Psalm 119 † The Source of True Justice

INTRODUCTION: “It is time for the Lord to act…”

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Psalm 119:126 “It is time for the Lord to act, for your law has been broken.”

The Psalmist recognizes the perfection of God’s word and the rebellion of human hearts.

If all of God’s law is true, what do we do with law-breakers? How do we live as law-breakers who have been redeemed by Jesus?

DEFINING TRUE JUSTICE

The Character of God

Psalm 119:142 “Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true.”

The “first” commission in the Bible (Genesis 1:28–30 “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.”)

We exist to fill the earth with the reflection of God’s goodness and character. “Right and wrong” have no meaning apart from a universal source of truth and justice.

“Justice is not something that God has. Justice is something that God is.”

A. W. Tozer

The Commands of God

Psalm 119:160 “The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.”

God’s commands exist to enforce true justice. What God commands is best (1) for the individual, (2) for the family, and (3) for society.

The problem of injustice isn’t in God’s boundaries, but in our selfish rebellion against him.

“The Karate Kid.” Mr. Miyagi makes Daniel do chores that seem purposeless, but eventually reveals that he has been building up his karate muscles.

Two Keys: Truth and Consistency

Psalm 119:163 “I hate and abhor falsehood, but I love your law.”

Does my sense of justice answer to the truth of God’s word?

Psalm 119:113 “I hate the double-minded, but I love your law.”

The double-minded person wants justice for others and autonomy for themselves. (This is revenge not justice).

LIVING OUT TRUE JUSTICE

Looking Up: Embrace the Gospel

If God is just, how can we survive?

“There must be a bloody sweat from that blessed body. There must be a scourging of those sacred shoulders. There must be a piercing of those dear hands and feet. There must be a rending open of that loving and holy heart. Shall it be done? Will the Son of God die like a felon on a gibbet? Will the Lord of glory give his back to the smiters, and his cheeks to them that pluck off the hair? Will he yield his face to shame and spitting? Will he, can he die? Death, thou hast slain thy millions; wilt thou also slay the Son of God? It must be so if we are to live. He must die, or we must die, or justice must die. Which shall it be? Jesus solves the problem; he deigns to die.”

Charles Spurgeon

I need God’s abundant grace to reveal my own sin and remind me of God’s love and salvation.

Psalm 119:175–176 “Let my soul live and praise you, and let your rules help me. I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.”

Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

1 Peter 2:25 “For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.”

Trying to live out God’s justice without God’s gospel always leads to self-centered and legalistic patterns.

Looking Around: Practice the Gospel

The gospel leads us to a deeper understanding of justice.

We live in the dynamic position of being a former sinner who now sees sin for what it really is.

Psalm 119:136 “My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.”

Proverbs 28:5 “Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely.”

The gospel leads us to consider which of our ideas of justice are truth and which are tradition.

Psalm 119:89 “Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.”

“Those who never retract their opinions love themselves more than they love truth.”

Joseph Joubert

If the Bible never challenges your sense of right and wrong—if it isn’t consistently challenging your idea of the good life—you might be obeying tradition in the name of “biblical truth.”

“The early church was (1) multi-ethnic/against racism (2) committed to the poor (3) forgiving and reconciling (4) anti-abortion/pro-life (5) committed to sex only within marriage between a man and a woman. (Even) then the five were seen as radical and out of step with the culture.”

Tim Keller

The gospel leads us to warn the world.

Psalm 119:118–119 “You spurn all who go astray from your statutes, for their cunning is in vain. All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross, therefore I love your testimonies.”

Hebrews 4:12–13 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.”

It is loving to proclaim to the world BOTH God’s great mercy and his true justice.

The gospel leads us to a consistent lifestyle of mercy and justice.

Psalm 119:78–80 “Let the insolent be put to shame, because they have wronged me with falsehood; as for me, I will meditate on your precepts. Let those who fear you turn to me, that they may know your testimonies. May my heart be blameless in your statutes, that I may not be put to shame!”

Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. God's saving love in Christ, how-ever, is marked by both radical truthfulness about who we are and yet also radical, unconditional commitment to us. - Tim Keller, The Meaning of Marriage, 48.

Inconsistency in our lifestyle lead to confusion when:

We believe in “cheap grace” that minimizes God’s heart for justice and doesn’t transform our hearts.

We preach legalism—the idea that our ability to keep God’s law transforms our heart (and will transform society).

Consistency looks like: a transformed heart that seeks to align with God’s will in all things while anticipating God’s full restoration. (REWORD?)

CONCLUSION

What a wonderful time in history for an authentic definition and testimony of justice.

By God’s grace, we will live out God’s will in our lives and in our church.

PASTORAL PRAYER

Father, we recognize right now the difficulty in what we have just discussed. When we leave this space today we will walk into a world confused into thinking right is wrong and wrong is right. We will walk into a world of inconsistent beliefs and lifestyles—both in ourselves and in those around us. We walk into a world screaming out for “justice” that doesn’t understand what they’re even asking for apart from you. Lord, we believe that you are the source of all right and wrong. You get to command what is just and right. You would be perfectly just to give us all what we deserve, yet we know that you have given us grace and mercy through the blood of Jesus. We pray that your mercy leads us to reflect your justice. We pray for consistent lifestyles of mercy and justice that point others to you. We ask this all by the power of the Spirit and in the name of Jesus. Amen.