before the Lord, for he comes
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
[psalm 98:9]
God is at work today
psalm 98 calls us to praise God as the sovereign, all-powerful creator and king of the universe. the first 8 verses celebrate God for who he is and what he has done. verse 9, this final verse, is a little different in that it calls on us to praise God for what he is yet to do.
God has done great things, but because he is the same yesterday today and forever (hebrews 13:8), he is also worthy of praise for his future works.
righteousness and equity
as the righteous king of all the universe, God has placed himself in a role to judge the world. the idea of being judged doesn’t always sound enjoyable, but the Lord is indeed returning, and he is returning to judge.
but he does not judge as we judge. He judges us in perfect righteousness and perfect equity. His judgment is not questionable or worthy of appeal. it is perfect and it is final – he knows every deed and sees through every defense or pretense.
yet we have no need to mount such a defense. those of us who are in Christ have already accepted perfect forgiveness from the perfect judge, and he alone is our defense. the king who was and always will be has not left us to be guilty. in his grace he does not appear before us as angry and unapproachable, but has brought us into his kingdom as children.
~ jason soroski