A God of Justice (Psalm 50:1-6)

¹ The Mighty One, God, the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to where it sets.
² From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
³ Our God comes
and will not be silent;
a fire devours before him,
and around him a tempest rages.
⁴ He summons the heavens above,
and the earth, that he may judge his people:
⁵ “Gather to me this consecrated people,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
⁶ And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for he is a God of justice.

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These verses paint a picture of God as the judge of all the universe.  A courtroom has been convened with God himself as the almighty and perfect judge.  A subpoena has been issued to all creation to witness.  Who is on trial?  The people of God.

My thoughts went in a couple of directions in considering these verses.  On the one hand, they reminded me today of the value of reading and praying Scripture in this way.  The picture of God as judge is not one of my favorites in the Scripture. But it is one aspect of my relationship with my God.  He is my savior, my shepherd, my provider, my strength – but He is also my judge.  Reading and praying through all of Scripture is valuable in keeping the whole picture of God – even the parts I don’t like as much – before me.  In this way, I let God be God and His Word be my guide, not just my own favorite passages or images.

And so I am led to reflect today on the fact that God is judge.  I like thinking about the justice of God when I consider the rampant injustice in the world. In other words, I like the justice of God when it is applied to the sins of other people.  Not so much when it is applied to me.

The picture in these verses is more than a little frightening.  The psalmist is describing this scene with the intent of heightening God’s majesty and setting the stage for His people to be called to account.

And so I am thankful that because of my Savior, this is not a scene of which I need to be afraid.  On my own I deserve to be called before the judge.  And it would not be a pleasant encounter.  But Jesus took my place, took my sin.  And that is the only reason why the image of God as judge is not terrifying.  Jesus took the terror.

So where does this lead my prayers today?  I pray in thankfulness for my Savior who stood before the Judge for me.  But I also pray that the Spirit would enable and empower me to live today in such a way that I do not provide more evidence for the prosecutor. Instead, I pray that I may serve my Lord and live to the glory of the one who was condemned for me.

 NOTE:

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