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Say among the nations, “The Lord is king!
The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.
He will judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it.
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord; for he is coming,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with his truth. – Psalm 96:10-13
God is still in control! The Lord is still king! I hope and pray that this Sunday message finds you well. We continue in this challenging year, continue to press through, and continue to cling to the hope that God is in control.
As I come to the psalm of the day, I am reminded of the great promises of our faith, that God is not just our king, but the king among all the nations. I am reminded that as much as we might try, God has established the earth and it will not be moved, and as the Lord does come to judge, it is with equity, righteousness, and truth.
These are sometimes challenging word for us; equity, righteousness, and truth. As a justice term, the word equity means that God will judge without bias or favoritism. Righteousness is a term associated with virtue and integrity. Truth, in this context, is God’s absoluteness. There will be no standing outside of God’s truth, for in omnipotence, God see the heart, and knows what truth there is within.
Being an older teenager as we neared the turn of the century from the 1900’s to the 2000’s it was interesting how much I heard about God’s coming to judge the earth, and for what we would be judged. History has shown that similar claims have been made at many points throughout history, and there are some who claim such time is coming soon. While I believe there is prudence in living an upright and godly life, I also understand that even Jesus taught that no one, not even the Son of Man, knows the day nor the hour of God’s coming. The psalmist does tell us, however, how God will come. It will be with great acclamation, with rejoicing, singing. The fear of God’s return is left to those who have something to fear within the heart. If God’s judgement comes with equity, righteousness, and truth; then those who live in such character should sing, on that day, with great rejoicing. If, however, we fear such returning, perhaps today is the day we turn again to the one whom we call savior. We turn to Jesus, and realize that we haven’t lived fully in the light of his love. We seek the forgiveness Christ offers us, and the grace that we might be seen in Christ righteousness rather than our own; we might live as Christ’s truth rather than our own.
We do not know the time of God’s return, but I hope that when that return does come, we live without fear, because we are living in the joy of God’s truth and grace even now.
May the grace and peace of God fill you with all goodness now, and forever. Amen.
Sam