The Justice of God

Hi everyone. We're going to read from Isaiah chapter 59 verses 1 to 20.

Isaiah 59:1–20

Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.

But your iniquities have separated you from your God. Your sins have hidden his face from you,

so that he will not hear. For your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt,

your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.

No one calls for justice. No one pleads his case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments and

speak lies. They conceive trouble and give birth to evil. They hatch the eggs of vipers and spin

a spider's web. Whoever eats their eggs will die, and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.

Their cobwebs are useless for clothing. They cannot cover themselves with what they make.

Their deeds are evil deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands. Their feet rush into sin.

They are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil thoughts. Ruin and destruction

mark their ways. The way of peace they do not know. There is no justice in their paths.

They have turned them into crooked roads. No one who walks in them will know peace.

So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness.

For brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. Like the blind, we grope along the wall,

feeling our way like men without eyes. At midday, we stumble as if it were twilight.

Among the strong, we are like the dead. We all growl like bears. We moan mournfully like doves.

We look for justice, but find none. For deliverance, but it is far away.

For our offences are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us.

Our offences are ever with us, and we acknowledge our iniquities.

Rebellion and treachery against our Lord, turning our backs on our God.

Fomenting oppression and revolt, uttering lies our hearts have conceived.

So justice is driven back, and righteousness stands at a distance.

Truth has stumbled in the streets.

Honesty cannot enter.

Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.

The Lord looked and was displeased that there was no justice.

He saw that there was no one.

He was appalled that there was no one to intervene.

So his own arm worked salvation for him, and his own righteousness sustained him.

He put on righteousness as his breastplate and the helmet of salvation on his head.

He put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.

According to what they have done, so will he repay.

Wrath to his enemies and retribution to his foes.

He will repay the islands their due.

From the west, men will fear the name of the Lord, and from the rising of the sun, they will revere his glory.

For he will come like a pent-up flood that the breath of the Lord drives along.

The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins, declares the Lord.

This is the word of the Lord.

Good morning, everyone.

My name is Martin.

If you still have your Bibles open at Isaiah chapter 59, keep them open there.

Isaiah 59 · chapter mention

We'll be going to Isaiah 58 and 59 towards the end of my talk.

And the passages we'll be looking at before then will mostly come up on the screen.

So you can follow along on the screen for those.

We're looking this morning at the justice of God.

And if you have a bulletin, you'll see the outline there.

Really three main sections to this talk.

Justice as retribution, justice as right, and justice as restoration.

But let's commit our time together to the Lord.

Let's pray and ask for his help.

Heavenly Father, thank you that we can gather this morning and sing your praises.

You are worthy of all praise.

Father, we thank you that you speak to us in your word.

And we ask that as we meditate on it this morning, that you would move us, draw us into a deeper understanding of who you are,

your character, and all that you have done for our salvation.

We pray that our hearts will be uplifted this morning.

Please help me to speak clearly and faithfully as I ought.

And may you write your word on all of our hearts.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Well, I wonder what comes to mind when I say the phrase, the justice of God.

The justice of God.

God's justice.

Jesus.

I wonder if what first comes to mind for you, or maybe for some of us, is an image of God as a grim judge,

gavel in hand, ready to find people guilty, and to deliver a sentence.

I wonder if you picture God as judge when I speak about God's justice.

What comes to mind is God's judicial or legal justice, the justice of law courts, the justice of trial and punishment.

Is that what first comes to mind for you?

I know we discussed this at my Bible study group on Wednesday evening last week,

and for most of us, that was what first comes to mind.

The justice of God.

The judicial justice of God.

And we see this in the Bible.

So we see, for example, in Psalm 96,

God's justice is expressed in his act of judgment.

So Psalm 96 verse 13 says,

Psalms 96:13

The Lord comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his faithfulness.

God's judgment, you see there in Psalm 96 verse 13, is universal in scope.

Psalms 96:13

He judges the earth.

He judges the world, the peoples.

Everyone is facing the judgment of God.

And God's judgment is executed in perfect justice.

He judges in righteousness and in faithfulness.

If you read verse 13, which comes at the end of the psalm,

if you read that in context,

you'll recognize that the response of creation to God's act of judgment is one of jubilation.

You've got it there in verses 11 and 13.

The heavens are glad, the earth's rejoicing.

And 12, the trees of the forest are singing for joy because God comes to judge in righteousness.

I wonder, is that, as we think about God coming to judge the world in righteousness,

are we singing for joy with the trees of the forest?

My family, we live near a train line.

You can walk through our backyard, hop over the back fence and there's some bushland there.

And a short walk through the bushland will take you to the train line.

And it's a train line that carries those coal trains from the Hunter Valley to Newcastle and back again.

You know those coal trains, dozens and dozens of carriages laden with coal.

They bear down along that track with this unstoppable momentum.

And a short walk through the bush at the back of our place and there it is, the train line.

No fences.

No warning signs.

You just walk through the bush and hop onto the train line if you want to.

We've told our kids, never go on the train line.

Even if you can't see a train anywhere, even if you can't hear a train coming, don't walk on the train line.

Never go on the train line.

So you don't want to put yourself in the path of a Newcastle coal train.

And yet all people are in the path of the coming judgment of God.

God judges the world.

He judges the peoples.

All people are in the path of the coming judgment of God.

Our sin puts us on the train track.

And the Bible is very clear.

All have sinned.

There's no one righteous, not even one.

So when I think about God's judgment, I find it unnerving.

I find it unsettling.

Because God's judgment means retribution.

It means, that word, retribution, just means being paid back.

God's judgment means he pays back our sin.

He punishes our sin.

That idea of retribution is expressed in numerous passages in the Bible.

Here's one of them.

Romans 2, verses 5 and 6.

Romans 2:5

Because of your hard and impenitent, that's unrepentant, your hard and impenitent heart,

you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

He will render to each one according to his works.

That's an uncomfortable thought.

Remember the criminal on the cross next to Jesus?

One criminal was mocking Jesus.

The other criminal said to the first criminal,

Don't you fear God?

Since you're under the same sentence of crucifixion,

and we justly, for we are receiving the due reward for our deeds.

That criminal facing death, recognised he was receiving what his deeds deserved.

A just punishment for his sins.

When I think about the coal train of God's judgment,

I don't find myself easily singing for joy with the trees of the forest,

but rather trembling with the criminal on the cross.

Now last week, we were talking about the kindness of God.

And as we discussed the kindness of God,

we looked at a key moment of revelation in Exodus chapter 34,

Exodus 34 · chapter mention

when God reveals his name, his glory, his goodness, his character to Moses,

and thereby to Israel as well.

And we saw that God's revelation to Moses was of his kindness,

and I pointed to a magnificent trio of words that God is merciful,

that God is gracious, and that he's abounding in steadfast love.

That beautiful kindness of God.

But when we were looking at it last week,

we kind of cut God's revelation halfway through.

Because the latter part of God's self-revelation to Moses

concerns not his kindness, but his justice.

I'll read from Exodus 34 verses 6 and 7.

Exodus 34:6

Then the Lord passed before Moses and proclaimed,

The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,

keeping steadfast love for thousands,

forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.

See, there's the kindness of God.

But how does it continue?

But who will by no means clear the guilty,

visiting the iniquity of the fathers and the children

and the children's children

to the third and fourth generation.

Now, don't get hung up on the bit about children's children

to the third and fourth generation.

Basically, it's a dramatic way of expressing the idea

that God will completely punish sin.

The full punishment that sin deserves.

There's a terrible and tragic high-profile court case

in America at the moment.

Maybe you've been following this in the news

about a triple murder.

I won't say anything more about it than that.

But that court case has just ended in a mistrial.

The jury were unable to agree,

and so the judge dismissed them.

And the trial itself has been so widely publicised

that the prosecutors are saying,

well, a retrial may not be possible

because we don't actually know

whether we'd even be able to find 12 jurors

who are unacquainted with the case

who could sit in a jury.

But there are no mistrials with God.

Every verdict God delivers is true,

and every sentence of punishment

that he hands over is complete.

Sin is and will be punished to its full extent.

Now, Exodus 34 verses 6 and 7

Exodus 34:6

leave a question hanging for us.

How do God's kindness

and God's justice work together?

How can God forgive iniquity, transgression and sin,

and yet also simultaneously

by no means clear the guilty?

I mean, aren't they contradictory?

How can he do both?

How can God be merciful

and just at the same time?

Now, that is absolutely the right question to ask.

It's the question that God's self-revelation to Moses

should lead us to ask.

And that is, of course, a question that leads us

into the meaning of the cross of Christ.

Now, we'll circle back to that later.

But I know that many of you

know your Bibles.

I know that most of us gathered here

have been well taught.

And for you,

what I have just raised

is a very familiar line of thought.

That line of thought

where we pose the question,

God, how can God be merciful

and just at the same time

and follow the logic through

to the answer God gives

in the cross of Christ

that's familiar to you?

We follow that question through

to, for example,

Romans chapter 3,

Romans 3:21–26

verses 21 to 26,

which Leon Morris called

possibly the most important

single paragraph ever written

about the justice of God

in Jesus dying

as a propitiation for our sins

so that God can be just

and the one who justifies

those who have faith in Jesus.

You know that.

That's a firmly embedded part

of your Christian framework

as it should be.

But I think there is one risk

that we have

as reformed evangelical Protestants.

And the risk is this,

that we can be so strong

on the legal, judicial,

retributive justice of God

that we might sometimes

slip into thinking

that when we've spoken

about God's judgment,

we've said all there is to say

about the justice of God.

Judgment and retribution

are what first come to mind

when we think of God's justice

and there's a risk

that our thoughts stop there

and go no further.

I want to suggest to you

that if they are the only thoughts

we have about God's justice,

then we'll actually end up

with the distorted picture

of who God is.

Because retributive justice

is only part

of what the Bible has to say

about the justice of God.

Indeed,

it's the smaller part.

It's a secondary

and derivative part.

Let me try and prove that to you.

I think I can ask you

one question

that will,

and you will immediately

recognise

that when it comes

to the justice of God,

judgement and retribution

are secondary,

not primary.

One question.

One question

and you'll see

that the punishment

for sin

is not really

at the heart

of God's justice.

Here's the question.

Would it still be true

that God himself

is righteous

and just

if Adam and Eve

had never sinned?

Let me make it

even clearer.

If not only humanity

but even the devil

and the devil's angels

had never fallen

into sin,

that is,

if all God's creatures

had remained

obedient to him,

if there was

no sin

to be punished,

could you still

say that God himself

is perfectly righteous

and perfectly just?

I mean,

sure,

that's a hypothetical

question

but do you see

the question?

I think you would

have to answer

that question

with a resounding

yes.

See,

look at

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 32:3–4

32 verse 3 to 4.

Now,

isn't it true

that all God's

ways are

justice

irrespective

of whether

there is

any sin

for God

to punish?

All

his ways

are justice.

Not just

the act

of retribution.

Everything

God does

is justice.

Or look

at Psalm 33

Psalms 33:4

verses 4 and 5.

5.

For the word

of the Lord

is upright

and all

his work

is done

in faithfulness.

He loves

righteousness

and justice.

The earth

is full

of the

steadfast

love

of the

Lord.

Now,

in Exodus

Exodus 34:6

34

verses 6

and 7,

we feel

a tension.

There's a tension

there in God's

revelation to Moses,

a tension

between

God's mercy

and his

justice,

his steadfast

love

in Exodus

34

and his

justice.

How can

God be

merciful and

just at the

same time?

But there's

no tension

in Psalm 33

Psalms 33:4

verses 4 and

5

between

God's

righteousness

and justice

and steadfast

love.

There's no

tension there.

The next

verse

in the

Psalm,

the next

verse is

going to

talk about

God's

work of

creation

in language

that's very

reminiscent of

Genesis

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1.

Faithfulness,

righteousness,

justice,

steadfast

love

characterise

all of

God's

work.

Now,

let me

pause here

to say

something

about

language

while we've

still got

those

verses

on the

screen.

Last

week,

when we

looked at

the

kindness

of

God,

I

pointed

to

that

magnificent

trio

of

words,

compassion,

grace,

steadfast

love.

This

week,

as we

consider the

justice

of God,

the two

key words

are those

I've

highlighted

there in

the first

line of

verse 5,

Psalm 33

Psalms 33:5

verse 5,

righteousness

and justice.

The Hebrew

word for

righteousness is

the word

tzedakah,

tzedakah,

which is

usually

translated as

righteousness.

The word

translated there

as justice

is the

word

mishpat,

which is

sometimes

or often

translated

as judgment.

Whenever in

English Bibles,

if ever in

the Old

Testament,

if you see

the word

justice in

English,

it's probably

translating a

form of

one of

those two

words,

tzedakah

or mishpat.

Mishpat.

But also,

those two

words are

often paired

together,

righteousness

and justice.

They're brought

together.

There are other

words that are

linked to them

at times,

like uprightness,

which you can

see there in

the first line

of verse 4,

truth.

The word

faithfulness there

in the second

line of verse 4,

that's often

grouped with

the justice

words or

with the

kindness

words,

because God

is always,

he's faithfully,

he's consistently

who he is,

unfailingly

so.

But when we

get those

two words

together,

righteousness

and justice,

tzedakah

and mishpat,

that justice

duo,

that's talking

about the

justice of

God in

some form.

And Psalm

Psalms 33:5

33 verse 5

says that

God loves,

he loves

righteousness

and justice.

He delights

in it.

He is

absolutely

committed

to what

is

right.

Here's

another

example,

Psalm 89

Psalms 89:14

verse 14,

righteousness

and justice

are the

foundation

of his

throne,

of your

throne.

Steadfast

love and

faithfulness

go before

you.

God's

rule as

the divine

king,

the ruler

overall,

is founded

on what

is right.

And what

is right

is ultimately

determined by

who God

himself is,

by God's

own character.

So the

reason we

live in a

universe where

kindness is

right and

cruelty is

wrong is

because God

himself is

kind.

God defines

what is

right.

So the

deepest sense

of justice

in the

Bible is

justice as

right.

God

is

a

basis for

morality.

There

is absolute

goodness.

There is a

way things

are supposed

to be.

And that

way the

Bible calls

justice and

righteousness.

Good is

more

substantial

than

evil.

Good is

more real

than

evil.

Good is

eternal.

Evil is

temporary.

Good is

in its

own right

because God

is good.

Evil is

parasitic.

It can only

ever occur as

a corruption

of what is

good.

And

justice as

right is

more essential

than justice

as judgment.

judgment.

To quote

Christian

ethicist

Oliver O'Donovan,

justice as

right is a

presupposition

of justice

as judgment.

You can see

that,

can't you?

Justice as

right is a

presupposition

of justice

as judgment.

In other

words,

you can only

engage in

an act of

judgment

if there

is right

that is the

basis of

your judgment.

judgment.

If there's

no right,

there can

be no

judgment.

If there's

no law,

there can

be no

law courts.

In one

sense,

judgment

only becomes

necessary when

there's been

transgression,

when there's a

deviation from

what's right.

justice as

right is

general

justice.

Justice as

right is

what God

always is

and what

God does

all the

time.

Justice as

judgment is

special justice.

It's a tool

which God

picks up and

puts down

again.

Now,

we've already

seen that

justice in

the sense

of right,

capital R

right,

is an

attribute of

God himself.

That what

defines right

is the

character of

God.

And I

think this

is important

to grasp,

right,

this point I'm

making,

so that we

have fitting

thoughts about

God and

his justice.

God's

positive

justice

precedes

his negative

justice.

justice.

Yes,

God's

justice

means that

he's

determined

to punish

sin.

But God's

justice means

he's determined

to punish

sin because

God's justice

means that

he is

absolutely,

fundamentally,

immutably

committed to

what is

right,

to what is

good.

He is

just,

he does

justice,

he establishes

justice,

justice.

And his

act of

judgment is

one move

God makes

in establishing

justice.

Let me say

four more

things about

justice as

right.

I'll try and

say these

quite quickly

and then we'll

move on to the

third point,

justice as

restoration.

Let me say

four more

things about

justice as

right.

First,

justice as

right is

imprinted on

creation.

It's imprinted

on creation.

Now,

God in his

freedom,

he has

made things

a particular

way.

There is a

natural order

to what God

has made.

Some things

are right

purely because

of who God

is,

and it's

hard to

imagine that

they could

possibly be

different.

God being

who he is,

they couldn't

be otherwise.

Speaking the

truth is

right,

and lying

is not

right because

God is

true.

As I said

earlier,

kindness is

right and

cruelty is

not right

because God

is kind,

because of

who God

is.

But there

are other

things that

could have

been different

if God

had made

the world

a different

way.

Like a

composer

writing music,

God has

made the

creation the

way he

wanted it

to be,

but he

was free

to make

it however

he liked

in accordance

with his

character.

If you

take a

piece of

music,

say Beethoven's

Fifth

Symphony,

Beethoven

could have

chosen

different

notes.

He could

have

arranged

the

various

parts

differently,

but he

wrote it a

certain way.

He wrote it

the way he

wanted it

to be,

according to

his freedom

as a

composer.

If you

are now

part of

an orchestra

that is

playing

Beethoven's

Fifth

Symphony,

you don't

have the

same

freedom

that

Beethoven

had.

There is

a way it

is supposed

to be.

If you

play different

notes,

then you're

playing the

wrong

notes.

As a

member of

an orchestra,

you don't

have the

composer's

freedom.

As

creatures in

God's

creation,

we don't

have the

creator's

freedom.

With

justice,

the way

things are

supposed to

be in

this world

is determined

both by

God's

immutable

character,

but also

just by

the way

he's

made

the

world,

by God's

creative

freedom.

For

example,

God

gives

animate

creatures,

humans and

animals,

he gives

us,

in

Genesis

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1,

plants and

fruit trees

as food.

The way

things are

supposed to

be,

if you

read

Genesis

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

chapters 1

and 2,

is that

vegetation,

the plants

and fruit

trees,

are supposed

to produce

enough food

to sustain

animal and

human life.

Now,

that's

expanded to

where God

permits,

I'll get to

that in a

moment.

So,

they produce

enough food

to sustain

animal and

human life.

So,

where there's

a drought

and the

crops fail

and the

fruit trees

perish,

when there's

a drought

and creatures

die because

of insufficient

food,

food,

that's not

the way

things are

meant to

be.

God,

after the

flood,

permits

humans to

kill and

eat animals,

but God

does not

permit animals

to kill and

eat humans.

God says,

you know,

he says that

animals,

the blood of

humans will be

required of

them because

humans are

made in the

image of

God.

So,

there's an

order.

Humans are

placed over

animals and

humans can

eat animals,

but animals

can't eat

humans.

There's a way

things are

supposed to

be.

For us,

right,

the way

things are

supposed to

be is

determined

both by

who God

is and

also by

the natural

order of

the creation

which he's

established.

That's the

first thing.

Second thing

about justice

is right is

revealed to

us.

Psalm 119

is a lengthy

song and

one of the

main themes

is the

excellence of

God's word,

his law.

And a number

of times the

psalmist combines

that justice

word pair,

mishpat and

tzedek,

form of the

righteousness

word,

in an expression

for God's

word.

So to give you

a couple of

examples,

Psalm 119

Psalms 119:7

verse 7,

I'll praise you

with an upright

heart when I

learn your

righteous rules.

When I learn

your righteous

rules is

literally when I

learn the

judgments of

your righteousness,

that justice

word pair.

Or Psalm 119

Psalms 119:60

verse 60,

the sum of

your word is

truth and

every judgment

of your

righteousness

endures

forever.

God's revealed

word encapsulates

his justice.

He's made his

justice, his

righteousness known

to us.

Proverbs makes a

similar point about

wisdom.

In Proverbs

Proverbs 1:1–3

chapter 1

verses 1 to 3,

the Proverbs of

Solomon, son of

David, king of

Israel, to know

wisdom and

instruction, to

understand words

of insight, to

receive instruction

in wise dealing,

in righteousness,

justice, and

equity.

That's the

uprightness word,

that last one

there.

Justice is

revealed to us,

thirdly, so that

we can do it.

Justice as right

is required of

us.

So Proverbs

Proverbs 21:3

21 verse 3,

to do righteousness

and justice is

more acceptable to

the Lord than

sacrifice.

Or a famous

passage from

Amos, Amos 5

Amos 5:22–24

verse 22 to

24, even

though you

offer me your

burnt offerings

and grain

offerings, I

will not accept

them, and the

peace offerings of

your fattened

animals, I will

not look upon

them, take away

from me the

noise of your

songs, to the

melody of your

harps, I will

not listen, but

let justice roll

down like waters

and righteousness

like an ever

flowing stream.

What's God

saying to the

people through

the prophet

Amos?

Religion

without justice

is empty.

Let justice

roll down like

waters and

righteousness like

an ever

flowing stream.

God requires

justice of

us.

The fourth

thing to say

is that the

right that God

requires of us

includes the

kind of right

that's needed

when things

have gone

wrong.

Let me say

that again.

The right God

requires of us

includes the

kind of right

that is needed

when things have

gone wrong.

So now we're

going to finally

get to Isaiah

Isaiah 58 · chapter mention

chapters 58 and

59.

Have a look at

this with me.

Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 58:1

58 verses 1 and

2.

Let me just,

we're going to

get a little bit

of context here.

Isaiah 58

Isaiah 58:1

verses 1 and

2.

Cry aloud,

do not hold

back, lift up

your voice like

a trumpet,

declare to my

people their

transgression,

to the house of

Jacob their

sins.

Yet they seek

me daily and

delight to know

my ways, as if

they were a

nation that did

righteousness and

did not forsake

the judgment of

their God.

They ask of me

righteous judgments

and they delight to

draw near to God.

Can you see that

justice word pair

there in verse 2?

Israel are seeking

God, they're

praying to him,

they're engaging in

religion or Judah

rather, trying to

draw near to God,

as if they actually

were people who did

righteousness and

didn't forsake

justice.

This is a chapter,

Isaiah 58 is a

chapter about Judah's

failure to do

righteousness and

justice.

They're asking God

to do justice but

they're failing to do

it themselves.

Now how have they

been failing to do

justice?

Well it's both in

what they've done and

in what they've failed

to done.

They've committed sins

of commission and

sins of omission.

So in what they did,

look at verse 3 and

4.

Why have we fasted,

they ask, and you

not seen it?

Why have we humbled

ourselves and you take

no knowledge of it?

Why aren't you

listening to our

prayers, God?

Here's God's answer.

Behold, in the day of

your fast, you seek

your own pleasure and

oppress all your

workers.

Behold, you fast only

to quarrel and to fight

and to hit with a

wicked fist.

Fasting like this day

will not make your

voice to be heard on

high.

See, there's their

sins of commission,

oppression, fighting,

quarrelling, violence.

That's how they're

failing in justice.

But they're also

failing by what they

did not do, their

sins of omission.

Look down at verse

6.

Is not this the fast I

choose?

To loose the bonds of

wickedness?

To undo the straps of

the yoke?

To let the oppressed go

free and to break every

yoke?

Is it not to share your

bread with the hungry and

to bring the homeless

poor into your house?

When you see the naked

to cover him and not to

hide yourself from your

own flesh?

Then shall your light

break forth like the

dawn and your healing

shall spring up speedily.

And your righteousness

shall go before you.

The glory of the Lord

shall be your rear guard.

We could go on.

Verse 10.

Or verse 9.

If you take away the

yoke from your midst,

the pointing of the

finger and speaking

wickedness, if you

pour yourself out for

the hungry and satisfy

the desire of the

afflicted, then shall

your light rise in the

darkness and your gloom

be as the noonday.

What is the justice God

wants of us?

Well, it includes the

kind of right that's

needed when things have

gone wrong.

We've seen justice as

retribution, the

punishment for evil.

We've seen justice as

right, the way things

ought to be.

Now we're beginning to

see a third form of

justice, justice as

restoration.

Restoration, like

retribution, presupposes

right, that there is a

way things are supposed

to be.

And it presupposes that

things have gone off

track.

In a world where things

are not as they are

supposed to be, God

wants his people to be

agents of restoration.

In a world that's

haywire because of sin,

where there's misery and

grief and suffering, God

wants his people to bring

relief.

It is right that people

are free from tyranny and

oppression.

And so God calls on us to

loose the bonds of

wickedness and to break

every yoke.

It is right when all have

enough to eat.

And so God calls on us to

share our food with the

hungry.

It is right when we all,

all of us have secure

shelter, somewhere to live.

And so God calls on his

people to bring the

homeless into their

houses, to clothe the

naked.

Verse 7, not hide

yourself from your own

flesh.

How can we look on another

human being who's

suffering, our own flesh

and blood made in God's

image, and turn away from

their need?

But of course the point of

Isaiah 58 and 59 is that

that's what humanity have

done.

I mean these words are

written to Judah,

particularly in Isaiah's

day, the 8th century BC,

but they're equally true of

us, of all, of all

humanity.

The consequences of our

failure to do justice and

righteousness are twofold.

Firstly, there's a

separation between God and

us.

Chapter 59, verse 1,

verse 2, your iniquities

have made a separation

between you and your God

and your sins have hidden

his face from you so that

he does not hear.

We're cut off from God.

Second consequences is that

there's the breakdown of

society and community life.

Verse 4, no one enters

suit justly, no one goes to

law honestly.

This is chapter 59.

Isaiah 59 · chapter mention

They rely on empty pleas,

they speak lies, they

conceive mischief and give

birth to iniquity.

No justice breaks down in

society.

Verse 7, their feet run to

evil, they're swift to shed

innocent blood, their

thoughts are thoughts of

iniquity.

Desolation and destruction

are in their highways.

The way of peace they do not

know.

There's no justice in their

paths.

They've made their roads

crooked.

No one who treads on them

knows peace.

Therefore, justice is far from

us and righteousness does not

overtake us.

We hope for light and behold

darkness and for brightness,

but we walk in gloom.

Isaiah 59 verse 14, justice

Isaiah 59:14

is turned back and righteousness

stands far away.

For truth has stumbled in the

public squares and uprightness

cannot enter.

Truth is lacking and he who

departs from evil makes himself

a prey.

And those last few verses

sound familiar, don't they?

Truth has stumbled in the

public squares, he who departs

from evil makes himself a prey.

Just think of the number of

lies and falsehoods that are

trumpeted in the media and in

parliament and in the public

squares of our society.

Try to defend in public the

truth that an unborn baby is a

human being and they will come

for you.

But what I want you to see is

God's response.

Look at Isaiah 59 verse 15,

Isaiah 59:15

second half.

The Lord saw it and it

displeased him.

It displeased him that there was

no justice.

So what would God do?

Verse 16.

He saw that there was no man and

wondered that there was no one to

intercede.

Then his own arm brought salvation

and his righteousness upheld him.

He put on righteousness as a

breastplate and a helmet of

salvation on his head.

He put on garments of vengeance for

clothing and wrapped himself in

zeal as a cloak.

According to their deeds,

so will he repay.

Wrath to his adversaries,

repayment to his enemies,

to the coastlands he will render

repayment, so they shall fear the

name of the Lord from the west and

his glory from the rising of the

sun, for he will come like a

rushing stream which the wind of

the Lord drives.

And our redeemer will come to

Zion, to those in Jacob who turn

from transgression declares the

Lord.

What would God do when he's

displeased that there is no

justice in our world?

He takes justice into his own

hands.

He clothes himself, he arms himself

to bring justice.

Notice there in verse 17, 16 and

17, that righteousness, one of

those justice words, righteousness and

salvation are basically used there

synonymously.

God's bringing of justice is his

bringing of salvation.

It includes retribution in verse 18,

the repayment of sin.

But the goal is restoration.

It's verse 19, that people will again

fear the name of the Lord.

Verse 20, that people will turn from

their iniquities, from transgression,

redemption.

Can you see God's love for justice,

God's commitment to justice, is more

than a commitment to punish evil.

It's a commitment to restore what is

right, to bring about what is good.

God's love for justice is not satisfied

only by his negative justice, by

retribution.

God's love for justice is manifest in

his desire for positive justice, for

restoration, for setting, restoring

everything to be as it should be.

No more oppression.

No more deceit.

No more malice or hunger or poverty or

malnutrition or addiction or sickness or

death.

God restoring things as they should be.

That's the justice God takes on himself

because there's no one else to do it.

How does God do this?

Verse 20, a redeemer will come to Zion.

We know who that redeemer is.

Turn back with me to Isaiah chapter 42.

Isaiah 42 · chapter mention

We're going to finish with this passage

here, Isaiah chapter 42.

Isaiah 42 · chapter mention

Another passage which speaks about how

God brings justice.

Speaking, as Isaiah does in a number of

passages, of God's servant.

Again, we know who God's servant is.

Isaiah 42, verse 1 to 4.

Isaiah 42:1–4

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my

chosen, in whom my soul delights.

I have put my spirit upon him.

He will bring forth justice to the

nations.

He will not cry aloud or lift up his

voice or make it heard in the street.

A bruised reed he will not break.

And a faintly burning wick he will not

quench.

He will faithfully bring forth justice.

He will not grow faint or be discouraged till

he has established justice in the earth and the

coastlands wait for his law.

I mean, how does Jesus, God's servant,

bring forth justice?

He does it in such a way as to care for the very,

very weakest.

Not breaking the bruised reed.

Not snuffing out the smouldering wick.

Matthew chapter 12 quotes these four verses of

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

Isaiah about Jesus.

And in context, we read in Matthew 12, many

followed him and he healed all of them.

This was to fulfil what was spoken by the

prophet Isaiah.

And then this passage, Isaiah 42, 1 to 4.

See, Jesus' healing miracles were a sign of what

he was doing.

The blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear,

the dead are raised, lepers are cleansed.

What was Jesus doing?

He was restoring what was right.

He was restoring creation to the way it's meant to be.

How did Jesus bring forth justice?

He perfectly lived justice as right.

He absorbed in himself justice as retribution.

He brings to victory justice as restoration.

Praise be to God.

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