Psalms 94:11

The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity. THE LORD KNOWETH THE THOUGHTS OF MAN, THAT THEY ARE VANITY. "The thoughts" or 'schemes' of men against His people God not only 'knows,' but 'knows that they will prove vanity' - i:e., abortive. But the sense rather is, "they" [ heemaah (H1992), the masculine], not "the thoughts," but 'men' (as the Hebrew for "man" is) are vanity. In opposition to the scoff that God does not "see" or know, the Psalmist declares that God, as being 'Yahweh,' the self-existing Being whereas 'men are vanity' or nothingness, must and 'does know the thoughts' or 'schemes of men,' (cf. Psalms 40:17; Psalms 39:5;...

11._Jehovah knoweth the thoughts of men, etc_. He again insists upon the folly of men in seeking to wrap themselves up in darkness, and hide themselves from the view of God. To prevent them from flattering themselves with vain pretexts, he reminds them that the mists of delusion will be scattered at once when they come to stand in God’s presence. Nothing can avail them, so long as God from heaven stamps vanity upon their deepest counsels. The Psalmist’s design in citing them before the Judge of all, is to make them thoroughly search and try their own hearts; for the great cause of their self-security lay in failing to realize God, burying all distinction between right and wrong, and, so far as that was possible, hardening themselves against all feeling. They might contrive to soothe their minds by means like these, but he tells them that God ridiculed all such trifling. The truth may be...

1-11 We may with boldness appeal to God; for he is the almighty Judge by whom every man is judged. Let this encourage those who suffer wrong, to bear it with silence, committing themselves to Him who judges righteously. These prayers are prophecies, which speak terror to the sons of violence. There will come a day of reckoning for all the hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against God, his truths, and ways, and people. It would hardly be believed, if we did not witness it, that millions of rational creatures should live, move, speak, hear, understand, and do what they purpose, yet act as if they believed that God would not punish the abuse of his gifts. As all knowledge is from God, no doubt he knows all the thoughts of the children of men, and knows that the imaginations of the thoughts of men's hearts are only evil, and that continually. Even in good thoughts there is a w...

THE LORD KNOWETH THE THOUGHTS OF MAN - That is, He who teaches people all that they know Psalms 94:10, must understand all that there is in the mind. See the notes at 1 Corinthians 3:20. THAT THEY ARE VANITY - That is, that they are foolish, vain, unwise, wicked. The knowledge of the thoughts themselves carries with it also the knowledge that they are vain and foolish - for that is their character, and to know them truly is to know this of them. They do not appear to him as they do to people themselves. They are to his view stripped of all that is flattering and illusive, and are seen to be vain and foolish....

EXPOSITION THIS psalm is primarily (Psalms 94:1) a "cry for vengeance on Israel's oppressors, passing into an appeal for more faith to God's own people" (Cheyne). In the latter half (Psalms 94:12) the psalmist comforts himself with the thought that God will assuredly protect his own, and bring destruction upon the evil doers (Psalms 94:12). Metrically, the psalm is made up of four strophes—the first of seven verses (Psalms 94:1); the next of four (Psalms 94:8); the third of eight ...

THE LORD KNOWETH THE THOUGHTS OF MAN,.... He not only hears their words, and sees their actions; but he knows their thoughts, the secret thoughts of their hearts, though he is afar off from them, and, they from him; he is the searcher of the hearts and trier of the reins of the children of men; see Psalms 139:2, and so is Christ, who is the omniscient God, and is the Jehovah all along spoken to and of in this psalm; he knows the thoughts of men, and is a critical discerner of them, Matthew 9:3 THAT THEY ARE VANITY; either that their thoughts are vanity; the object of them is vanity, the riches and honours of this world, which are all vanity and vexation of spirit; and sinful lusts and pleasures, which are vain and useless, yea, pernicious and hurtful: and so they are in their issue and event

Let us read this evening the ninety-fourth Psalm, and may the Spirit of God instruct us while we read it! Psalms 94:1. _O LORD God, to whom vengeance belongeth; O God, to whom vengeance belongeth, shew thyself._ God is the God of justice, and when iniquity and oppression prevail, it is natural that his people should call upon him to come forth out of his hiding-places. Sometimes, when oppression and iniquity and error prevail, it seems as if God had hidden himself away. Hence the prayer of the psalmist, «O Jehovah, the God of recompenses (or revenges, as the margin has it), show thyself.» Psalms 94:2. _Lift up thyself, thou judge of the earth: render a reward to the proud._ As one who is about to strike a heavy blow lifts himself up, to increase the force of

PSALM 94-100 Psalms 94 Prayer for the Execution of the Vengeance of God _ 1. The Prayer on account of the enemy (Psalms 94:1)_ 2. Expostulation with the wicked (Psalms 94:8) 3. The comfort of the righteous (Psalms 94:14) The seven Psalms which follow lead on to the full establishment of the kingdom on earth and most of these Psalms celebrate His judgment reign, and the blessings of the age to come. We start once more with a Psalm which pictures vividly the trials of the days which precede the coming of the Lord and the coming of His kingdom. The Spirit of God has arranged these Psalms, as we have by th

XCIV. A PRAYER FOR VENGEANCE ON OPPRESSIVE RULERS AND FOR DELIVERANCE FROM THEM. Psalms 94:1. The wickedness of the arrogant. The bad rulers here are evidently Jews. They are oppressors, not invaders, and their offences against the moral law are just those which the prophets had denounced in the Israel of their day. PSALMS 94:7. The practical (see on Psalms 14), not theoretical atheism of the arrogant. They thought God did not care for men's conduct. As if He who planted ear and eye would fail to hear and see! Only a Jew could adopt this semi-sceptical position to Israel's God. PSALMS 94:10_ b_. Emend, He that teacheth men shall he be without knowledge?...

KNOWETH, &C. See 1 Corinthians 3:20....