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Believing in the God of the Psalmists, Part 5: God is Judge

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(If you want to learn more about prayer from the psalms, start at the beginning of the series and follow the successive links.  Or check out the index for this entire series of posts.)

We’ve been looking at the God of the psalmists for several weeks. We probably need a quick reminder of what this is all about. For centuries, Christians have turned to the Psalms to learn to pray and to improve in prayer. Filled with prayers of all kinds, it is a natural place to turn. We have learned if we want to pray more like the psalmists, we must begin by believing in the God the psalmists believed in. Last week, we learned that they saw God as the source of all things. This week, we note they prayed because they viewed God as the judge.

God, the Awesome Judge, Worthy of Praise

Psalm 96 really nails home the connection between God as creator and judge. It is a natural connection. If God made the heavens, the earth, and all that is in them, then God gets to hold all that is in them to account. The psalmist saw idols made by men and realized they are worthless. However, our God made the heavens. Our God made us. That leads to the following conclusion:

Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
before the LORD, for he comes,
for he comes to judge the earth
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
–Psalm 96:10-13

Interestingly, unlike modern feeling, the psalmists did not view God as judge as a negative thing. When we hear “judge” today, we think of awful connotations. Not so the psalmists. They were glad to sing of God as the judge. They knew God would judge in righteousness and with faithfulness. Who else could they possibly want as judge but God?

God is not just a judge. He is the judge. Therefore, He is worthy of great praise and honor. How could they not pray to Him?

We Can Turn to the Judge To Avenge the Wicked

Psalm 94 demonstrates another reason the psalmist turned to God since He is judge. 

O LORD, God of vengeance,
O God of vengeance, shine forth!
Rise up, O judge of the earth;
repay the proud what they deserve!
–Psalm 94:1-2

There is a lot of evil in the world. Sinners abound who try to overthrow those who lean on God. When we finally become rigorously honest, we realize we cannot defeat these enemies. We have only one place to turn. God. He is the creator. He is the ruler. He is the source. He is the judge. Despite the despair the psalmists often had because they didn’t believe God was acting quickly enough, they still maintained the faith that in the end, God would rise up and vindicate those who relied on Him, judging and punishing those who mistreated His people.

Perhaps this helps us with some of those pesky imprecatory psalms (the psalms in which curses are called down on enemies). The psalmists themselves did not take their own vengeance. They did not judge in that final sense. However, they knew to whom they could turn. They could turn to God. Let God know what was going on in their heart and trust God to do what was right. It was not their place to take vengeance. It was God’s. He is the judge, not us. Therefore, instead of seeking personal vengeance, they turned to God. They trusted God to do what was right.

 The Great Comfort of God the Judge

The great comfort we can take from God being the judge is revealed in Psalm 75:2. “At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity.” Our God is impartial. He judges with equity. The great judge of all the earth will do what is right. We can trust that. He will not judge improperly. We can entrust our souls to Him. Further, we don’t have to worry that He will offer some special status to other differently from us. He will judge rightly. The same could not be said for the rest of us.

Frankly, I’m glad God is the judge and you’re not. In like manner, you should be glad God is the judge and I’m not.

God is judge. Let us praise Him today.

(Come back for our next installment to learn that the psalmists prayed to God because He is King.)

Believing in the God of the Psalmists, Part 3: God is My Creator

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(If you want to study more on this topic, start at the beginning of this series on prayer and the Psalms and follow the links to each successive post.  Or check out the index for this entire series of posts.)

My excitement for this series is increased this week because I just got home from Orlando, Florida after a great weekend with the teenagers from the South Bumby Church of Christ. We spent four hours on Saturday talking about prayer from the psalms. I know I was built up and I hope they were too.

Last week we saw God is creator. However, the psalmists took it even further than just a general statement about creation. God is not only the creator in general. He is very specifically my creator.

Psalm 139 drives this home better than any other passage.

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139:13-16

If God is creator of the universe, He is sovereign ruler of the universe. If He is creator of me, He is the sovereign ruler of me. The psalmist recognized that this creation gives God intimate knowledge of me.

You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar. 
You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

Psalm 139:2-6 

As we expect an inventor to know the ins and outs of the work of his hands, God knows us intimately. He knows how we tick. He knows how we think. He knows how we respond. He knows what we will say before we say it. The psalmist is left in awe. “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.” Notice, the psalmist doesn’t get bogged down trying to figure out how that works. He doesn’t get bogged down trying to figure out if he even needs to speak this psalm because God already knows. He is just in awe of God’s knowledge and he expresses it.

Perhaps the greatest point we should get from this psalm however is not that God knows the thoughts of the psalmists, but that the psalmist, seeing God as his creator, wants to know the thoughts of God.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
If I would count them, they are more than the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

Psalm 139:17-18

The psalmist also realizes this means God is my judge.

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try my and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the everlasting way!

Psalm 139:23-24

At first, this statement brings up some fear in me. I’m not sure I’m ready to tell God search me that thoroughly. I’m not sure if I’m ready for God to look in every crack and crevice of my heart to find if there is any grievous way in me. I already know I’m still growing. I know there are struggles and problems. The psalmist seems to be saying he knows he is pure. However, at second glance, I think there is something other than acknowledging God’s judgment and the psalmist believing he measures up. Instead, he ends the thought with, “…lead me in the way everlasting!” Is it possible the psalmist is not saying, “Look at me God. Judge me God. I measure up”? Is it possible he is saying, “God look at me. Know me. Find everything that is wrong and fix it by leading me in your way”? I’m tending toward that second idea. After all, we’ve heard the first kind of statement before. But that was from a Pharisee and Jesus said that man was not justified. Perhaps God’s knowing us is not as frightening as it seems at first. Yes, He is judge. But He is not waiting to cast us into hell. He wants to search our hearts and show us the right way. 

We must acknowledge God is our creator. He knows us. He knows how we work. He knows what is in our heart. Therefore, He can help us. Let us surrender to Him. Let us open every closet. Let us expose every buried skeleton. Let us shed the light in every chasm. We are only as sick as our darkest secrets. Let us let God’s light shine on them all so He can lead us away from our grievous way and onto in His everlasting way.

Come back next Monday as we strike on one of the most shocking aspects of the Psalmists faith in God. If we are going to believe in the God of the psalmists, we will see Him as the source.