The Lord is our Merciful Judge

Presentation Notes

Introduction

Psa 94:20  Shall the throne of iniquity have fellowship with thee, which frameth mischief by a law? 

The condemning power of Satan would lead him to institute a theory of justice inconsistent with mercy. He claims to be officiating as the voice and power of God, claims that his decisions are justice, are pure and without fault. Thus he takes his position on the judgment seat and declares that his counsels are infallible. Here his merciless justice comes in, a counterfeit of justice, abhorrent to God. {CTr 11.4}

Justice and Mercy stood apart, in opposition to each other, separated by a wide gulf. [See DA 761] The Lord our Redeemer clothed His divinity with humanity, and wrought out in behalf of man a character that was without spot or blemish. He planted His cross midway between heaven and earth, and made it the object of attraction which reached both ways, drawing both Justice and Mercy across the gulf. Justice moved from its exalted throne, [See CTr 11] and with all the armies of heaven approached the cross. There it saw One equal with God bearing the penalty for all injustice and sin. With perfect satisfaction Justice bowed in reverence at the cross, saying, It is enough.--General Conference Bulletin, Fourth Quarter, 1899, vol. 3, p. 102.

False Justice leads to False Judgment.

We have been considering these texts recently.

Joh 5:22  For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: 

Joh 8:15,16  Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. 

Joh 8:15-16  (NIV) You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one.  (16)  But if I do judge, my decisions are true, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me.

John 12:47-48  And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.  (48)  He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

Texts on the Lord’s Judgment.

Isa 33:22  For the LORD is our judge, [H8199] the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us. 

Judgment and salvation connected together.

Psa 10:18  To judge [H8199] the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

God’s Judgment stops oppression – the use of force on another.

Isa 16:5  And in mercy shall the throne be established: and he shall sit upon it in truth in the tabernacle of David, judging, and seeking judgment, and hasting righteousness. 

Pro 16:12  It is an abomination to kings to commit wickedness: for the throne is established by righteousness. 

The result of God justice and Judgment is that mercy and truth shall go before Him

Pro 20:28  Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy. 

Psa 89:14  Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face. 

Heb 4:16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. 

Psa 68:5  A father of the fatherless, and a judge [H1781 – Advocate] of the widows, is God in his holy habitation. 

Zec 7:9,10  Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, [H4941] and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:  And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. 

Isa 30:18  And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: [H4941] blessed are all they that wait for him.

Psa 9:7-8  But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.  (8)  And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.

Christ’s Work on Earth expressed in Isaiah 11

The work that the Saviour was to do on the earth had been fully outlined: "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and shall make Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord." The One thus anointed was "to preach good tidings unto the meek; . . . to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified." Isaiah 11:2, 3; 61:1-3.  {AA 224.1}  

Isa 11:1-9  And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:  (2)  And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;  (3)  And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:  (4)  But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.  (5)  And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.  (6)  The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.  (7)  And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.  (8)  And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.  (9)  They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Rev 19:15  And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, [Word of God – Heb 4:12] that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 

Psa 2:1-3  Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?  (2)  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying,  (3)  Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.

Psa 2:9  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel. 

Rev 12:5  And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. 

Lev 26:18-19  And if ye will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.  (19)  And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, [Rod of Iron] and your earth as brass:

Deu 28:23  And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass, and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. 

Deu 28:48-49  Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.  (49)  The LORD shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand;

Matt 7:2  For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 

James 2:13  For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment. 

  In the temple in heaven, the dwelling place of God, His throne is established in righteousness and judgment. In the most holy place is His law, the great rule of right by which all mankind are tested. The ark that enshrines the tables of the law is covered with the mercy seat, before which Christ pleads His blood in the sinner's behalf. Thus is represented the union of justice and mercy in the plan of human redemption. . . .  GC 415

  The power exercised by every ruler on the earth is Heaven-imparted; and upon his use of the power thus bestowed, his success depends. To each the word of the divine Watcher is, "I girded thee, though thou hast not known Me." Isaiah 45:5. And to each the words spoken to Nebuchadnezzar of old are the lesson of life: "Break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor: if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity." Daniel 4:27.  {PK 502.1} 

To understand these things,--to understand that "righteousness exalteth a nation;" that "the throne is established by righteousness," and "upholden by mercy;" to recognize the outworking of these principles in the manifestation of His power who "removeth kings, and setteth up kings,"-- this is to understand the philosophy of history. Proverbs 14:34; 16:12; Proverbs 20:28; Daniel 2:21.  {PK 502.2} 

The ruling principles of God's throne are justice and mercy. It is called the throne of grace. Would you have divine enlightenment?--Go to the throne of grace. You will be answered from the mercy seat.  {ST, October 10, 1892 par. 1}