Sing Praise to God

Our Bible study last night ended with an exhortation in Psalm 98:5-9:  "Sing to the LORD with the harp, with the harp and the sound of a Psalm, ⁶ with trumpets and the sound of a horn; shout joyfully before the LORD, the King. ⁷ Let the sea roar, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it; ⁸ let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the LORD, ⁹ for He is coming to judge the earth. With righteousness He shall judge the world, and the peoples with equity."  God's redeemed people and the earth are to praise God with great joy, for God is coming to judge the earth with righteousness and the people with equity.  The songs of praise flowing from God's people will rise to heaven accompanied with the roaring seas and rushing rivers.

Why is there such praise and gladness?  Because the LORD is coming to judge the earth in righteousness and the people with equity.  Without a biblical worldview of God as revealed in scripture, righteousness and equity are easily distorted and corrupted by worldly wisdom which is foolishness with God.  Proverbs 12:15 says, "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who heeds counsel is wise."  While the word "equity" means equal or level, the common use of it of late has morphed to mean a different scale for different people based upon perceived privilege or injustice.  Webster defined the word this way:  "In practice, equity is the impartial distribution of justice, or the doing that to another which the laws of God and man, and of reason, give him a right to claim.  It is the treating of a person according to justice and reason."  The God who does not show partiality will judge people with equity.

This is affirmed by the prophet concerning the coming Messiah in Isaiah 11:3-5:  "His delight is in the fear of the LORD, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; ⁴ but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked."  How awesome it is to have assurance Jesus will return and judge the world in righteousness and equity.  Finally those who were poor and unable to pursue justice will be avenged; those who were meek and refused to drag the proud who wronged them before courts will have judgment in their favour.  God will judge the earth, not according to precedent or laws that can be changed or overturned, but according to divine righteousness and equity.  God's people will rejoice to see the oppressed, robbed and murdered avenged and gladly receive the rewards freely provided for all who fear the LORD and praise Him.

How strikingly superior are the judgments of God over the courts of law today.  The God of the whole earth will always do right, cannot be bribed, knows all things, and perfectly administers all judgments and sentences justly.  There will be no appeals, no possible overturning of a judgment by a higher court, delays, prohibitive costs, compromise or plea bargains.  There will be no prosecuter or public defender, no jury or expert opinions, and no evidence will need to be preserved or presented because God is the Judge and KING who knows all things, whose judgments are righteous and will stand forever.  Sing praise to God because with righteousness He will judge the world and the people with equity.  There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, and let us rejoice in walk righteously and uprightly according to God's wisdom today.