Discipline is Proof of God’s Love

Topic: Discipline
Passage: Psalms 94:12–23

January 13, 2023

Commentary

At times God must discipline us to help us. This is similar to a loving parent disciplining his child. The disciplining is not very enjoyable to the child, but it is essential to teach him right from wrong. The Bible says that “no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, put painful, nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb. 12:11). When you feel God’s hand of discipline, accept it as proof of His love. Realize that God is urging you to follow His paths instead of stubbornly going your own way.

  1. The psalmist speaks to the righteous about God (vv. 12-15).
    1. God allows the wicked to prosper in order to chasten the righteous (vv. 12-13).
    2. God will never abandon his people, nor will He forsake his inheritance (v. 14).
    3. There will come a day when righteousness will reign (v. 15).
  2. The psalmist speaks to himself about God (vv. 16-23).
    1. He confesses that he too is unable to stand apart from divine enablement (vv. 16-18).
    2. He ponders these things in order to find comfort when evil men prevail (vv. 19-21).
    3. He knows that he is right in leaving the fate of the wicked with God (vv. 22-23).
“In the multitude of my anxieties within me, your comforts delight my soul” (v. 19). God wants to calm our anxieties even before they happen. 

Application

I need to commit the destiny and destruction of the wicked to God. I need to commit myself to His disciplining hand as it fulfils His purposes in my life.

Psalms 94:12– 23 (NET)

12 How blessed is the one whom you instruct, O Lord, the one whom you teach from your law,

13 in order to protect him from times of trouble, until the wicked are destroyed.

14 Certainly the Lord does not forsake his people; he does not abandon the nation that belongs to him.

15 For justice will prevail, and all the morally upright will be vindicated.

16 Who will rise up to defend me against the wicked? Who will stand up for me against the evildoers?

17 If the Lord had not helped me, I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.

18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,” your loyal love, O Lord, supports me.

19 When worries threaten to overwhelm me, your soothing touch makes me happy.

20 Cruel rulers are not your allies, those who make oppressive laws.

21 They conspire against the blameless, and condemn to death the innocent.

22 But the Lord will protect me, and my God will shelter me.

23 He will pay them back for their sin. He will destroy them because of their evil; the Lord our God will destroy them.