0556. Judgment
Judgment
"I will praise Thee with uprightness of heart, when I shall have learned Thy righteous judgments" (Psa_119:7).
The word "judgment" comes from a word which means, "to set upright," or, "to erect," therefore, "to judge." It is used first in Gen_18:19. "And they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment." It is used twenty-three times in Psalms 119.
In discussing the word "judgment" it is well to remember that the basis of all God’s judgments is the Word of God. Some of the helpful statements, we will particularly notice.
1. Psa_119:137 : "Righteous art Thou, O Lord, and upright are Thy judgments." God’s judgments are based upon His righteousness. He does not judge after the sight of His eyes, but after the character of His being. Everything that falls short of the glory of God, comes immediately under the judgment of God. This means that every mouth is shut, and that the whole race stands guilty before God. God’s judgments never follow the line of His mercies, they are based entirely upon His righteousness. Therefore the one who stands before God as Judge, need never to plead the mercy of the court. He must stand or fall according to his own uprightness or his own iniquity.
2. Psa_119:20 : "My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto Thy judgments at all times." A better translation, perhaps, would be, "My soul is broken, owing to its fervent desire unto Thy judgments," etc. It seems impossible that any human being could long for God’s just judgments because all are condemned thereby. Yet it is easy to comprehend how any one could be "broken in spirit," as he yearned to stand accepted under the righteous demands of God’s judgments. We really think this is the meaning of the verse–a heart, breaking with a passionate longing, to reach the high altitudes demanded by the judgments of God.
David also longed for the vindication that God’s judgments against the wicked would bring to the saints who walked faithfully and suffered thereby.
3. Psa_119:52 : "I remembered Thy judgments of old, O Lord; and have comforted myself." It is well for every believer to study carefully the judgments of God which have befallen men in the past. As we begin with the "Where art thou?" of Genesis 3, and follow the trail of judgments throughout the Old Testament, we learn much of how God righteously judges those who break His Law and despise His Word.
There is no sin that can escape His all-seeing eye. There is no sin that can escape His judgment. Sin will be discovered. Sin will be punished. How then could the Psalmist say: "I remembered Thy judgments of old, and have comforted myself"? His comfort must have been based upon the fact that he had a sure refuge in Jesus Christ. He knew, for instance, that when the deluge, the judgment of God, fell upon the old world, Noah was made secure in the ark, and Enoch was taken out before the deluge came. Therefore, he comforted himself. He comforted himself, also, because God’s judgments of old were always in behalf of those who trusted in Him.
4. Psa_119:62 : "At midnight I will rise to give thanks unto Thee because of Thy righteous judgments." David had so frequently been judged unrighteously by his enemies that he was overwhelmed with gladness when he remembered that God’s judgments were always according to truth. God never condemns the guiltless. David also knew that although he had sinned and done iniquity, yet his iniquity was placed on Christ, and God in righteousness would therefore pass by his sin. Therefore at the midnight hour he could give thanks for God’s righteous judgments.
5. Psa_119:75 : "I know, O Lord, that Thy judgments are right, and that Thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me." Even when God’s judgments ended in chastisement, and David felt the rebuke falling upon him; he acknowledged that God was just. He doubtless knew that every son received the chastisement of the father. God’s judgments and His afflictions are not, at the first, enjoyed; but afterwards they bear the "peaceable fruit of righteousness."
6. Psa_119:84 : "How many are the days of Thy servant? when wilt Thou execute judgment on them that persecute me?" This is a vision of God’s judgments against the wicked, but executed in behalf of the righteous. When we view Christ Jesus coming in flaming fire and against those who know not God, we stand aghast. We should remember, however, that the wrath which destroys the ungodly, establishes the righteous. If a serpent is slain in righteous indignation against its venomous strike, its death accrues to the safety of the innocent.
7. Psa_119:175 : "And let Thy judgments help me." This verse is now readily understood. God’s judgments against sin always help the righteous. God overthrew with severest judgments, the nations of Canaan, but He thereby established His people in the land, and sought to remove that which would surely ensnare them.
The court house, the bar of justice, and the jail, strike terror to the hearts of criminals, but they help the guiltless.
Autor: R.E. NEIGHBOUR