Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 94
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Psalms 94
Charles Ellicott Commentary
Psalms 94
"O Jehovah, thou God to whom vengeance belongeth, Thou God to whom vengeance belongeth, shine forth." — Psalms 94:1 (ASV)
The original is far more striking in its conciseness. God of retributions, Jehovah, God of retributions shine forth. The emphatic repetition of a phrase is a feature of this psalm. (Psalms 94:23.)
"Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: Render to the proud [their] desert." — Psalms 94:2 (ASV)
Lift up thyself — that is, either be exalted, or rise to give sentence.
"They prate, they speak arrogantly: All the workers of iniquity boast themselves." — Psalms 94:4 (ASV)
How long ... and. —It is better to omit the italics, and render: They speak out of utter impudence: all evil-doers boast. The word rendered “boast” is by modern scholars connected with the Arabian title Emir, a “commander.” They make themselves out to be persons of distinction, or, perhaps, lord it over God’s people.
"They break in pieces thy people, O Jehovah, And afflict thy heritage." — Psalms 94:5 (ASV)
Break in pieces. —Or, crush. (See Isaiah 3:15, where the word is in parallelism with grind the faces of the poor.)
"They slay the widow and the sojourner, And murder the fatherless." — Psalms 94:6 (ASV)
Stranger. —The mention of the stranger as one friendless and helpless (Exodus 22:21), under the tyranny of the great, seems to imply that domestic, and not foreign oppression, is the grievance.
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