THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: Living By Faith In God

XIX. Psalm 19: Obtaining Justice

(Psalm 19:1-14)

Introduction: (To show the need . . .)

With the great wrongs that exist in today's world, we need to know how to obtain true justice:

(1) Russian troops have committed atrocities: "Bodies with bound hands, close-range gunshot wounds and signs of torture lay scattered in a city on the outskirts of Kyiv after Russian soldiers withdrew from the area." (Oleksandr Stashevskyi and Nebi Qena, "Ukraine accuses Russia of massacre," Rep.-American, April 4, 2022, p. 7A)

(2) Nevertheless, such injustice is only compounded by the comments and actions of various religious leaders regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine: (a) " . . . (T) he head of the Russian Orthodox Church . . . Kirill . . . has sent signals justifying the war by describing it as part of a struggle against sin and pressure from liberal foreigners to hold 'gay parades' as the price of admission to their ranks." (Nicole Winfield, "Pope urges peace, rejects 'just war' in call to Russian patriarch," Ibid., March 18, 2022, p. 3B) (b) In addition, on March 18, 2022, Pope Francis celebrated "a Mass" in which he consecrated "Russia and Ukraine to the Virgin Mary" since, " . . . (a)ccording to tradition, one of the so-called secrets of Fatima concerns the consecration of Russia to 'the Immaculate Heart of Mary,' prophesizing that peace will follow if the consecration is done." (Ibid.) However, the atrocities in Ukraine have only continued after that consecration mass by Pope Francis. Besides, "St. John Paul II performed the consecration on March 25, 1984, though he didn't specify Russia by name," but that mass did not keep Russia from invading Ukraine. (Ibid.) (c) Also, the pope voiced a concern that could only alarm many people when he asserted that this conflict could lead to "the specter of a 'final catastrophe' of an atomic war that would extinguish humanity." (Ibid.)

(3) Then, there's the issue of "'social justice,'" a "masking term" for Marxism that "promotes the redistribution of income in the name of 'common good.'" (Brannon Howse, Religious Trojan Horse, 2012, p. 483-484) (a) The pope and evangelicals Tim Keller and J. D. Greear push it. (Ibid., p. 484; Brannon S. Howse, Marxianity, 2018, p. 35-43)

(b) Even worse, past director of Biblical Ministries Worldwide Paul Seger writes that "'social justice'" is a "hot issue" with many evangelical missionaries now who, unlike former missionaries, no longer think "their primary task" is "evangelism," but tackling "poverty, trafficking, water access, the poor, the oppressed, racism, and global warming" as part of the ministry "goal itself"! (Paul Seger, "Changes in Missions," Simroots, Vol. 39, No. 1, 2022, p. 10)

Need: So, we ask, "In view of the many, great wrongs that exist in today's world, how can we obtain true justice?!"

I. In Psalm 19, David critiqued the false pagan polytheistic view of obtaining justice:

A. Ancient Near Easter pagans believed "the sun god was the god of justice," Bible Know. Com., O. T., p. 807.

B. Thus, David authored Psalm 19 as a polemic against this belief (as follows):

1. The description of the sun being like a bridegroom coming out of his chamber on his wedding day and being like a champion runner racing his course and making his circuit across the sky in Psalm 19:4c-6 reflects "the same imagery used of the sun god in ancient Near Eastern literature," Ibid., p. 807-808.

2. However, the sun is introduced in Psalm 19:1-4a as a mere part of the universe that was created by Israel's Creator God as recorded back in Genesis 1:1-31; esp. Genesis 1:14-19.

3. Having presented the sun as a mere object of God's creation of the universe, David in Psalm 19:7-11 wrote of Israel's God as the Great Lawgiver Who establishes justice on earth by the application of His law in His written Word to the lives of people. (Ibid., p. 807-808)

II. David then told HOW the application of God's Law in His Word achieves justice, Psalm 19:7-14 NIV:

A. The Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the nepesh, the mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical parts of a human. (Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 990; Robert B. Girdlestone, Syns. of the O. T., 1973, p. 56-59), Psalm 19:7a.

B. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the peti, the "open-minded, naïve" (B. D. B., A Heb. and Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 834), Psalm 19:7b.

C. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart, Psalm 19:8a.

D. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light (insight) to the eyes, Psalm 19:8b.

E. The "fear" of God –"fear" here being a synonym of the Law as its purpose was to put fear into man's hearts (Deut. 4:10) – is pure, making men live rightly, and it endures forever, Ps. 19:9a; Ibid., B. K. C., O. T., p. 808.

F. The rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether, more to be desired than much fine gold for its value and sweeter also than honey and drippings from the honeycomb for its winsomeness, Psalm 19:9b-10.

G. God's servant is warned from falling into trouble and sin by God's Word, and in keeping it there is great reward (Psalm 19:11), what under the Law included long life, riches, honor and peace, Proverbs 3:11-18.

III. Motivated by considering these truths, David asked God to apply His Word to his life, Psalm 19:12-14:

A. David realized that he was limited in discerning even his own hidden faults, so he asked the Lord to forgive any hidden faults he had that he might enjoy God's reward of blessing, Psalm 19:12 NIV.

B. He asked God also to keep him from committing deliberate violations of God's Word, sins for which there was no ceremonial prescription under the Law, "though forgiveness was still available if the person repented and confessed (cf. Ps. 51)," Psalm 19:13a; Ibid., Bible Know. Com., O. T. David asked that such willful sins not dominate him that he might be blameless of great transgression, fit for God's blessing, Psalm 19:13b, c.

C. Finally, David asked that the words of his mouth and the meditation of his heart regarding the truths he had mentioned in this psalm be pleasing to God, for He was David's "Rock Cliff" (sur, Ibid., B. D. B., p. 849) and "Kinsman-Redeemer" (go'ali, Ibid., p. 145) Who saved David from sin and its dreadful lack of God's blessing.

Lesson: David asserted that true justice is available only from the Creator God Who authored His Law in Scripture, and that if one heeds God's Word, the Lord in perfect justice greatly and comprehensively blesses him.

Application: (1) May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life, John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. (2) May we NOT seek true justice in the false sources of "justice" or "social justice," but cleave to the God of Scripture and heed His Word for justice and blessing.

Conclusion: (To illustrate the message . . .)

We apply God's Word to the issues noted in our introduction for the realization of God's justice and blessing:

(1) On the atrocities committed by Russian troops on unarmed Ukrainians, Ecclesiastes 12:14 explains that God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, be it good or be it evil. This may occur in this life or at the Great White Throne Judgment of all unbelievers (Revelation 20:11-15), but complete justice will come!

(2) On the Russian Orthodox Church's head Kirill and his support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a "just war" to punish those who support "gay parades," though aberrant sexual orientation and deeds are sin (Romans 1:24-27), the Christian Church's mission is not that of involvement in civil affairs like promoting a war or punishing public sins, but of discipling individuals for Christ's future Kingdom on the earth. (John 18:33-38; Matthew 28:18-20)

(3) On Pope Francis' effort to conduct a mass to fulfill a secret of a Fatima vision that consecrating Russia to the "Immaculate Heart of Mary" will produce peace, nothing in Scripture validates such an action as being of God, and neither are the vision(s) of Fatima nor a mass nor the effects of a mass sanctioned by Scripture as being of God!

(4) In addition, no religious leader can consecrate a nation like Russia that is guilty of atrocities against the people whose land they invaded, for those in Scripture who are consecrated are always the righteous, not the wicked!

(5) On the belief that Mary's heart was immaculate, that is, sinless, (a) Mary in her Magnificat in Luke 1:47 admitted that God was her Savior! (b) Also, in Mark 3:21 with 3:31 (NIV, ESV), Jesus' "family" consisting of Mary and Jesus' earthly brothers went to gain custody of Jesus because they said, "He has lost his senses" (v. 21 exeste, from existemi, U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 131; Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 275-276) for being unable to eat due to the crowds to whom Jesus was ministering! Mary along with Jesus' earthly brothers was guilty of the sin of unbelief in Jesus, so Mary was not sinless!

(6) On Pope Francis' statement that the conflict in Ukraine could lead to "the specter of a 'final catastrophe' of an atomic war that would extinguish humanity," we know there will not be such an annihilation of mankind since Revelation 20:1-6 predicts Christ has yet to rule for a thousand years over the world of humans in a reign of peace.

(7) On the issue of "social justice" pushed by many religious leaders and missionaries today, (a) addressing the material needs of the poor is handled by Psalm 19:11 with Proverbs 3:11-18. Though God does not promise perfect health and great wealth for obeying Him in the current dispensation, Philippians 4:15-19 reveals that God does promise to meet our material needs as we perform His assignments. (b) As for trafficking, oppression and racism, Scripture indicates that such vices will exist until God addresses them in Christ's future Kingdom. (Revelation 9:20-21) Meanwhile, discipling people to be saved and indwelt by the Holy Spirit corrects these evils at the personal level and God provides a balm for afflicted believers. (Romans 7:15-8:4; Matthew 11:28-30) (c) On global warming, we have often noted that God in Genesis 8:22 promised to preserve the earth's climate for man's good as long as the earth exists! (d) Clearly, many religious leaders and missionaries need Bible teaching on the truth about "social justice"!

May we trust in Christ Who died as our Atoning Sacrifice for sin that we might receive God's gift of eternal life. May we seek true justice by cleaving to the God of Scripture and heed his Word for blessing.