Name: JUDGE
Prayer and Meditation: Psalm 75:1-2, 7a and 10 Psalm 96:10 and 13. Psalm 97 1, 2, 9
I Corinthians 11:31-32 Isaiah 33:22
“God says, ‘At the time I have planned, I will bring justice’ . . . It is God alone who judges . . . For God says, ‘I will break the strength of the wicked, but I will increase the power of the godly“. Ps 75: 2, 7a, 10
“Tell all . . . ‘The Lord reigns!’. . . He will judge all peoples fairly. . . .He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice and the nations with His truth.” Psalm 96:10 and 13
“The Lord is King! Let the earth rejoice! . . . Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. . . For You, O Lord, are supreme over all the earth . . .” Psalm 97:1, 2, 9
Most believers in Jesus/Yeshua as God The Son, believe that He is coming again – this time as King, to Judge the earth. Psalm 75 opens with a prayer of thanksgiving “because You are near.” The rest of the Psalm speaks of His judgement. “So, the implication is that the psalmist is thankful because God’s judgement is near.
Yes, we want God to judge the wicked; but do we thank God for His judgment of us? Many believers do not expect to be judged, yet these Psalms, as well as numerous other scriptures in the New Testament, tell us that God will judge ALL peoples. Certainly, His judgement of the wicked is much different than His judgement of the righteous. So how do we rightly divide/discern The Word here and now?
Psalm 96 reminds us that The Lord Reigns and will judge all peoples fairly – with justice and with truth. Psalm 97 reminds us that The Lord is King! Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne and He is supreme over all the earth. Aren’t these all true now, not only when He returns to judge the wicked? He is our King now, today. He is sovereign now, and rules us in righteousness and justice, now – not only on that day. Why else would we need to pick up our own cross daily and crucify our own flesh? Consider 1 Corinthians 11:31-32:
“For if we would judge ourselves [now], we would not be judged [then]. But when we are judged [now], we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world” [then].
In Isaiah 33:21-22 I find the most powerful confirmation of this comforting truth:
The Lord will be our Mighty One. He will be like a wide river of protection that no enemy can cross . . . For the Lord is our judge, our lawgiver, and our King. [Who will not condemn us, but instead:] HE WILL CARE FOR US AND SAVE US.
And so we pray:
Prayer – We thank You, O God! We give thanks because you are near. Psalm 75:1
We thank You that Your judgment is near, working in us to refine and care for us every day. Thank You for leading us to rightly judge ourselves now, to prepare us for the Day You return as Judge and King. Yes, Lord! Let it be so!