By Bunni Pounds

*This blog is part of our weekly, virtual Bible Study through the book of Psalms. For information on how to participate, please visit this page.

In the modern church very rarely - if ever - do we hear a message on God – the Judge. 

But the truth is this – “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment….” - Hebrew 9:27

Judgment Day is coming, and everyone will have to stand before the Judgment Seat of God. 

What does Psalm 58 teach us about the character of God as it pertains to His judgment?

“Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones?
Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men?
No, in heart you work wickedness;
You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth. 

The wicked are estranged from the womb;
They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies.” (verses 1-3)

Humans are automatically wicked. Out of the womb – children are not good. 

Have you ever had a child? Or seen a child screaming in the grocery store? 

Children are not inherently good. They have to be taught and watched over. 

David is lamenting in this Psalm the wickedness that is in the heart of men and then how they “weigh out the violence” and perform it on the earth. 

Being surrounded by liars everywhere does not sound like a great place, but in essence – the world is that dark without God. Without God – why would people desire truth? Lies are so much easier to give and operate in, when you are void of His righteous light. 

Their poison is like the poison of a serpent;
They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear,
Which will not heed the voice of charmers,
Charming ever so skillfully.” (verses 4-5)

The poison of the wicked is not something to be underestimated. It is wicked! Without God, they can’t hear anything good – even what might appear to be control like the “voice of charmers”.

Many times, we wonder how people get so bad that they don’t respect law enforcement, have no understanding of truth or morality, and just seem to be out of control. Without the framework of a moral compass – people can go downhill fast. 

This is where the justice side of David comes out and is seen in this Psalm. He wants God to put them in their place. He wants their teeth to be broken, to be torn apart like “arrows – cut in pieces”. He doesn’t even want them to be born. That sentiment is brutal – but when we think about some of the atrocities of our world, are they not deserving of judgment? 

What about abusers who sexually abuse children under their care as these children trust them? 

What about sex traffickers who keep women and children in bondage and sell them 4-6 times a day? 

What about tribal leaders who kill other races including women and children just because they are different from them? 

What about communist dictators who put people who are trying to just worship God in prison and kill them? 

What about Hitler, Stalin, and the wicked leaders of the twentieth century and all the atrocities they performed? 

If God left wickedness unpunished – what kind of God would He be? 

“Before your pots can feel the burning thorns,
He shall take them away as with a whirlwind,
As in His living and burning wrath.
The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,” (verses 9-10)

When we see that He is a just and holy God – it brings awe. He is a holy God, and He will punish wickedness. That is biblical, and that is sure. 

“So that men will say,
‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
Surely He is God who judges in the earth.’” (verse 11)

He is the God who judges, but He also is the God who made a plan for anyone who chooses Him to walk out of judgment into salvation. He is not only the Judge but the Great High Priest who is placing the blood on the altar to redeem the people He loves. 

Let’s read the full passage of Hebrews 9:24-28 -

“For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another— He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”

In Laredo with “Time to Revive” last week sharing the gospel on the streets – I met Tony. 

Tony served in the army in Vietnam. He has been searching for truth all of his life in different religions. 

He really believed that sin was forever, the devil controls the world and there is nothing that we can do about it.

He told me over and over again in our conversation that he was wicked, and that sin controlled him and that he couldn’t imagine living without sin. 

But the day we encountered him - he realized that he had a choice to remain in wickedness, or he could choose Jesus. He came to realize by reading the scriptures with us that the blood of Jesus can set him free from sin.

He accepted Jesus and was baptized. The joy and hope on his face was unmatched. He had been redeemed. 

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8

This is the power of the gospel. From the moment Adam and Eve fell, God planned to redeem anyone who would receive the free gift of His love. He worked out a plan. 

“…that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” – Ephesians 2:7-9

God is a judge, but He has shown His kindness to us through the grace of giving us His own Son. Jesus died, was buried, and then was resurrected on the third day. We aren’t saved by works – we are saved by receiving by faith the sacrifice of His grace. 

When we realize that we have a way out of the wrath of God – then looking at Him as the Judge is no longer scary. He is a just and righteous King that will repay wickedness, but He has also made a way of escape for all of us as the Great High Priest through His own blood. 

Have you taken the way of escape and like Tony accepted Jesus’ redemption for your own life?

Don’t wait for Judgment Day – receive Him now! He is the God who judges. 

What will separate the wicked from the righteous on that day is His blood appropriated on the hearts of people.

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