In verse 12-15 the psalmist pronounced the man blessed whom God chastens and teaches out of His law in order that He may give him rest from the days of adversity until the pit be digged for the wicked. God deals with every person, whether or not he realizes it. The psalmist praised God for the fact that the Almighty had dealt with Him according to His Word (see Psalm 119:65-72). God has expressed His will in His Word and will deal with all accordingly. He never chastens anyone unless there is a reason for it. At the time one is being punished by the Lord, the experience is not delightful; but it afterwards yields the peaceable fruits of righteousness to those who are exercised thereby.

The Lord also teaches His people out of His law. All the judgments and afflictions which the Almighty has sent upon the world have been designed to bring man to his extremity in order that he might face the realities of life and turn to God and in order that He might teach him out of His revelation.

God wants to give rest to His people from the days of adversity. We are now in school and are now being taught the lessons which will be invaluable to us when we pass to the other world. God wants to teach all but very few will listen and are willing to be taught.

In verse 13 appears a marvelous statement:

"That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked."

The Lord chastens and teaches His people out of His law that He may give them rest from adversity "Until the pit be digged for the wicked." The pit here referred to is doubtless that of eternal punishment into which the wicked will be turned after they have been judged and the sentence pronounced at the judgment of the great white throne, which follows the millennial reign of Christ. The Lord will give those who are chastened and taught of Him rest from the days of adversity during the great sabbath rest that awaits the people of God, the Millennial Age. But it seems from this passage that the pit, the lake of fire, that is prepared for the devil and his angels, where the wicked will be forever and ever, is not already in existence but will be created at the end of that sabbath rest that awaits the people of God. It is true that the beast and the false prophet are cast into the lake of fire and brimstone at the beginning of the millennial reign of our Lord but that part of it into which the wicked will be cast at the judgment of the great white throne will be completely digged and prepared by the time the period of the rest for the people of God has past. This seems to be the teaching of these verses. I shall not, however, be dogmatic on this point, but the suggestion is worthy of our consideration. Let us remember that even after the great Millennial Age, the rest of the people of God, they will continue to be in His presence in the new Jerusalem which comes down out of the eternal heavens and rests upon the eternal earth, as we see in Revelation, chapters 21 and 22.

During the Tribulation God will punish His own Chosen People double for their sins (Isa. 40:1,2). To some it will appear He has completely rejected Israel and cast her off. In order to correct this false impression, the psalmist in verse 14 declared:

"For Jehovah will not cast off his people neither will he forsake his inheritance," for, according to verse 15, the judgment falling upon them will "return unto righteousness; And all the upright in heart shall follow it." In other words, this prediction declares that these judgments which will fall upon Israel at that time will be designed to bring her, the faithful remnant, to the point of their accepting His righteousness and their standing for that which is right. According to the last part of this verse, all the upright in heart will follow this righteousness. By the judgments therefore of the Tribulation Israel will be purged of all wickedness and sin and will be brought to righteousness.

When God's judgment will be falling upon the world and Israel will be suffering double for her sins, the question that will arise in the mind of at least the faithful remnant will be:

"Who will rise up for me against evil-doers? Who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?" (vs. 16).

Those will be serious times for the world and especially for the nation of Israel. Thus each one who desires truth and righteousness will begin to inquire of others as to who will take their part and deliver them. Their question will be answered, but who will do it? When I study Israel's situation during the Tribulation in the light of such passages as Revelation, chapter 7, I know that the 144,000 Jewish servants of God in the first part of the Tribulation, the evangelists of that day and time, will give the answer to these inquiring Israelites. They will declare that by their turning to the Lord Jesus Christ alone can they be delivered.

One should study Psalm 94:16-19 in the light of the revelation which is found in Deuteronomy 32:34-43. This passage is talking about the same time--the Tribulation, the time of Israel's calamity. It will be the time when God takes vengeance against all evildoers. He will judge His people and the people of the world. When, however He sees that their power is gone and that none are left at large, it will repent Him in regard to His servants and He will champion their cause--when they repudiate their national sin as we see from other passages.

Turning back to Psalm 94, we see that in verse 17 the answer is given:
"Unless Jehovah has been my help, My soul had soon dwelt in silence."

These 144,000 Jewish evangelists will tell the honest-hearted ones in Israel who are upright in heart that the Messiah is their only hope. They will realize furthermore that they have been spared for a purpose--because they have been seeking the light and will accept it when it is given them. It is Jehovah who will preserve them, but this Jehovah is none other than the Messiah of whom we read in Ezekiel, chapter 34. In verses 11 and 12 of this passage He promises that He will come and will hunt out His sheep, doing it personally, after they have been scattered in the dark and cloudy and stormy day.

The individual Israelite of that time will realize that his foot is slipping according to verse 18, and that Jehovah-Messiah, through His grace, can and will help them. Then in the multitude of their thoughts, the comforting words of God will bring cheer to their souls. Thus God in the Tribulation will look after His own and will bring them through safely to the great Kingdom Age.

In verses 20 and 21 we see the throne of wickedness established upon this earth and decrees of unrighteousness and injustice being issued and executed. These diabolical edicts will be issued against the faithful remnant of Israel at that time--"against the soul of the righteous," and will condemn innocent blood. What is the throne of wickedness? When we read parallel passages, we know that this can be nothing else but the throne of the Antichrist, the last Roman emperor. He will have his throne in Rome the "the eternal city," but in the middle of the Tribulation he will go to Jerusalem and, in the Jewish temple which at that time will have been rebuilt he will be crowned the emperor of the world. For further details regarding this point see Revelation, chapter 13.

Satan will have entered Antichrist and possessed him. In other words, the Antichrist will be Satan personified who will repudiate all obligations, who will set himself as God, and will forbid all worship except of himself. He will crush all opposition and ride roughshod over his enemies. Moreover, he will make a special effort to exterminate Israel from the face of the globe. This is seen in Psalm 58 and also in Revelation, chapter 12. But God will be Israel's refuge and protection and will preserve the faithful remnant who long for truth and who, when the message is given to her will accept it.