This psalm is an appeal to the Lord to deal with the wrongs done against the weak and helpless by arrogant, wicked people who are in places of power. The question in the psalmist's mind is not whether God will carry out the righteous demands of justice. He knows God well enough that He will do that as the One True God who is absolutely holy. His question is rather, when will He do it? “How long?” Shall the wicked get away with doing what they were doing? Our time perspective as human beings cannot perceive a timeless existence in which there is no real beginning and no end, but life in an eternal “now.” From our understanding, God has given us dimensions of time, space, and matter as the Judge of the universe. He lives in a timeless, infinite space in which He is in all places, all the time, controlling all power and knowing everything.
God is aware of all that is going on, and He knows the character and behavior of those who oppress others, as well as our character and behavior. It is possible not to do wrong things, but even thinking of doing them makes us guilty of the action. To hate a brother is to premeditate murder, and to a holy God, that is like murder. To lust after that which is not permitted to a God who knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts is to covet and/or commit adultery.
Those people whom the psalmist wanted God to judge were without common sense, moral standards, and restraints on themselves, even though they restrained others, persecuted them, and profited from them. What they were doing to the widows, orphans, and strangers was known to God. It is familiar to our way of thinking that if God doesn’t execute justice and judgment speedily, He isn’t going to do it at all. That is not the case. God carries out vengeance in a manner consistent with His character, not because it is expedient at the moment or in a fit of temper.
God’s schedule and timing depend on His sovereign will, not on our demands and timetables. We must leave the matter of ultimate justice to the Judge of the earth. “Thou, God, seest me” is a true statement from a broken heart. He sees, hears, and accounts for all we and others do to His people. Those who have never received Christ as their Savior and who have not been forgiven their sins will be lost forever when judgment is carried out. “God so loved the world...” refers not just to a specific group of people but to all mankind, for He sees and knows the potential in every person He has given life to.
A desire for God as the Judge of the earth to take action against the injustice that “fools” in the place of leadership hold in national government was the expectation of the psalm writer. Those in areas of national authority do indeed perpetuate oppression against the innocent while taking advantage of them for their own gain. “Thy people… Thy heritage” are vulnerable people with no recourse within their strength or scope of ability. The poor, the orphans and widows, the strangers have no voice in what happens to them. How many millions of unborn children in this country have died because it was expedient for those who make laws to keep their positions and make money off of their constituents, who make it profitable for them to vote the way they want? Around the world, “brutish” people, even parents, have wanted the lives of children who are alive in the womb to be terminated.
God disciplines the heathen to keep them in line through His choosing. He teaches knowledge by the order He has established in the world, even by people observing creation, so they are without excuse. The Lord knows what people think. When God teaches a person knowledge, law, and common sense, we learn from the best possible Teacher and the greatest and absolutely honest Judge. Judgment will come in His time, and vengeance from God will be timely and suitable, bringing the right results. If we took vengeance into our own hands, we would make serious judgment mistakes because we would judge only the action. We would not be able to bring the right results and fair judgment so that justice is done in the right way to the right people.
The Lord has not abandoned the powerless. His righteous actions will bring justice to the innocent and punishment to the guilty. His court is the final appeal. There is no higher authority than the Judge of the earth who will ensure justice prevails. Every “throne of iniquity” will be cut off, and the Lord our God will have the final word. God does and will hold humans accountable to His divine standards and unchangeable laws. God is more than equal in righteous justice to what oppressors have done to His people.
Some people who claim to be Christians seem to believe they must apologize to others for God executing justice through just punishment for sin. When God, in righteous wrath, addresses sin with eternal punishment, some argue that His wrath is incompatible with His love and mercy. The nature of God would be inconsistent if He ignored sin and did not confront it completely. He does not require unbelievers to become believers. Mercy is extended to people for a lifetime, but the rejection of mercy and pardon leads to exclusion from all the blessings of being in the kingdom of God. Our lifetime is the designated period for entering the kingdom of God by faith, rather than after a time of incarceration when a person changes their mind due to the enforcement of the law. The kingdom of love is entered when “we love Him who first loved us.”
God knows what people think and do, and He knows their animosity and hatred against Him are because many think they are a god themselves. They believe they have sole interest and control of their own lives and do not want God to interfere in what they choose to do. Time in hell and the lake of fire will not change their mind about God. It will only make them want out of “this place of torment” so they can continue doing what they have done in their lifetime. So, God has reserved vengeance for Himself because He knows “the thoughts and intents” of every mind and heart. There are times in the lives of believers when God disciplines us to help us. “Whom the Lord loveth, He chasteneth.” The discipline of God’s children is evidence of His love for us. This is one of the ways He chooses to keep us from going our own way. A child of God will appreciate the discipline as an act of divine grace toward us and will look back with thankfulness that we were kept from sin by our gracious Lord.