Praise for God’s Justice

August 5, 2012 Background Scripture: Psalm 146; Exodus 21 – 23; Isaiah 58 Lesson Passage: Psalm 146 Psalm 146 is the first of five Hallelujah psalms that close out the Psalter. It anchors a fitting conclusion to a book written with the express purpose of recognizing and praising God through the channels of human emotions. Like the other four psalms in the group, its author remains anonymous. Likewise, it begins and ends with the exhortation to praise the Lord. Here, contrast is drawn between man’s ultimate failure and God’s unfailing support for the righteous. True happiness is found through relying completely on God for one’s help. Those who have been marginalized and perhaps “kicked to the curb” by society have God as their refuge and deliverer. The oppressed, hungry, imprisoned, blind, and all who are depressed can fully depend on the Lord. This is precisely the group that Jesus targeted as he began his ministry in Nazareth with his declaration of purpose: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.” God’s justice is always based on His righteousness—especially as it relates to those who are looked upon as the weakest in society. God is the defender of the defenseless. We that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak as a reflection of God’s righteousness in us. The weak should be lovingly upheld by the strong and not merely endured or put up with. Jesus set forth himself as the example of how that is to be done. God’s justice cannot be manifest in us where selfishness rules and sets our priorities. God’s justice is first demonstrated through loving actions and then and only then will the weak be edified through benefitting from our actions. Again, Jesus’ actions caused us to understand and then believe. And others can be brought to the same truth when we allow God to use us to demonstrate His form of justice. It is God’s justice in our lives and on our behalf that causes us to rejoice in the God of our salvation. Our rejoicing is punctuated with praises to God. God will always rule over His creation. There will never be a time when God is not in control of the works of His hands. When we come into a loving relationship with God, we can rest assured that He will never change. He loves righteousness and punishes wickedness. The underdog need never despair with God as their help. When we are weak, His strength is made perfect in us. When we become arrogant and depend on our own strength, He will bring to naught whatever we trusted in that was not of Him. When we think we are at our best, God will turn our world upside down to show us our need for Him. When one considers who God is and the relationship He calls us into with Him, then surely we should join the resounding echo of hallelujah. Praise ye the Lord! Robert C. Hudson July 26, 2012