The Unholy Alliance: When Government Becomes God's Rival Text: Psalm 94:20-23
Introduction: The Politics of Enmity
We live in an age that is terrified of sharp edges, particularly when it comes to the things of God. We want a God who is endlessly affirming and comfortably therapeutic. We want a Jesus who is a celestial guidance counselor, not a sovereign King. And so, when we come to passages like this one in Psalm 94, we tend to shuffle our feet. This is an imprecatory psalm, which is a fifty-dollar word for a psalm that calls down judgment. It is a prayer that asks God to bring the hammer down on the wicked. And in our soft and sentimental therapeutic age, this seems harsh, unloving, and frankly, a bit embarrassing.
But the Bible is not embarrassed. God is not embarrassed. The Holy Spirit, who inspired these words, is not wringing His hands, hoping we will skip over this part. These psalms are in our Bibles for a reason. They are given to the church as a necessary part of our spiritual diet. They teach us to hate evil as God hates evil. They teach us to long for justice as God longs for justice. And they teach us to distinguish between God's friends and God's enemies. This is a distinction our generation is desperate to erase, but it is a distinction that is fundamental to reality.
This particular psalm zeroes in on a specific kind of wickedness, a kind that is particularly relevant to our own historical moment. It addresses the evil of institutionalized, legalized, weaponized injustice. It speaks of a government that has ceased to be a minister of God for good, and has instead become a "throne of destruction." It describes a political order that does not merely tolerate evil, but one that "forms trouble by statute." This is not just random crime; this is the codification of sin. This is when the rulers of a nation pick up the machinery of the state and aim it squarely at the righteous.
The psalmist asks a searing, rhetorical question: can such a government be allied with God? The answer is a thunderous no. And in that no, we find our footing. We find our confidence. We find our hope. Because when the state makes itself God's rival, it has sealed its own doom. This passage is a declaration that there is a higher throne, a stronger rock, and a final judgment that cannot be bought, lobbied, or legislated away.
The Text
Can a throne of destruction be allied with You,
One which forms trouble by statute?
They band themselves together against the life of the righteous
And condemn the innocent to death.
But Yahweh has been my stronghold,
And my God the rock of my refuge.
He has brought back their iniquity upon them
And will destroy them in their evil;
Yahweh our God will destroy them.
(Psalm 94:20-23 LSB)
The Question of Allegiance (v. 20)
The psalmist begins with a question that cuts to the very heart of political theology.
"Can a throne of destruction be allied with You, One which forms trouble by statute?" (Psalm 94:20)
A "throne" here represents civil authority, the seat of government. According to Scripture, this authority is meant to be God's servant. Paul tells us in Romans 13 that the magistrate is "God's minister to you for good," a "revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." The state has a God-given, delegated authority to punish wickedness and praise righteousness. That is its job description.
But what happens when the state goes rogue? What happens when the throne ceases to be a terror to evil and becomes a terror to the good? The psalmist calls it a "throne of destruction." This is a government that brings ruin, not order. And how does it do this? It "forms trouble by statute." The Hebrew for "trouble" here is amal, which means mischief, wickedness, or grievous toil. The word for "statute" is hoq, meaning a decree or law. This is premeditated, legally-sanctioned evil. This is not a government that is merely incompetent; this is a government that is actively malevolent. It uses the very tools of justice, the law and the decree, to perpetrate injustice.
Think of the decrees of Pharaoh to kill the Hebrew infants. Think of the laws of the Medes and Persians that sent Daniel to the lions' den. Think of the Sanhedrin's legal maneuvering to crucify the Lord of Glory. And think of our own day. Think of a judicial ruling like Roe v. Wade, which for fifty years framed the industrial-scale slaughter of the unborn as a constitutional right. That is forming trouble by statute. Think of laws that redefine the bedrock reality of marriage, which God Himself instituted at creation. That is forming trouble by statute. Think of mandates that seek to compel Christians to celebrate what God condemns. That is forming trouble by statute.
The psalmist's question is therefore a profound one. Can such a regime claim to be in league with the God of all justice? Can it fly the flag of "In God We Trust" while actively warring against His created order and moral law? The question answers itself. Of course not. There can be no fellowship between light and darkness, between Christ and Belial. A government that legislates wickedness has declared itself to be at war with God. It has made itself God's enemy. And that is a very bad place to be.
The Target of the Wicked State (v. 21)
Verse 21 clarifies the target of this lawless law-making.
"They band themselves together against the life of the righteous And condemn the innocent to death." (Psalm 94:21)
When a government rebels against God, it will inevitably turn its guns on God's people. The "righteous" are those who are in a right covenant standing with God and who seek to live according to His law. The "innocent" are those who have done no wrong worthy of punishment. This wicked state apparatus conspires, it "bands together," against them. This is not a lone wolf operation; it is a conspiracy of the powerful.
They come after the "life" of the righteous. This can be literal, as in the case of abortion, where the most innocent among us are condemned to death by judicial fiat. The shedding of innocent blood is a sin that pollutes the land and cries out to God for vengeance. But it can also refer to the whole of a person's life, their livelihood, their reputation, their freedom. When the state begins to persecute those who hold to a biblical sexual ethic, or those who refuse to bow to the latest cultural idol, it is coming after the "life of the righteous."
Notice the perversion of justice. They "condemn the innocent to death." The one thing government is supposed to do, protect the innocent and punish the guilty, is turned completely on its head. It now protects the guilty and condemns the innocent. This is the ultimate inversion. When this happens, a nation is in deep, deep trouble. It is a sign of advanced spiritual disease. It shows that the salt has lost its savor and the light is being hidden under a bushel. But it is precisely at this point, when the opposition is most stark, that the psalmist turns his eyes upward.
The Believer's True Capital (v. 22)
When the earthly throne becomes a throne of destruction, the believer must remember where his true citizenship lies and where his true security is found.
"But Yahweh has been my stronghold, And my God the rock of my refuge." (Psalm 94:22)
Here is the great pivot. The word "But" is one of the most important words in the Bible. The wicked legislate, they conspire, they condemn. BUT Yahweh. The entire world may be arrayed against the righteous, the machinery of the state may be grinding away, but there is another reality, a higher reality, that trumps all of it. God is our stronghold, our high tower, our fortress. He is the rock of our refuge.
A stronghold was the most fortified part of a city, the last line of defense. A rock of refuge was a place in the wilderness, a high cliff, where one could flee from enemies. These are images of absolute security. The state can take your property. It can take your freedom. It can even take your life. But it cannot touch your soul. It cannot remove you from your stronghold. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous runneth into it, and is safe" (Proverbs 18:10).
This is not wishful thinking. This is a statement of fact grounded in the covenant faithfulness of God, represented by His name, Yahweh. He is the covenant-keeping God who delivered His people from the iron furnace of Egypt, another throne of destruction. He is the one who has promised never to leave us or forsake us. Our ultimate security is not in who occupies the White House or the Supreme Court, but in who occupies the throne of heaven. And that throne is never, ever vacant.
The Great Boomerang (v. 23)
The psalm concludes not with a whimper of hope, but with a bang of certainty. God's justice will prevail, and it will do so in a perfectly fitting way.
"He has brought back their iniquity upon them And will destroy them in their evil; Yahweh our God will destroy them." (Psalm 94:23)
This is the doctrine of the boomerang. God's justice is often poetic. He ordains that the wicked be undone by their own devices. Haman builds a gallows for Mordecai, and he ends up swinging on it himself. The enemies of Daniel have him thrown into the lions' den, and they and their families end up as lion chow. Those who threw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fiery furnace are consumed by the flames themselves. God will bring their own iniquity back upon their own heads.
The psalmist is confident in this. He states it as a fact: "He has brought back their iniquity upon them." And he states it as a future certainty: "and will destroy them in their evil." The destruction of the wicked is not incidental to their evil; it is in their evil. Sin is its own punishment. A society that legalizes the murder of its children is destroying its own future. A society that erases the distinction between male and female is sowing the seeds of its own confusion and collapse. Their destruction is not an arbitrary act from God; it is the natural harvest of the seeds they have sown.
And lest there be any doubt, the psalmist repeats the promise with emphasis. "Yahweh our God will destroy them." This is not a call for private vengeance. This is not a license for vigilante justice. This is a confident appeal to the Judge of all the earth to do right. It is entrusting the situation into His hands, knowing that vengeance belongs to Him, and He will repay. This is the confidence that allows the righteous to stand firm, to not be overcome by evil, but to overcome evil with good, knowing that the final verdict has already been written.
Conclusion: A Tale of Two Thrones
So what do we do when we find ourselves living under a throne of destruction? What is our posture when our own government begins to form trouble by statute?
First, we must refuse to be intimidated. We must see the political landscape for what it is. It is a tale of two thrones. There is the temporary, tottering throne of destruction, and there is the eternal, unshakable throne of God. We are citizens of that higher kingdom, and we must live like it. We are ambassadors, not hostages.
Second, we must speak. The psalmist did not suffer in silence. He brought his complaint to God, and by the inspiration of the Spirit, he brought it to us. We must not be silent in the face of legalized evil. We must call sin, sin. We must call injustice, injustice. We must speak the truth, lovingly but firmly, to a culture that is drowning in lies. We must protest, we must argue, we must persuade, and we must build alternatives.
Third, we must trust. Our ultimate confidence is not in political victory, though we should work and pray for it. Our ultimate confidence is in the rock of our refuge. God is our stronghold. He sees what is being done. He hears the cries of the innocent. And His judgment does not sleep. He will bring back their iniquity upon them. He will destroy them in their wickedness. Yahweh our God will destroy them.
Therefore, we do not despair. We do not fear. We stand our ground, we do our duty, and we trust our God. For the throne of Jesus Christ is the true throne, and of the increase of His government and of peace, there will be no end.