Psalms  ◦   Chapter 94

1O Lord, the God who exterminates evil!
O God, eradicate fear and selfishness — let your love and truth shine forth.

2Rise up, O Creator who governs the earth;
let the proud reap what they have sown.

3How long, O Lord, will your mercy shield the wicked?
How long will they celebrate in their terminal state?

4They are constant torrent of self-importance;
the selfish overflow with boasting.

5They walk all over your people, O Lord;
they oppress those who have your character of love.

6They kill the powerless, widows and immigrants
and murder the orphans — those without family.

7They tell themselves, "The Lord does not see;
the God whom Jacob worshipped doesn’t even know."

8But know this, you who deny reality and live in ignorance;
you foolish people, when will you wise up?

9God created our ears — don’t you realize he hears everything?
God created our eyes — don’t you realize he sees everything?

10The Lord disciplines the nations, so get this straight:
he will reveal the truth to correct the people and teach them how reality works!

11The Lord knows how the worldly-wise think;
he knows that their selfish ideas are misleading, destructive and futile.

12Happy and healthy is the person whom you disciple, O Lord —
the person you teach to live in harmony with your design law for life;

13you provide them healing and deliverance from the day of trouble,
but the wicked dig the pit of their own eternal destruction.

14The Lord will not abandon his people — those who partake of the remedy;
he will never forsake his inheritance — those who possess his character of love.

15Justice returns to design law — the law upon which life is built to operate;
and all the healed — those who are pure in heart — live in harmony with it.

16Who will help me fight against selfishness?
Who will stand with me against those who promote evil?

17If the Lord had not given me his remedy,
I would have quickly succumbed to the silence of death.

18When I said, "I am slipping into selfishness,"
your perfect love, O Lord, healed me.

19When doubts and fears trouble my mind,
abiding in your truth and love brings peace to my soul.

20Selfish leaders who practice evil are not allied with you;
they pass imposed laws to cause suffering and injustice.

21They plot together against the pure of heart
and condemn the innocent to death.

22But the Lord protects me;
in union with my God is where I find safety.

23The Lord will allow the wicked to reap what they have sown;
their rejection of the remedy and persistent wickedness destroys them,
and the Lord will sadly let them go.