Rise Up, O Judge

O Lord God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself.  Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud.  Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?

Psalm 94:1-3

Why do the wicked prosper?  This is an issue with which godly people have struggled greatly.  The Psalm before us is the discussion of that issue from the pen of one of the holy men of old who spoke by the Holy Ghost. Our text for today arises out of the prayer of this individual who has observed, apparently firsthand, the unchecked evil-doing of these whom he calls ‘proud’ and ‘wicked.’  Where do we find Christ in this?  We find Him in the petition ‘Rise up, O Judge of the earth.’  In Genesis 18, which is an occasion when Christ appeared to Abraham as part of the conversation related to His impending judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham asks the question, ‘Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?’  In Christ’s description of the Last Judgment in Matthew 25, He sits as the final Judge.  In Revelation 19, where Christ appears in power and glory, John declares, ‘in righteousness He judges and makes war.’  Revelation 20 depicts the scene of the Last Judgment, where Christ appears as the Judge.  All of these references lead us to the conclusion that ‘the triumph of the wicked is short.’  Christ will render justice to the wicked who have consistently oppressed His people.  He is the Savior of His own and the Judge of the wicked, whom He permits to prosper temporarily before cutting them off eternally.  Thus, Christ, the Judge of all the earth does right.

O God, of Truth and Righteousness,
we rejoice that You render judgement and justice.
We praise You that even though You seem to tarry
for a long time, yet ultimately,
You will come, to separate the wicked from the righteous.