MUSINGS

GOD KNOWN IN JUDGMENT In Psalm 9 David says, strikingly, “Jehovah is known by the judgment he hath executed”. We need constantly to contemplate the sufferings of Christ. At the cross we see God’s judgment executed on all that was obnoxious to Him, and sustained by Christ. We learn God in His holiness, in the glory of His righteousness, and in His grace and mercy. We see God’s judgments in history also. In His dealings with Israel, with nations, and with kings (such as Nebuchadnezzar) we learn God as He deals with principles, such as disobedience, idolatry, and self-exaltation, which challenge His rights. In church history, too, God has come in at many points in judgment, making manifest what is evil, and sustaining what is right. We are to learn Him through these crises and to be obedient to His will as thus clearly made known.

Let us be like the writer of Psalm 119 who says, “Thy judgments have I set before me” (Psalm 119: 30); “Thy judgments are good” (verse 39); “I have not departed from thy judgments; for it is thou that hast taught me” (verse 102); “1 have sworn … that I will keep thy righteous judgments” (verse 106); “Every righteous judgment of thine is for ever” (verse 160); “Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments” (verse 164), and, finally, “Let thy judgments help me” (verse 175).

FCM