God Disciplines His Children - Psalms 93-95

Psalms 94:12-15 (ESV)
Blessed is the man whom you discipline, O LORD,
and whom you teach out of your law,
to give him rest from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
For the LORD will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage;
for justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.

The opening line of this section of Psalm 94 would not settle with most people.   Who in today’s contemporary society would say, “blessed is the man whom you discipline?”  The writer of Hebrews will actually repeat these same words to those Hebrews who were suffering during the days of the early church:

Hebrews 12:3-7 (ESV)
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?
“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

In this section of the song, the writer gives us several reasons why the “discipline” of the Lord is to be embraced.  We should embrace God’s discipline because: 

1). It is through discipline that God is teaching us His word.   This is a primary tool God sues to teach us about His laws and ways.  Note:
Psalms 119:71 (ESV)
It is good for me that I was afflicted,
that I might learn your statutes.

2).  It is through discipline that God moves us out of the way so that He can do work in the world around us.  Notice that the above verse states, “... to give him rest from the days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.”   What the writer is telling us is that God uses discipline to move us and guide us and separate us from the wicked.   We might think about the story of Lot to demonstrate that point.  

3).  Despite the “discipline” from the Lord, God returns  and will not forsake His people.   When the writer uses the world “blessed” he is meaning that God has perfectly good intent in bringing discipline into our lives.  He will always be there with us and will bring justice and His abiding presence.   

We ought not to fear the discipline of the Lord.  God uses for our good.