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\u201cThe Lord is a God who avenges. O God who avenges, shine forth. Rise up, Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve\u2026When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy\u201d (Psalm 94:1,2, 19).

An appeal to the God who avenges sounds inconsistent with the Scriptures that present Jesus as bringer of shalom - peace. Yet that is how this psalm begins.

Have not the storms of our hearts similarly cried out for justice? The world is not fair, the rich and influential are invited to the table while we are left out in the cold. Someone at work, those scoundrels in government, someone in our own family has stabbed us in the back, and we would like to see the tables turned.

Honestly now, this is the sort of psalm we can understand. Still, don't get stuck on the opening words. The anger soon turns to questioning.

How long, God, are you going to let this go on? How long, Lord, will the wicked be jubilant? How long will you let your people be abused? How long will you allow the poor to be neglected? People are saying that you don\u2019t pay attention to the evil practices of this world.

But then God speaks. He chides our foolishness: "I do hear, I see, I discipline, I teach, I know \u2026 I know that your thoughts are like a breath: they last for a moment, are not seen, and soon gone forever."

And we respond: "Blessed is the one you discipline, Lord, the one you teach from your law."

We began in anger, crying out for vengeance. But having heard God, our anger morphs into confession.

The first and necessary discipline was not on those other wicked and proud folks, but on the wicked and proud person whom we see reflected in the mirror.

The Lord disciplines the one whom He loves; and so, our difficulties are all turned for our good. God is working to move us from the one crying out for vengeance to people who cry out for mercy - both for our self and for others.

The psalm is not done with the wicked, those who make injustice law. Those who \u201cband together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death;" they will get what is due them. The vengeance of God is not some irrational burst of divine anger, but rather the exercise of divine justice. God gives sinners what their sin deserves.

The world is full of innocent victims, victims of rape and drunk and careless driving; children living in homes invaded by alcoholism and drug addiction. Religious folks persecuted because of their faith.

But ultimately the Psalm points towards the Lord Jesus, the righteous one, the only innocent one. He is the ultimate victim of this Psalm. God judges us in our sin, but because he is "rich in mercy," his "mercy triumphs over judgment" (Eph. 2:4; James 2:13, ESV). God does not dismiss our sin as no big deal, but instead bore it on the cross. All who appeal to him receive mercy. Jesus\u2019 resurrection leads to the renewal of creation and God's ultimate triumph, and ours.

This is the consolation that cheers us. As we go through the hardships of this life-and really, we know little of hardships compared to many Christians in most times and places. But as we go through our raging for vengeance, our impatience with God's schedule, and finally come to see His discipline lovingly training us, then we can say, "When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy."