Introduction: Several weeks ago, we studied the mercy of God, in Psalms 56 and 57. Today we look at God's justice. Please take note of five facts about justice.
1. In this life, in this fallen world, INJUSTICE is widespread.
Even when we have the best of intentions, it is difficult for people to cause justice to prevail (Psalm 58:1-2).
Immediately after the destruction of the World Trade Towers in NY City, President Bush was on TV saying, "We will bring the perpetrators of this atrocity to justice."
But what has happened? Some of those responsible have been killed. Some have escaped our armies and have vanished. The hijackers themselves were killed in the attack, and have always been beyond our reach. Only God has the power to bring judgment on all the evil doers of the world.
In a more light-hearted vein, consider the "court" programs on TV. Judge Judy does her best, but she doesn't really know who is lying, and who is telling the truth. Or consider the famous trials happening right now: Michael Jackson or Scott Petersen. Will justice be done? Maybe, maybe not. Was justice done in the O.J. Simpson murder trial? I don't know. From the time we are very young, until we die, we learn to put up with all kinds of injustices. We live in a fallen, imperfect world, and that's just the way it is.
2. The Wicked will NOT get away with their sins (Psalm 58:6-9).
David prays to God to break their teeth, to tear out their fangs (as if the wicked were wild animals). He prays that God would make them vanish, like water down the drain, or like a slug melting in the sun. He says, "They WILL be swept away!"
Sometimes it seems as if the wicked ARE getting away with their sins. The Psalmist expressed his feelings about this in Psalm 94:3-7:
"How long will the wicked, O LORD...be jubilant? They pour out arrogant words; all the evildoers are full of boasting. They crush your people, O LORD; they oppress your inheritance. They slay the widow and the alien; they murder the fatherless. They say, "The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed."
But God's Word assures us that the wicked will not get away with their cruelties. God will catch up to them. God will take vengeance on them.
Sometimes God's revenge happens in this life: Saddam Hussein has been captured. His sons have been killed. His family has abandoned him. All his wealth and power has been taken away from him. He will now be humiliated before the world in a trial, where all his sins will be paraded before him, and before the world. He will either be executed, or he will spend the rest of his days in a jail cell.
Sometimes God's vengeance comes in the world to come. The Bible tells us that Judgment Day is approaching (Revelation 20:11-15).
"Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
Hitler brought death, destruction and suffering on all of Europe in his mad bid to be emperor of the world. He tortured and killed six million jews. Stalin murdered his millions. Mao Tse Tung murdered his millions. Pol Pot of Cambodia murdered his millions. In this life, they all escaped justice. However, they will not escape the judgment of God. Even now they are being punished by God, and they shall be eventually cast into the eternal Lake of Fire.
3. It is OK for Christians to feel good about God's vengeance on the wicked (Psalm 58:10).
Many examples of this in the Bible...
Americans in 2004 are living in a time of extended peace and prosperity. There have been no foreign invaders on our soil for 200 years. We have become passive, and overly sentimental. We have become spiritually soft and mushy. Our greatest virtue is toleration, even of that which is wicked. We are sometimes more concerned for the criminal than we are for his victims. We accuse people of having unloving and unforgiving hearts when they are really only looking for God's justice. Many Americans today cannot imagine a God who would actually send people to Hell for such an unimportant thing as sin. We need to beware of feeling bad about God's vengeance on the wicked.
Our generation disagrees with this, but the Bible says that God's judgments on the wicked cause men to appreciate God (Psalm 58:11).
Psalm 64:9 "All mankind will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done."
4. God's Justice is 100% Fair.
In this life, we are accustomed to seeing justice perverted. This is inevitable due to the sinfulness of all parties involved, and due to the imperfections of any human judge or jury. When plaintiffs and defendants tell their stories, all we can do is give our best guess. Not so with our Lord:
"A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him-- the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD--and he will delight in the fear of the LORD. He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth; with the breath of his lips he will slay the wicked"
(Isaiah 11:1-4).
The Bible tells us that even God's punishments in Hell are apportioned out fairly. Some will suffer more than others.
Matthew 11:20-24
"Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. "Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."
5. God offers mercy instead of justice, to all who will repent and turn to Jesus.
If we have any spiritual understanding, and any humility, we will want MERCY, not justice. Basically, that is the Gospel. God stands before us holding out His hands. In one is mercy. In the other is justice. Which will we choose? I hope we will be wise enough to want God's mercy.
Psalm 143:1-2 says...
"O LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and righteousness come to my relief. Do not bring your servant into judgment, for no one living is righteous before you."
We also have Jesus' parable of the Publican and the Pharisee...
"To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 18:9-14).
Conclusion:
May God lead us all to seek His mercy in His Son the Lord Jesus Christ.