God Is A Righteous Judge

We're in familiar territory with this psalm, aren't we?

It's another lament from David concerning yet another season of distress,

which seems to now be common in David's life as we work through these psalms.

Every psalm seems to be another moment of suffering, another moment of trial.

And if we aren't careful, that will cause us to be just a bit jaded, won't it?

And we bring all of these psalms together and we see over and over suffering, affliction, distress,

and it'll cause us to start to get a little pessimistic about the life that God has given us.

And surely this is representative of what life is like, isn't it?

David gives us a fair picture that there are peaks that we get to enjoy

and there are many valleys that we have to suffer through in this life.

And so once again, we find David in a particular distress.

And the nature of that distress is actually, it's quite easy to discern here,

even if we don't have all the details.

Simply an individual named Cush spoke against David in such a way

that his enemies multiplied and his life was in grave danger.

It's fairly simple, at least from that perspective.

Unfortunately, Cush's identity has been lost to time,

but it is his heritage as a Benjaminite that helps us to understand the background of David's lament here.

You'll remember that King Saul, who tried multiple times to murder David,

was from the tribe of Benjamin,

and the tribe had set itself often,

if you read back through those historical narratives of 1 and 2 Samuel,

you'll see that the tribe of Benjamin often set itself against David

as a really quite foolish act of loyalty,

not to God,

but a loyalty to Saul.

Let me just walk you through a few passages here.

They're on the screen.

You don't have to turn.

We see in 1 Samuel 22 and verse 7,

Saul calls for Benjamin's allegiance against David.

Here's what he says.

And Saul said to his servants who stood about him,

Hear now, people of Benjamin,

will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards?

Will he make you all commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds?

In other words, what he's saying is,

is I will be better to you than David will be.

Therefore, do not conspire against me.

Conspire against him.

Saul calls for the allegiance of his own tribe

to support him in his fight against David.

That's really where it begins.

And then it continues.

2 Samuel 3 and verse 1.

After Saul dies,

Benjamin leads an opposing army in civil war.

Did you realize that after Saul's death,

it still took eight years for David to assume the throne in Israel?

The reason is because of this civil war.

And the opposing army against David was led,

spearheaded by none other than the tribe of Benjamin.

And we read about it in 2 Samuel 3.

There was a long war between the house of Saul and the house of David.

But God was good, wasn't he?

David grew stronger and stronger while the house of Saul became weaker and weaker.

And then it continues again.

2 Samuel 16 verses 7 and 8.

2 Samuel 16:7

When Absalom ran David out of Jerusalem,

Shimei, another Benjaminite,

curses David.

And the basis of his curse is he was claiming divine vengeance for Saul.

Now there happened to be there a worthless man who's,

or excuse me,

and Shimei said as he cursed,

Get out, get out, you men of blood, you worthless man.

The Lord has avenged on you all the blood of the house of Saul,

in whose place you have reigned.

And the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son, Absalom.

2 Samuel chapter 20.

2 Samuel 20 · chapter mention

After Absalom's revolt,

another Benjaminite named Sheba

led another revolt against David.

Here's the verse.

Now there happened to be there a worthless man

whose name was Sheba,

the son of Bichri,

a Benjaminite.

And he blew the trumpet and said,

We have no portion in David.

We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse.

Every man to his tent.

So Israel.

So all the men of Israel withdrew from David

and followed Sheba,

the son of Bichri.

But the men of Judah followed their king steadfastly

from Jordan to Jerusalem.

So we see the pattern here, don't we?

It's not so much that we need to know who Cush is.

That doesn't really matter.

This situation that David's in,

it could have fallen in a number of different scenarios in his life.

But the pattern that we see is that there was this ongoing feud

between the tribe of Benjamin,

those who would have identified themselves with King Saul.

If we step back and we look at the big picture of the Bible,

we're looking at people who would identify as the seed of the serpent

that are fighting constantly against the seed of the woman

represented in David,

which ultimately points us to the person of Christ.

So the hostility of Benjamin toward David is well established,

though we cannot be sure of the exact issue at hand here.

But one feature of this hostility over and over and over with Benjamin

repeatedly comes to the surface.

And it is this.

False accusations that lead to threats against David's life.

That goes all the way back to Saul.

In fact, there's a passage in 1 Samuel as Saul is trying to kill David,

and David meets up with his best friend, Jonathan,

who happens to be Saul's son.

You'll remember the exchange here.

What is it that David says?

He says, what have I done to your father?

What sin have I committed?

What have I done?

I have done nothing but serve him, but he seeks my life.

And the implication there, or the inference there,

is that what Saul was doing was conjuring up in his own mind

false accusations about David.

He felt threatened by David,

and therefore he spread the false accusations,

and he tried to murder him.

And that's exactly what we see the tribe of Benjamin doing

again and again and again.

They're raising false accusations against David

in order that they may threaten his life

and take the throne for themselves.

And Psalm 7 is fundamentally a prayer for vindication,

that God would expose the truth in relation to Cush's lies,

and that by doing that, he would save the righteous,

in this case, David,

and bring justice against the wicked,

in this case, Cush the Benjaminite.

Okay?

So that's the background here, right?

That's what's happening, and that will help us.

Now, before we walk through the song itself,

we need to recognize that there is a key verse here.

The key verse is verse 11a.

Set your eyes on it.

Verse 11, here's what David says.

God is a righteous judge.

God is a righteous judge.

All of the content of this prayer

flows from David's faith in this one statement,

which means that if we're going to grasp

the foundational understanding of this psalm,

if we're going to apply this psalm the right way,

then we need to understand these two foundational affirmations

that David is making.

Affirmation number one is that God is the ultimate judge.

David is the sufferer.

He has authority that is limited.

He does have authority,

but even he recognizes ultimately God is the judge.

Affirmation number two,

God is righteous in all his judgments.

God is righteous in all his judgments.

Okay, so follow me here.

That's all in just that one statement.

God is a righteous judge.

God is the ultimate judge.

All of us will ultimately stand before him,

and when God issues his judgment,

it is always right.

He always does what's right.

That's what Abraham says, right?

And Abraham, when he's having that conversation

with God related to Sodom,

what is it that he says to God?

He said,

shall not the judge of all the earth do that which is right?

He says,

we know you're the righteous judge,

that all of your judgments are good and right.

Paul says it again in 1 Timothy,

when he talks about his crown of life,

that the Lord,

the righteous judge,

will give to him on that day.

He even recognizes there is coming a day,

a final judgment.

God will rule over all of us,

and all of his judgments will be right.

Now, everything David prays in Psalm 7

flows from his faith in this statement.

Without this statement,

none of the rest of the psalm makes any sense.

It all flows from this.

And these affirmations,

they're repeated throughout the scriptures,

and they are universally held

by true believers.

fundamental to the Christian faith

is the fact that God,

through Christ,

will judge the world.

And his judgment

will be perfectly just.

Why?

Because he himself

is truly righteous.

righteous.

And as we will see in David's song,

God's righteous judgment,

while it is certain,

happens according to his timeline,

not ours.

In some cases,

some injustices are judged now,

while others are addressed

in the final judgment.

But in both cases,

these two affirmations

drive David's prayer for vindication.

And they must also be the things

that drive our prayers

for vindication as well.

So, when facing circumstances

such as David's,

affirming these truths

will lead us to four actions

modeled by David in Psalm 7.

Okay?

We're looking at four actions

modeled by David

for us to follow

in similar circumstances.

Action number one.

Put your ultimate hope

in God.

Put your ultimate hope

in God.

Look again at verses one and two.

Oh, Lord my God,

in you

do I take refuge.

Save me from all my pursuers

and deliver me.

Lest like a lion

they tear my soul apart,

rending it in pieces

with none to deliver.

This is now the third time

that the notion

of taking refuge in God

has been stated

in these opening psalms.

In Psalm 2 and verse 12

we're told,

blessed are all

who take refuge

in God's King,

God's anointed Son.

Psalm 5 verse 11,

Psalms 5:11

let all who take refuge in you

rejoice,

let them ever sing for joy

and spread your protection

over them

that those who love your name

may exult in you.

refuge.

What is a refuge?

Refuge is simple.

It's a shelter

amidst a storm.

If you ever go golfing

with Terry over at Cowan's Ford

and a storm comes up,

there are various shelters

on the course

where you might hunker down

and take refuge

until the storm passes through.

Every once in a while,

we will have the threat

of a tornado in our area,

which kind of blows my mind

a little bit.

If you're like me,

you grew up watching Twister.

So I thought tornadoes

only happened in Oklahoma,

but apparently

they happen here too.

And I think one of

Julie's deepest fears

is that we will get hit

by a tornado.

And someone told her

at some point along the way

that you know

a tornado is coming

if it sounds like a train,

like a big train

is coming through, right?

And I don't know

how many times

the wind has been howling

during a storm during the night.

And Julie has woken me up,

Jared, is that a train?

Is that a train?

And she'll pull up her app

on her phone

and it'll say

there's a tornado warning

in the area

and Julie is very quick

to gather her brood

and to take us

into the pantry downstairs

in order that we might find refuge

in case the storm

does actually impact our house

and wreck it.

Such is the picture

that David gives us

again and again

in the Psalms

of taking refuge in God.

It is to find shelter

and security in Him

as the storms of your life

roar around you.

In this case,

seeking vindication

when false accusations

have been made about us,

it is only when we have

these two foundational affirmations

in view

that we will truly take refuge

in God as David did.

Isn't that what he does?

He does not appeal

to his own authority here.

He submits his calls

to the Lord.

In you do I take refuge.

Which is significant

for us, isn't it?

Because in situations

like David's,

we are always tempted

to retreat

to our own devices.

we want to defend ourselves,

don't we?

Rightfully so.

Rather than taking refuge

in God,

often,

instead of trusting Him

as the righteous judge,

we seek shelter

in human wisdom.

We'll take matters

into our own hands,

won't we?

It's actually incredible

what this communicates

when we do this kind of thing,

and all of us

are probably guilty

of doing it

at some point along the way

at various trials

in our lives.

What it communicates

is that

what we really believe

in our heart of hearts

is that we will treat

ourselves better

than what God

will treat us

if we submit

to His purposes

in our lives.

Have you ever thought

about that?

When we don't take refuge

in God,

when He is not

the source of our hope

in various situations

of our lives,

what we're saying

is,

God,

I love you,

but I think

I'll take better care

of me now

than what you will

take care of me.

And so we resort

to human devices

all the time,

don't we?

We might consider

in a situation

like David's,

fighting fire

with fire,

sinking into the same sin

as our accusers.

We might insist

on our own innocence

so widely

that what we end up

doing is attracting

suspicion rather

than dispelling it.

And I want to be clear

that to take refuge

in God doesn't mean

that we do nothing.

That's not what it means.

Notice what David does.

David's enemies,

they pursued him

indicating that he

ran away.

He was doing something.

It's not that we do nothing.

It's good and right

to use whatever

righteous means

are available to us

when seeking justice.

And David does

what he needs to do

to escape

but his ultimate hope,

his trust,

was in the Lord.

He submits his calls

to the Lord

when he could run

no further,

when he could do

nothing else.

James Johnston

says this,

I found this so helpful,

if your ultimate hope

is not in God,

anxiety

will churn you up

inside

when you cannot

reverse injustice.

the false accusation

will eat you up

when you cannot

do anything

about it.

So what do we do then?

When we trust that God

is the righteous judge,

I think we'll find it

most natural

to take refuge in him

in seasons of distress.

It doesn't mean

that we never act.

It means that we always

commit our calls

to him.

Like Nehemiah,

as he builds the wall

around Jerusalem,

remember what he did

when he had threats

of enemies

coming against him.

He prays to God

and then what did he do?

He set a guard.

Trusting God

doesn't negate

human action,

but all of our

human action

must be surrendered,

committed to his calls.

Our trust

must not be

in our ability

to fix the problem.

Our trust and hope

must be in God's goodness

as the righteous judge.

Action number two.

Boldly plead

before his throne.

Boldly plead

before his throne.

Look at verses

three through five.

David continues,

O Lord my God,

if I have done this,

if there is wrong

in my hands,

if I have repaid

my friend with evil

or plundered my enemy

without cause,

let the enemy

pursue my soul

and overtake it.

Let him trample

my life to the ground

and lay my glory

in the dust.

Selah.

David claims

his innocence here.

Declares it boldly

before God.

And it bears mentioning

that David

isn't claiming

to be innocent

of all sin.

That's not his claim.

We can read

in other Psalms,

particularly Psalm 51,

that David was very aware

of not only

a sinful behavior

but a sinful condition.

This is not a claim

to total innocence.

We understand that.

It's a claim

to innocence

regarding the charges

that are brought

against him

in this case.

And the nature

of those charges

is revealed

in verse four.

Look at it again.

David's enemy,

Cush the Benjaminite,

accused him of

repaying a friend

with evil

and plundering

an enemy

without cause.

In other words,

David is being

misrepresented

as a tyrant

who is unjustly

hurting others

in pursuit

of personal advantage.

That's the accusation

on the table

against him.

A common sin,

isn't it?

We see this kind

of thing everywhere.

It's not only common,

it's destructive.

And anyone who is guilty

of it

is certainly worthy

of severe consequences.

Sins like this,

they are expressed

on a spectrum,

aren't they?

On one hand,

we would see

this kind of sin

expressed

in the extreme behavior

of a terrorist

who attacks

an enemy

unprovoked,

repaying an enemy

without cause.

It may also be expressed

in a much subtle way,

the betrayal

of a colleague

that is in line

for a promotion

ahead of you,

cheating on your spouse

with the spouse

of a friend,

repaying a friend

with evil things.

And the guilty

would be worthy

of serious consequences.

So this is no

small accusation.

Whatever it is,

whatever this is

in relation to

in David's life,

whether it's

big,

little,

public,

or private,

this is a serious

accusation.

But notice,

David does not

go into detail

to prove his innocence,

at least not

in the psalm.

What does he do?

He takes his case

before the Lord.

He takes his case

before the one

who sees behind

every mask,

who knows the truth

of all of our hearts.

Why?

Because his declaration

of innocence

flows from his belief

that God actually

truly is

the righteous judge.

On the one hand,

it wouldn't make sense

to fake innocence,

feign innocence

before the omniscient

God.

Who knows the truth?

What would be the

purpose in that?

Even more,

if David were

truly guilty,

we know by the

pattern of his life,

he would not have

cried for justice.

He would have

cried for mercy.

And all of these

things point toward

his true innocence.

But it does

something else for us.

it calls us

to examine ourselves

before we make

our appeal to God,

doesn't it?

We should be careful

to know whether

it is justice

or mercy

for which we

should pray.

But in either case,

David teaches us

that we can come

boldly to God's throne

with our pleas.

because he knows

God to be the

righteous judge,

David trusts that

the Lord will indeed

vindicate him

because he knows

himself to be

innocent.

So he doesn't

waste his time

trying to clear

his name

before his enemies.

He takes his

calls to the one

who can actually

exercise true

authority in the

matter.

He commits his

calls to the Lord.

He declares his

innocence to the one

who knows,

to the one who is

the righteous judge,

who will indeed

vindicate him

in time.

Action number three.

David confidently

anticipates true

justice.

David confidently

anticipates true

justice.

Look at verse six.

Arise, O Lord,

in your anger.

Lift yourself up

against the fury

of my enemies.

Awake for me.

You have appointed

a judgment.

Now I want you to

notice just in

between verses

five and six

is that little

word selah.

We've talked about

it a couple of

times already,

haven't we?

There's only one

in this psalm

and its place

in between verses

five and six

signal that there

is a significant

transition happening

in the psalm.

So David has

opened with

an appeal to God

for his refuge.

He has pleaded

his innocence

and now

there's a shift

happening here.

Now he's addressing

God in a different

way.

He calls on God

to take action

now.

Arise with anger.

Lift himself

against his enemies.

Awake for the

appointed judgment.

In other words,

David is painting

a picture for us.

It is time for the

heavenly court

to begin its session

and the song

now brings us

into that courtroom

of the righteous

judge.

And this will

take us almost

to the very end

of the psalm.

And as David

presents us

with the courtroom

of the righteous

judge,

he has two

judgments in view.

First,

a final judgment.

A final judgment.

Look again

at verse six.

He says,

you have appointed

a judgment.

Let the assembly

of the peoples

be gathered about

you over at

return on high.

The Lord judges

the peoples.

Judge me,

O Lord,

according to my

righteousness

and according to

the integrity

that is in me.

O let the evil

of the wicked

come to an end.

And may you

establish the

righteous,

you who test

the minds

and hearts,

O righteous God.

My shield

is with God

who saves

the upright.

In the heart.

Final judgment.

Here,

the attention,

it shifts away

from David's

present circumstance.

And it focuses

momentarily

on God's judgment

of the nations.

Let me prove

that to you, okay?

If you're wondering

how I got to that,

let me show you.

At the end of verse six,

David refers

to an appointed judgment,

a specific judgment

that could be

in just relation

to his circumstance.

I think it probably

has something

more significant

in mind.

And this appointed

judgment,

he goes on to say,

involves all

the peoples.

Peoples

being plural.

These are people,

groups,

nations.

kings.

So that the peoples

in verse seven

and eight,

I believe,

recalls the raging

nations and the plotting

peoples of Psalm 2,

who we read there,

set themselves against God

and his anointed king.

And then he describes

the wicked

in verse nine,

which I believe

refers to those

in Psalm 1

who will not stand

in the judgment,

but will perish

instead.

Now,

David recognizes

that even if he

does not receive

justice now,

I think the picture

he's painting

is that there

is coming a day

when the righteous

judge

will gather

all the wicked,

will carry out

swift

and final

justice

on them.

In other words,

even if Cush

gets away

with the slanderous

lies now,

he will not

get away

with them

forever.

Why?

Because David

knows,

he knows

that God

has appointed

a judgment,

that God

looks at the

peoples

who are raging,

the nations

who are plotting,

and Psalm 2

says he laughs

at them

because they

are all

headed

to an

eventual

judgment

when God

will have

the final

word.

That's the

truth of

the big

picture of

the Bible.

God

creates,

his creation

falls,

and then we

have to ask,

where is all

this going?

And the

Bible gives

us a clear

answer about

that.

All of

creation

is moving

toward a

final

eschatological

judgment

in which

God,

the righteous

judge,

the one

who David

says here,

tests the

hearts and

minds of

us all.

What does

he mean by

that?

He knows

what's true

of every

one of

us.

He knows

what's

true.

No one

will be

able to

stand before

God in

that judgment

and fool

him because

he tests

the minds,

he tests

the hearts,

he sees

what we do

not see,

he understands

what we do

not understand,

he knows

the truth

of every

person.

And all

of creation

is headed

toward this

eschatological

judgment where

God will bring

an end to

evil by

ruling against

sinners.

And the

Bible makes

it clear that

all unrepentant

sinners will be

sentenced by

this righteous

judge to

eternity in

hell.

Revelation

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

chapter 20

gives us the

clearest picture

of it.

Then I saw

a great

white throne

and him

who was

seated on

it.

From his

presence

earth and

sky fled

away.

No place

was found

for them.

And I

saw the

dead,

great and

small,

in other

words,

young and

old,

standing

before the

throne of

God.

And books

were opened.

Another book

was opened,

which is the

book of life.

And the

dead were

judged by

what was

written in

the books,

according to

what they

had done.

And the

sea gave up

the dead

who were in

it.

Death and

Hades gave

up the

dead who

were in

them.

And they

were judged,

each one of

them,

according to

what they

had done.

Then death

and Hades

were thrown

into the

lake of

fire.

This is the

second death,

the lake

of fire.

And if

anyone's name

was not found

written in the

book of life,

he was thrown

into the

lake of fire.

David

understands.

He may not

have been able

to voice it

in those

words like

John did.

John had a

special vision

to be able

to write

that to

us.

But David

understood all

of this is

heading toward

a judgment.

And even if

I don't get

vindication now,

God will

vindicate me

then because

we will all

stand before

him and

sinners will

be judged.

But we're

reminded here

also that the

righteous will

be saved in

this final

judgment.

Isn't that

what he says

here?

Look again

at verse

8.

Judge me,

O Lord,

according to

my righteousness,

according to

the integrity

that is in

me.

Verse 10,

my shield is

with God,

who saves

the upright

in heart.

So,

the righteous

will be saved

in this final

judgment.

No escape.

But see,

here's the

problem.

the scriptures

repeatedly

affirm that

no one is

truly righteous.

That's a

pretty big

problem for

us,

isn't it?

If everything

in creation

is headed

toward this

final eschatological

judgment,

and the

righteous will

be saved

then,

what do we

do with

passages like

Romans 3

where Paul

strings together

a number of

quotations from

the Psalms and

from the

prophets in

order that he

might affirm

for us that

there is none

righteous,

no not one.

He goes on to

say,

all have turned

aside,

all have sinned

and fallen

short of the

glory of God.

And the

question then

becomes,

how can David

speak so

confidently about

standing in that

judgment when

we know he was

sinful?

How can he have

this kind of

confidence?

Is this kind

of confidence

foolish?

Can we actually

have it?

Can you and

I be so

confident as

David that

when that

final judgment

comes,

we will stand

rather than

perishing with

the wicked?

And it's here

that we must

remember that

David often

speaks prophetically

in the Psalms,

doesn't he?

He's not only

a king,

he's the

Old Testament

type pointing

us forward

to a greater

David,

the true and

better David.

Jesus Christ.

David often

in the Psalms

he speaks

his own words

that are then

fulfilled,

not in him,

but are fulfilled

in Christ.

The singular

me and my

in verses 8

are not

ultimately about

David,

they're ultimately

about Jesus.

He was truly

sinless,

sinless,

and as the

sinless son

laid down

his life

in our place

as a substitute

for sinners

who would come

to him in

faith.

And those

who do come

to him in

faith,

we're told

are justified,

that word

justified,

it means

in a legal

sense,

to declare

someone

righteous

even though

they are not

actually

righteous.

righteous.

And the

Bible tells us

that because

of what Jesus

has done,

all who come

to him in

faith are

declared by

the righteous

judge to

be righteous

even though

they are not

actually

righteous.

That's why

he has this

confidence.

He may not

have been able

to piece all

of that together

the way that

we can looking

back from a

New Testament

perspective,

but the Lord

is speaking

through him

here.

Let me prove

it to you.

2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 5:21

chapter 5

verse 21.

For our

sake he

made him

to be sin

who knew

no sin.

Why?

So that

in him

we might

become the

righteousness

of God.

A transaction

takes place

at the cross

whereby the

sins of those

who believe

are given

to the one

who never

committed a

sin.

And that

transaction

is completed

when the

righteousness

of the one

who is truly

righteous

is imputed

onto those

of us

who come

to him

in faith.

So that

in that

judgment

as we

stand before

the righteous

judge

who knows

our hearts

who knows

our minds

who has

final authority

he does not

look to us

in righteousness

he looks to

the righteous

one

who has given

us his

righteousness.

That's how

we stand

in that

judgment.

It's said

over and over

again in the

scriptures

Romans chapter

three we

are justified

again declared

righteous by

his grace

as a gift

through the

redemption that

is in Christ

Jesus whom

God put

forward as a

propitiation by

his blood to

be received

by faith.

This was to

show God's

righteousness

righteousness

so that he

might be

just

and the

justifier

of the

one who

has faith

in Jesus.

Don't let

me lose

you.

Think about

what this

is saying.

God the

righteous

judge

is just

in forgiving

us

not because

he turns a

blind eye

to our

sins

but because

he punishes

his son

in our

place

that he

might rightly

as the

righteous

judge

justify

us

who

come to

him in

faith.

Therefore

Romans 5

chapter 1

says therefore

since we

have been

justified

declared

righteous

by faith

we now

have peace

with God

and we

have that

peace

not through

our own

righteousness

we have

that peace

through our

Lord Jesus

Christ

Christ

which again

leads us

to Romans

Romans 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8

that we read

earlier in the

service

there is

therefore now

no condemnation

for those

who are in

Christ Jesus

Jesus is the

fulfillment of

David's words

here

in the final

judgment

all who

trust in the

righteousness

of Christ

the blessed

man

will be

saved

but there's

another judgment

that David

has in view

here

it's an

immediate

judgment

an immediate

judgment

look with me

at verse 11

God is a

righteous judge

and a God

who fills

indignation

every day

if a man

does not

repent

God will

wet his

sword

he has bent

and readied

his bow

he has

prepared for

him

his deadly

weapons

making his

arrows

fiery shafts

behold the

wicked man

conceives evil

and is pregnant

with mischief

and gives

birth to lies

he makes a

pit

digging it

out

and he

falls into

the hole

that he's

made

his mischief

returns upon

his own

head

and on his

own skull

his violence

descends

David I

think now

turns back

to his

present

circumstance

though he

knows a

final judgment

is coming

he also

recognized

that God

often brings

justice

in the

here and

now

he declares

that

verse 11

God is a

righteous judge

who feels

indignation

every day

that indignation

is not

solely reserved

for the final

judgment

it is indicated

day

by day

in other

words

while the

wicked

await a

final

eschatological

judgment

the Lord

also works

to condemn

and judge

their wickedness

now

and often

the way

God uses

the weapons

described in

verses 12

and 13

as wetting

his sword

bending

his bow

and preparing

his fiery

arrows

often the way

that God

carries those

weapons out

in judgment

is by turning

the wickedness

of the wicked

against them

in verses 15

and 16

you see what

he says there

the wicked

makes a pit

and then he

falls into it

not because

he's a loser

or just

really that

foolish

but because

God turns

his wickedness

against him

verse 16

his mischief

returns upon

his own

head

his own

skull

on his own

skull

is violence

to sins

this is the

fiery arrows

of the Lord

there is a

judgment

and a

condemnation

in the here

and now

God often

does carry

that out

on behalf

of his

people

how and

when

God issues

his judgment

is his

business

but taking

refuge in

him

means

confidently

anticipating

his judgment

both now

and in the

future

he is the

righteous judge

he will

vindicate his

people in one

way or another

and that's a

truth that like

David you can

be certain of

and you can

take comfort

in

he will not

forsake

your calls

he will come

to your aid

he will judge

the wicked

and you can

confidently pray

to him for

that

but there's

an important

qualification

in verse 12

that we

cannot miss

notice that

God's judgment

here is

conditional

he wets

his sword

and readies

his bow

not against

all sinners

but against

the man

who does

not repent

against the

man who

does not

repent

this means

that though

you deserve

his judgment

he's made

a way

for you

to escape

it

though we

all deserve

his judgment

he's made

a way

for all

of us

to escape

Christ

has fulfilled

the law

on our

behalf

and anyone

who repents

of their

sin

and trust

in the

righteousness

of Christ

for salvation

will be

saved

from this

judgment

notice what

David says

if a man

will not

repent

God

will ready

his bow

and wet

his sword

implication

being

that if a

man does

repent

he will

be welcomed

and forgiven

it also

means

that praying

for justice

doesn't preclude

our desire

for people

to be saved

even if it

means that we

have to live

with the

consequences

of their

sin

against us

we should

desire

first

that our

enemies

turn

to Christ

that they

turn from

their sin

and their

wickedness

and that

they trust

in him

that like

us

they will

escape

the judgment

that we

all deserve

to have

received

such amazing

forgiveness

from God

should drive

us to

extend

that same

forgiveness

to those

who do

wrong

against us

so that

while we

pray for

God to

be just

and to

bring justice

we also

pray that

he would

so work

in their

hearts

that they

would turn

from their

sin

and turn

to him

in faith

and then

withhold

that justice

from them

that he

would be

the righteous

judge for

them as he

has been

the righteous

judge

for us

remember

God is

righteous

to condemn

sinners who

will not

repent

and since

Christ has

made a

sufficient

sacrifice

for sin

he is

righteous

to forgive

all who

seek refuge

in him

in either

case

our prayers

are based

on our

belief

that he

is

the

righteous

judge

fourth

action

final

action

worship

the

righteous

Lord

worship

the

righteous

Lord

look at

verse 17

notice how

David closes

this is

he does

this so

often

it's so

good

I will

give to

the

Lord

the

thanks

due

to

his

what's

that

next

word

righteousness

I will

sing

praise

to the

name

of the

Lord

most