"A Righteous Judge"

“God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.” (Psalm 7:11 ESV)

Psalm 7 is a Shiggaion of David. Shiggaion is a musical or liturgical term. David sang this to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

David sings of the wrath of God and how David finds solace in God’s sovereignty. David also sings of his repentance and calls for God to judge him in his life. Today’s verse, verse 11, reminds us of God’s righteousness.

What many preachers and pastors fail to do is teach on the wrath of God. Many people will walk out of a sermon based on the wrath of God because all they have ever been taught is God’s love and mercy. However, God is a righteous judge, and the wicked will receive His wrath if they remain unrepentant.

Only God is good. God is righteous, so is His wrath. It is not arbitrary or indiscriminate; it is righteously and judiciously applied. God’s wrath is not displayed merely to show His power, but as a response to evil which has angered the Lord. We earn the wrath we receive, Paul wrote of this in Romans 2:5, “But because of 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.” It is what  Solomon wrote about wisdom and fearing God in Proverbs 9:10-12:

The beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord,

and acknowledging the Holy One is understanding.

For because of me your days will be many,

and years will be added to your life.

If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage,

but if you have mocked, you alone must bear it.

Make no mistake, God is love, and God is mercy. His sacrifice through Christ demonstrates His love, and His wrath reminds us of the seriousness of sin. Embracing both encourages us to seek salvation actively and live in assurance of His grace.

Like God’s love, we should also make no mistakes in thinking that the righteous wrath of God is not building towards the wicked. God is holy, which means separate. God is so holy that we could never reach His level of righteousness. There can be no day without night, no right without wrong, and no good without evil; there is no love without wrath.  That wrath, on the Day of the Lord, will be executed in righteous, regulated retribution. God will be victorious over all sin, all evil, and the wicked, who on that day will be in great despair.

There is a path. A path to avoid the righteous wrath of God. That path is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In placing your faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior, the wrath you have been earning throughout your life will be paid for in full through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. How could one man, in a few hours on a cross, pay for all of your sins? Because that man is God, and worth more than creation itself.

Have you asked Christ into your heart? Have you asked Him to save you from your sins? Seek Christ today and find forgiveness through the blood of Christ and the love of God.

Question? Contact us here at In Messiah Ministries, and we can guide you to the scripture that explains salvation through the finished work of Christ.