter, our shield, our sun, and for ever. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my Father's love shall be my portion, my joy, my immortal life. This is enough; I ask no more. II. THE FULFILMENT OF HOLY SCRIPTURE. The ruins of Tyre, Babylon, and Nineveh attest that there was in ancient years a sure word of prophecy, and, as time passes on, the Word of the Lord continueth to be its own witness. It needs no defence. The Bible, in the march of daily events, is fulfilled to the letter. Sooner shall the Nile cease to flow, to rise and fall, than the word of prophecy fail. So with the promises of the Bible. They are renewed every morning. III. THE CONFUSION OF SLANDERERS. Let loose talkers remember (Proverbs 19:5). And if the liar and gossip should have annoyed you, let your soul find hope in this gracious promise (Proverbs 16:7). Go on your way, then, with a light step and a brave heart, and the Lord in whom you trust will deliver and comfort you. IV. THE HARVEST TIME. Science teaches you that the earth's fertility is boundless. Cultivate it wisely, and it will blossom as the rose. And what saith the Scripture of God, and the earth which He made (Genesis 8:22; Psalm 145:15; Psalm 23:1)? Fear not, then, to ask God for your daily bread. He hath promised it; He will give it. V. THE REWARD OF TRUE SERVICE. God is a good paymaster. He will not be debtor to any man. His reward will be abundant. Be brave and true, then, in the service of God. VI. THE REMISSION OF SINS. This salvation is free. You need bring no silver, gold, or precious stones. This salvation is full. It is for every soul and for every sin. This salvation is everlasting. It begins on earth, and is continued in heaven. VII. THE RESURRECTION OF THE JUST. () Holiness becometh Thine house, O Lord, for ever I. THE NECESSITY OF HOLINESS. 1. The ministers of God's house must be holy in manner, motive, life, doctrine. 2. They must preach holiness. 3. All in the Lord's house are called to holiness. It is profitable to meditate beforehand on the glorious majesty and might of the Eternal Sovereign to whose palace we are going. It is dangerous to .engage in worldly conversation, or irrelevant thoughts, up to the sacred porch. II. THE METHOD OF HOLINESS. They do not show an intelligent appreciation of the holiness of the house of the Lord who are indifferent to the order and symmetry of its services. One step in public and united worship rests on another. If the first be missed it is not easy to reach the second. Be in time! There is a calm preliminary exercise indispensable to those who would be in time for the entire service. Looking round to know what people are coming in and going out is not the business of everybody. Let your thoughts be directed continually to the Lord. () () In the temple, every "little" ornament even of the mighty structure that crowned the cliffs of Zion was "holy" to the Lord. Not the great courts and inner shrines and pillared halls merely, but all. Not a carved pomegranate, not a bell, silver or golden, but was "holy." The table and its lamps, with flowers of silver light, tent and staves, fluttering curtain and ascending incense, altar and sacrifice, breastplate and ephod, mitre and gem-clasped girdle, wreathen chains and jewelled hangings — over all was inscribed "Holy," while within, in the innermost shrine, where God manifested Himself above the mercy-seat, was the Holiest. Thus the utter holiness of that God with whom they had to do was by every detail impressed upon the heart and conscience of ancient Israel.(). O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth... show Thyself. Homilist. I. THE AWFUL CONDITION OF THE WICKED PERSECUTOR. The persecutors referred to (vers. 1-10) are represented as "proud," speaking "hard things," as "workers of iniquity," as "breaking in pieces" the people of God, as "slaying the widow and the stranger," and "murdering the fatherless." Every age and country has abounded with such oppressors, they are rife even in this land of liberty.1. They are prayed against by their godly victims (vers. 1, 2). 2. They are understood by their godly victims, who saw in their hearts — (1)Atheism (ver. 7).(2)Brutality (ver. 8).(3)Folly (vers. 8-10).II. THE BLESSED CONDITION OF THEIR PIOUS VICTIMS. These victims regarded their persecution — 1. As a Divine chastisement (ver. 12). All afflictions even when they come by the cruel persecution of men are employed by the Almighty Father as chastisements and corrections. Although He does not originate the evil He directs it and uses it for good. 2. As a Divine chastisement that would come to an end (ver. 13). The afflictions will not continue for ever, a long and blessed repose will ensue. The persecutors will fall into the pit which they have dug. The sinner is ever his own destroyer; with every crime he is sinking his own dark bottomless pit into which he must fall. 3. As a chastisement under which they were guaranteed Divine support. The pious victims experienced (1)Divine help (vers. 17, 18).(2)Divine consolation (ver. 19).4. As a Divine chastisement that would end in the ruin of their enemies (vers. 20-23). ()
People Jacob, PsalmistPlaces JerusalemTopics Avenges, Belongeth, Belongs, Face, Forth, Hands, O, Punishment, Shew, Shine, Shining, Thyself, Vengeance, VengeancesOutline 1. The prophet, calling for justice, complains of tyranny and impiety.
8. He teaches God's providence
12. He shows the blessedness of affliction
16. God is the defender of the afflicted.
Dictionary of Bible Themes Psalm 94:1 4835 light, spiritual Psalm 94:1-2 5493 retribution Psalm 94:1-6 5310 exploitation Psalm 94:1-7 5350 injustice, hated by God
8792 oppression, God's attitude Library Of the Knowledge of Truth
Happy is the man whom Truth by itself doth teach, not by figures and transient words, but as it is in itself.(1) Our own judgment and feelings often deceive us, and we discern but little of the truth. What doth it profit to argue about hidden and dark things, concerning which we shall not be even reproved in the judgment, because we knew them not? Oh, grievous folly, to neglect the things which are profitable and necessary, and to give our minds to things which are curious and hurtful! Having …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of ChristAgainst Vain and Worldly Knowledge
"My Son, let not the fair and subtle sayings of men move thee. For the kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.(1) Give ear to My words, for they kindle the heart and enlighten the mind, they bring contrition, and they supply manifold consolations. Never read thou the word that thou mayest appear more learned or wise; but study for the mortification of thy sins, for this will be far more profitable for thee than the knowledge of many difficult questions. 2. "When thou hast read and learned many …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ A Prayer for the Spirit of Devotion
6. O Lord my God, Thou art all my good, and who am I that I should dare to speak unto Thee? I am the very poorest of Thy servants, an abject worm, much poorer and more despicable than I know or dare to say. Nevertheless remember, O Lord, that I am nothing, I have nothing, and can do nothing. Thou only art good, just and holy; Thou canst do all things, art over all things, fillest all things, leaving empty only the sinner. Call to mind Thy tender mercies, and fill my heart with Thy grace, Thou …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ The Abrogation of the Saybrook Platform
That house cannot stand.--Mark iii, 25. The times change and we change with them.--Proverb. The omission of all persecuting acts from the revision of the laws in 1750 was evidence that the worst features of the great schism were passing, that public opinion as a whole had grown averse to any great severity toward the Separatists as dissenters. But the continuance in the revised statutes of the Saybrook Platform as the legalized constitution of the "Presbyterian, Congregational or Consociated Church," …
M. Louise Greene, Ph. D.—The Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut Joy
'The fruit of the Spirit is joy.' Gal 5:52. The third fruit of justification, adoption, and sanctification, is joy in the Holy Ghost. Joy is setting the soul upon the top of a pinnacle - it is the cream of the sincere milk of the word. Spiritual joy is a sweet and delightful passion, arising from the apprehension and feeling of some good, whereby the soul is supported under present troubles, and fenced against future fear. I. It is a delightful passion. It is contrary to sorrow, which is a perturbation …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity a survey of the third and closing discourse of the prophet
We shall now, in conclusion, give a survey of the third and closing discourse of the prophet. After an introduction in vi. 1, 2, where the mountains serve only to give greater solemnity to the scene (in the fundamental passages Deut. xxxii. 1, and in Is. 1, 2, "heaven and earth" are mentioned for the same purposes, inasmuch as they are the most venerable parts of creation; "contend with the mountains" by taking them in and applying to [Pg 522] them as hearers), the prophet reminds the people of …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament Out of the Deep of Suffering and Sorrow.
Save me, O God, for the waters are come in even unto my soul: I am come into deep waters; so that the floods run over me.--Ps. lxix. 1, 2. I am brought into so great trouble and misery: that I go mourning all the day long.--Ps. xxxviii. 6. The sorrows of my heart are enlarged: Oh! bring Thou me out of my distress.--Ps. xxv. 17. The Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping: the Lord will receive my prayer.--Ps. vi. 8. In the multitude of the sorrows which I had in my heart, Thy comforts have refreshed …
Charles Kingsley—Out of the Deep In Death and after Death
A sadder picture could scarcely be drawn than that of the dying Rabbi Jochanan ben Saccai, that "light of Israel" immediately before and after the destruction of the Temple, and for two years the president of the Sanhedrim. We read in the Talmud (Ber. 28 b) that, when his disciples came to see him on his death-bed, he burst into tears. To their astonished inquiry why he, "the light of Israel, the right pillar of the Temple, and its mighty hammer," betrayed such signs of fear, he replied: "If I were …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life How they are to be Admonished who Lament Sins of Deed, and those who Lament Only Sins of Thought.
(Admonition 30.) Differently to be admonished are those who deplore sins of deed, and those who deplore sins of thought. For those who deplore sins of deed are to be admonished that perfected lamentations should wash out consummated evils, lest they be bound by a greater debt of perpetrated deed than they pay in tears of satisfaction for it. For it is written, He hath given us drink in tears by measure (Ps. lxxix. 6): which means that each person's soul should in its penitence drink the tears …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great Temporal Advantages.
"We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."--1 Tim. vi. 7, 8. Every age has its own special sins and temptations. Impatience with their lot, murmuring, grudging, unthankfulness, discontent, are sins common to men at all times, but I suppose one of those sins which belongs to our age more than to another, is desire of a greater portion of worldly goods than God has given us,--ambition and covetousness …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII Division of Actual Grace
Actual grace may be divided according to: (1) the difference existing between the faculties of the human soul, and (2) in reference to the freedom of the will. Considered in its relation to the different faculties of the soul, actual grace is either of the intellect, or of the will, or of the sensitive faculties. With regard to the free consent of the will, it is either (1) prevenient, also called cooeperating, or (2) efficacious or merely sufficient. 1. THE ILLUMINATING GRACE OF THE INTELLECT.--Actual …
Joseph Pohle—Grace, Actual and Habitual Letter Xlvi (Circa A. D. 1125) to Guigues, the Prior, and to the Other Monks of the Grand Chartreuse
To Guigues, the Prior, And to the Other Monks of the Grand Chartreuse He discourses much and piously of the law of true and sincere charity, of its signs, its degrees, its effects, and of its perfection which is reserved for Heaven (Patria). Brother Bernard, of Clairvaux, wishes health eternal to the most reverend among fathers, and to the dearest among friends, Guigues, Prior of the Grande Chartreuse, and to the holy Monks who are with him. 1. I have received the letter of your Holiness as joyfully …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux The Roman Pilgrimage: the Miracles which were Wrought in It.
[Sidenote: 1139] 33. (20). It seemed to him, however, that one could not go on doing these things with sufficient security without the authority of the Apostolic See; and for that reason he determined to set out for Rome, and most of all because the metropolitan see still lacked, and from the beginning had lacked, the use of the pall, which is the fullness of honour.[507] And it seemed good in his eyes[508] that the church for which he had laboured so much[509] should acquire, by his zeal and labour, …
H. J. Lawlor—St. Bernard of Clairvaux's Life of St. Malachy of Armagh But, Say They, How is the Flesh by a Certain Likeness Compared unto The...
25. But, say they, how is the flesh by a certain likeness compared unto the Church? What! doth the Church lust against Christ? whereas the same Apostle said, "The Church is subject unto Christ." [1898] Clearly the Church is subject unto Christ; because the spirit therefore lusteth against the flesh, that on every side the Church may be made subject to Christ; but the flesh lusteth against the spirit, because not as yet hath the Church received that peace which was promised perfect. And for this reason …
St. Augustine—On Continence Question Lxxxi of the virtue of Religion
I. Does the Virtue of Religion Direct a Man To God Alone? S. Augustine, sermon, cccxxxiv. 3 " on Psalm lxxvi. 32 sermon, cccxi. 14-15 II. Is Religion a Virtue? III. Is Religion One Virtue? IV. Is Religion a Special Virtue Distinct From Others? V. Is Religion One of the Theological Virtues? VI. Is Religion To Be Preferred To the Other Moral Virtues? VII. Has Religion, Or Latria, Any External Acts? S. Augustine, of Care for the Dead, V. VIII. Is Religion the Same As Sanctity? Cardinal Cajetan, …
St. Thomas Aquinas—On Prayer and The Contemplative Life The Knowledge of God
'The Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.' I Sam 2:2. Glorious things are spoken of God; he transcends our thoughts, and the praises of angels. God's glory lies chiefly in his attributes, which are the several beams by which the divine nature shines forth. Among other of his orient excellencies, this is not the least, The Lord is a God of knowledge; or as the Hebrew word is, A God of knowledges.' Through the bright mirror of his own essence, he has a full idea and cognisance …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity The Chorus of Angels
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour and glory, and blessing! I t was a good report which the queen of Sheba heard, in her own land, of the wisdom and glory of Solomon. It lessened her attachment to home, and prompted her to undertake a long journey to visit this greater King, of whom she had heard so much. She went, and she was not disappointed. Great as the expectations were, which she had formed from the relation made her by others, …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2 Christian Meekness
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth Matthew 5:5 We are now got to the third step leading in the way to blessedness, Christian meekness. Blessed are the meek'. See how the Spirit of God adorns the hidden man of the heart, with multiplicity of graces! The workmanship of the Holy Ghost is not only curious, but various. It makes the heart meek, pure, peaceable etc. The graces therefore are compared to needlework, which is different and various in its flowers and colours (Psalm 45:14). …
Thomas Watson—The Beatitudes: An Exposition of Matthew 5:1-12 Psalms
The piety of the Old Testament Church is reflected with more clearness and variety in the Psalter than in any other book of the Old Testament. It constitutes the response of the Church to the divine demands of prophecy, and, in a less degree, of law; or, rather, it expresses those emotions and aspirations of the universal heart which lie deeper than any formal demand. It is the speech of the soul face to face with God. Its words are as simple and unaffected as human words can be, for it is the genius …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Psalm 94:1 NIV
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