Judgement Day

Psalms 19:9b - The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.

 

The Hebrew word for “decrees” renders another widely used meaning -  Judgement.

 

David description of God’s word reaches the climax when he pronounces it as a judgement that is firm and righteous.  

 

Decrees refer to ordinances, a military term. The directives issued by a king or a commander in chief. David himself being a king comes to the inference that God’s ordinances are not unjust, they are not impossible or laborious. Rather they are fair in the sense that they can be observed.

 

In today’s climate, the politicians and those in power seem to be above the law. They could have committed the most heinous of crimes and can still come out of it scratch free. Man-made laws have so many loopholes that a clever litigator can easily wriggle his way through one of those and get his client free. But not so in the court of God’s law.

 

God’s law are the same for everyone from the king to the beggar. No one is above the law. Everyone is equal before God and the same laws applies to everyone. 

 

Not only are His laws fair but they are firm. They cannot be manipulated, whoever we are.

 

That means when we stand before God, the judgement he pronounces on us are not subject to litigation because they are righteous. God is not a biased judge and He will always do what is right.

 

David himself is a good example.

 

A man after the heart of God, one of the greatest warriors of Israel but when he sinned with Bathsheba, he was treated like any other adulterer. He was not given any preferential treatment.

 

This should be a strong warning to all of us. God is love, God is merciful, God is gracious but He is also a fair and firm judge. 

 

And we know the grace of God, in His love He forgave our sins because of the death and resurrection of our Lord but that does not give us the permission to live or continue in sin. And if we have sinned we can always come before him and find forgiveness. 

 

God forgives our sin but we will have to bear the consequences of the sin.

 

Another thought that often bothers me is that why are innocent people suffering. If God’s laws are fair and just, why do the righteous suffer together with the unrighteous, why were Christians killed in the tsunami and why did good people who faithfully served the Lord die in tragic situations. Where is the justice?

 

WE can give some theological answers to circumvent this “injustice” but honestly I have no direct answers. But I often find solace in Abraham’s intercession for the righteous in Sodom. He creid:

 

Genesis 18:25 - Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?”

 

We may not understand all that happens around us. But one thing is for sure; the Judge of all the earth, is a righteous judge and He will do what is right. And that resonates with the text in Psalms 19:8b - The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.