“But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment. And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.” (Ps 9:7-8 AV)
Although this passage can be considered a prophetical one pointing to the reign of the Messiah, it is not limit to that application. We have this misunderstanding that God has stepped back and allowed the Devil and mankind to rule on the face of the earth without God’s direct involvement. This theological system is called Deism. We may not aspire to most of its tenants, but when we consider how active God is in the affairs of men, especially where it pertains to justice, we can slip down that path. Just because God has promised future judgment does not mean He is refraining from such in the present day. No doubt the tense of the verbs above are future. He shall judge; He shall minister. Absolutely! Amen! But we don’t have to wait as though none of these things are happening today. Yes, not as thoroughly as they will be in the future, but the LORD judges today. The LORD ministers judgment today.
Having said that, our hope is a future one. We know that in time, the LORD will make everything right again. We may have to put up with present injustice, but this is not a permanent situation. God’s people may have to suffer persecution, but that doesn’t mean persecution will never cease. Mankind may have to put up with imperfect human governments, but when Jesus comes back, this too will end. That which we wish to consider is not necessarily how this might affect our person. Rather, we choose to dwell on the rightness of God’s judgment, being the standard by which all mankind will live and function.
One of my hobbies is to pluck away on a mandolin. A mandolin is a violin you hang around your neck and double the number of strings. There are eight strings. Four sets of two each. They are tuned to G, D, A, and E. Mandolins are notorious for being out of tune. Although one should always tune their instrument before playing, I find my guitar will hold its tuning over period of days or weeks. Not a mandolin. It needs to be tuned daily. So much the more because each string’s note is doubled. That means if the two ‘G’ strings are not tuned perfectly, it is easier to hear. They either compliment one another, or they conflict with one another. I can tell when they perfectly match by the feedback I get in my hearing aids. When the resonance of a string is doubled, my hearing aids seem to screech at it. Absolute, perfect, in sync tuning is beautiful to hear.
The same is true with the reign of the Messiah and a better reason to desire His return. When Jesus returns, the world will run to perfection. The government and law will be in perfect sync. Nature will return to the design God intended for it prior to the fall of Adam. All of creation will once again be in tune with itself. Perfect synchrony. Perfection is judgement. Perfection in righteousness and uprightness. The writer is looking forward to a time when God reigns on earth without the interference of the Devil and without sinful mankind’s input. What a day that will be! It is the patience of the saints. It is the hope of Israel. It is the final glorification of Jesus Christ!
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