Righteous and Just | Psalm 11:7

“For the righteous Lord loves justice. The virtuous will see his face.” (Psalm 11:7 NLT)

God reveals Himself to us in His Word. We know that God is holy because in Isaiah’s vision of Him, heavenly creatures declare, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies” (Isaiah 6:3 NLT). We know that God is righteous and just because Psalm 11:7 says, “The righteous Lord loves justice” (NLT). Holiness describes God’s character; righteousness and justice describe how He deals with humankind.

These perfections that we find in Scripture aren’t just the result of God’s people seeing what they want to see in Him. Even the enemies of the Lord recognized His perfect attributes. In the book of Exodus, we read about Pharaoh, who hardened his heart by holding on to the children of Israel after the Lord had instructed him to release them. When the Lord sent a series of plagues to Egypt, “Pharaoh quickly summoned Moses and Aaron. ‘This time I have sinned,’ he confessed. ‘The Lord is the righteous one, and my people and I are wrong’” (Exodus 9:27 NLT).

From the very first verse of the Bible, we see that God is omnipotent, all-powerful. If He were all-powerful without being righteous, He would be just a celestial tyrant doing whatever He wanted wherever He wanted to do it. If He were righteous without being powerful, He would be unable to execute justice on this earth. But the good news is that God is all-powerful—and He is righteous. He can do whatever He wants, but He does the right thing in every situation.

That includes the exercise of His justice. Unlike human justice, God’s justice is perfect. He doesn’t show favoritism. He doesn’t look the other way at certain offenses. He demands that wrongdoing and wrongdoers be punished. Scripture certainly bears that out.

In Isaiah 51:4–5, God says, “Listen to me, my people. Hear me, Israel, for my law will be proclaimed, and my justice will become a light to the nations. My mercy and justice are coming soon. My salvation is on the way. My strong arm will bring justice to the nations. All distant lands will look to me and wait in hope for my powerful arm” (NLT).

Deuteronomy 32:4 says, “He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect. Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!” (NLT).

And in Psalm 140:12, David confidently proclaims, “But I know the Lord will help those they persecute; he will give justice to the poor” (NLT).

God’s justice leaves no room for appeal because He is righteous. Everything He determines is, by its very nature, perfectly just. Only our perfect heavenly Father can judge perfectly.

And He wants His people to prize justice as well. Proverbs 21:3 says, “The Lord is more pleased when we do what is right and just than when we offer him sacrifices” (NLT). And Isaiah 1:17 instructs, “Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows” (NLT).

Justice matters to the Lord, and it must matter to us.

Reflection question: What would seeking justice look like in your life? Discuss Today's Devo in Harvest Discipleship!

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