Psalm 101, p1 of 3

Q: What does the Bible say about God's mercy and judgment?

The Bible teaches that God's mercy and judgment are both essential attributes of His character, as seen in Psalm 89:14. God's mercy and judgment are both inherent qualities that define His nature. Psalm 89:14 declares, 'Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne; mercy and truth shall go before thy face.' This verse highlights the coexistence of mercy and judgment within God's rule, providing the foundation for His governance over creation. When David sings of mercy and judgment, he reflects the heart of God, indicating that every act of judgment is rooted in His merciful character. Moreover, God's mercy ensures that, despite human sinfulness, He provides a way for redemption through Jesus Christ, thus maintaining justice without compromising His holy nature.

Q: How do we know that the Scriptures are true?

Scriptures are true because they are God's revelation, confirmed by the Holy Spirit and affirmed throughout the Bible. The truthfulness of Scriptures lies in their divine origin; they are God's revelation to humanity, inspired by the Holy Spirit, who guides the authors to pen the words of truth. Jesus affirmed the authority of Scripture, saying, 'Thy word is truth' (John 17:17). Additionally, the fulfillment of prophecies and the consistent message of redemption across the biblical narrative testify to their veracity. In Acts 2:30-31, Peter emphasizes David's prophetic understanding of Christ, showing that even the words penned by David are part of a divinely orchestrated plan, thus establishing the Scriptures as true and reliable.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to understand God's attributes?

Understanding God's attributes helps Christians know His character and how to live in light of who He is. For Christians, comprehending God's attributes is vital as it shapes their relationship with Him and informs their understanding of His actions in the world. God's attributes, such as mercy and judgment, reveal His holiness and love, fostering a deeper appreciation for His grace in salvation through Jesus Christ. By knowing God's character, believers gain insight into the righteous standards expected in their lives. This understanding, as reflected in Psalm 101, also prompts Christians to strive for holiness and purity, aligning their lives with the divine qualities exemplified in God, which leads to a life that honors Him.

Psalm 101 is where we are tonight. Let's read through this Psalm together. It begins in verse one, I will sing of the mercy, I'm sorry, I will sing of mercy and judgment. I will sing of mercy and judgment unto thee, O Lord, will I sing. The next verse says, I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way.

Oh, when will thou come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes. I hate the work of them that turn aside. I will not, I'm sorry, it shall not cleave to me. A froward heart shall depart from me. I will not know a wicked person.

Whoso privily slandereth his neighbor, him will I cut off. Him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer. Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. He that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. He that worketh Deceit shall not dwell within my house. He that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord. All right. So when you read the Bible, when I read the Bible, especially in the Psalms, The first thing I try to do is identify with the words of the psalmist, but these words are difficult for me to identify with. And the reason is because the one speaking here is speaking as the king. David was anointed king. If you remember, David was anointed king by Samuel when he was young, when he was watching over his father Jesse's sheep.

And the Lord sent Samuel to anoint David. God told Saul, through Samuel, that the Lord would choose out a man after his own heart. And that's in 1 Samuel 13. But then in 1 Samuel 16, when Samuel came to Jesse's sons, and he looked at all of them, it was the last son that he had to look upon, David. And Jesse had to send for his son, David, because he was out with the sheep.

And when Samuel saw him, he recognized immediately that David was the one the Lord had sent him to anoint. And so Samuel, the prophet, anointed David then. He poured oil upon his head, signifying the Holy Spirit. And it says in that text of scripture in 1 Samuel 16, around verse 13, that when Samuel anointed David, the Holy Spirit was upon David from that time forward.

So from that day forward, the Holy Spirit was upon David. So we can see the signification. Significance, why am I having trouble with this word? The significance of the oil and the anointing is that it signifies the Holy Spirit being put upon that person.

And so this is what happened when God anointed David by the prophet Samuel. Then again in 2 Samuel chapter 2, the people of Judah, that one tribe to which David belonged, he was born of Jesse who was of the tribe of Judah, they anointed David king. And he was king at that time in Hebron over the entire tribe of Judah. And then later, the entire nation of Israel anointed David king over all of Israel, both Judah and the 11 tribes, the remaining 10 tribes. So David was anointed king over all of Israel.

And if you remember, this was after Saul. There was no king in Israel until Saul. And Saul was the people's choice in that sense, because he looked like what they wanted to be a king. They demanded a king. They more or less demanded a king. It was a great sin. Samuel told them it was sinful, and yet the Lord gave them King Saul.

And if you remember, Saul reigned for 40 years, and his reign, his rule as a king was, at the beginning it seemed somewhat positive, but it was always mixed with failure. Corruption and failure and the people of the land, all of Israel, suffered because of his rule. Because he was not a good king. But after his reign, in fact, David himself suffered because of Saul.

But after his reign, as I mentioned, when Saul died, David was anointed king over Judah. And then subsequent to that, maybe seven or eight years, when he was 30 years old, he was anointed king over all of Israel. So at 30 years old, he was the king over all of God's people, Israel.

Now, there's a lot of significance to that, but this psalm is believed to be a psalm that was written by David. after he was anointed king. And you can see in this psalm, therefore, that it applies to the king over God's people. In verse one, I will sing of mercy and judgment unto thee, O Lord, will I sing. So in this first verse, it's really the summation, the anchor, the foundation of the entire psalm.

And David as the king is really, he's considering God's own rule, his throne. And he sees God's character in his rule. How does God rule? Well, he rules according to God. He rules according to his own nature. And that, these things, mercy and judgment, mercy and judgment are attributes of God. That means They are things about God that are inherent in God himself. So mercy is just God being God, and judgment is just God being God. Every attribute of God is just merely a way of us understanding who God is. And so when David is taking his God-appointed and anointed role as king, he's also speaking in this psalm and all the psalms through the Holy Spirit.

He's speaking the truth. So these are the words of scripture, obviously, and what he says is true. It's true because it's God's truth. Scripture is the truth of God. Jesus said in John 17, 17, thy word is truth. In Daniel chapter 10, verse 21, he calls the scriptures the scriptures of truth. And in Psalm 31, 5, it says, Lord God of truth. So all these things are meant to help us understand that when God speaks, it's true. It is the truth. God's word is the truth. God himself is the truth.

And so when it says that God, that David sings of mercy and judgment, he's singing, he's celebrating, he's rejoicing, he's declaring that all that God is and has revealed himself to be in his rule over his people, this is what David's kingdom will be like. He's going to rule, not as Saul in corruption, to the suffering of his people, to their destruction, but he is resolved to rule as God rules, because he's ruling over God's people.

And David knew about this role, because as a young man, And I may even say as a boy, he took care of his father's sheep. And he understood that in order for him to fulfill that role that God had given to him from his father to care for the sheep, that it would only be by the enabling of God's Holy Spirit.

Remember when David was watching over his father's sheep, a lion and a bear came to take one of the sheep and he destroyed the lion and the bear and brought that sheep safely out of the lion and the bear's mouth. So, that could only have happened by the Spirit of God. Similarly, when David, after he had been called by Saul to fight Goliath, he offered to do it, and Saul allowed him, and he destroyed Goliath, and he delivered Israel from the Philistines, the same thing. It was only by the Spirit of God.

So now when David is taking his rule as God's appointed and anointed king over his people, he realizes that in order for him to rule, he will have to rule over his people as God rules in mercy and judgment. And this can only happen if God himself enables him to rule by his Holy Spirit, which obviously that was God's purpose.

Okay, so when we look at the next verse, I mean, we look at verse one here, we're looking at the foundation of the psalm, we're looking at the foundation of God's throne, we're looking at God's own attributes, we're looking at what David sees as the way he will rule over God's people. He wants to rule as God would rule. He's an appointed king, and that's going to reflect God's own sovereign rule for his people.

Okay, so then the next part of the psalm, if we read verse two through four, it says, I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. So when David thinks about how God rules, he realizes he wants to do everything as the king, not as Saul, who was a failure, and God destroyed Saul through his sin, took him out of the way, but he wants to rule righteously. So he says, I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. He says, oh, when wilt thou come to me? And I think that that reflects his dependence upon the Lord to enable him to do what he resolved to do, to rule over God's people wisely in a perfect way. He goes on, O when wilt thou come to me, I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.

His household, not only his own immediate family, but also the kingdom over which he was ruling. The people of Israel under David were in David's house. And so he says, I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. And that included the city, Jerusalem, He started in Hebron, then later went to Jerusalem, but also the entire nation, all the land of Israel was the boundaries of the people over which he ruled, and he would rule them in that land where he lived, that city and that household where he was, with a perfect heart. That was his resolve to do this.

Verse three, I will set no wicked thing before my eyes. I hate the work of them that turn aside. It shall not cleave to me. To turn aside means to go out of the way. It means to depart from the truth, depart from God's way. And so David was determined that wouldn't happen. And he asked the Lord in this phrase in verse two, oh, when wilt thou come to me? He's really asking the Lord to enable him to do these things.

But I wanted to emphasize that in verses two through four, notice, a froward heart shall depart from me, I will not know a wicked person. And these first two or three verses here, following verse one, he's, declaring his own intention with determination. not to be a wicked man, okay?

No wicked thing before my eyes. I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way. When will you come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no wicked thing before my eyes. I hate the work of them that turn aside. It shall not cleave to me. You see the personal application?

In order for him to rule over God's people, he knew that in his own life he would have to be pure. Then in verse 5, and subsequent verses from verse 5 to the end, he's talking about how he's going to behave with respect to those in his kingdom. He says, who so privily slandereth his neighbor. This is a wicked person. In verse four, I will not know a wicked person. And he really is speaking specifically about this. Who so privily or privately, secretly slanders his neighbor, him will I cut off.

Him that hath a high look and a proud heart will not I suffer. Imagine being in a government where there's a person appointed by God, and this person is determined to walk before God wisely, with a perfect heart, with no wicked thing, and he is intolerable of a proud heart, and of those who speak slanderously against their neighbor. Could you actually feel comfortable in such a kingdom? Well, yes and no. Number one, it'd be great if there was no wickedness. You could go to sleep at night and you wouldn't worry about someone doing you harm. But it would also be not so great because you yourself would know that you are prone to the very thing that the king is intolerant of, which is this proud heart and this slanderous speaking against someone else. We know in our hearts, you and I, We know that we're guilty of these things, don't we? So verse five is talking about the king's resolve to not allow wickedness in his kingdom, in his city where he lives.

He goes on in verse six, my eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. He that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. So do you want the blessing of being ruled by someone that God has appointed and anointed? Well, he says that if you walk in a perfect way, you will be enabled to serve that king. And his eyes will be upon the faithful of the land. OK, verse seven, he that worketh deceit shall not dwell in my house. He's not going to allow any liars in his house, in his city, in his kingdom.

He's going to uproot them and remove them. This would probably, in our own land, it would remove everybody, wouldn't it? Starting from the top on down. Everybody would be kicked out. He says, He that telleth lies, verse 7, He that telleth lies shall not tarry in my sight. Not going to be around me. I will early destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all wicked doers from the city of the Lord. So where the Lord's city is, no wicked doers are allowed.

This is true, this is true. And I smile because I know that I would be excluded from David's city and David's land, don't you? So that's an overview of David's determination expressed in this Psalm as he took the kingdom that God had appointed and anointed him to, to rule over God's people on God's behalf. And so you can see this, the first and the anchoring point is, I will sing of mercy and judgment. So this psalm really has a number of things that are at first troublesome. Things that we can't reconcile. And so that's what's challenging about this psalm, to understand it, isn't it?

Now, the first thing I would say here is that when we read this psalm, it's definitely a psalm David penned. And we know that he penned it by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so we know it's true. And David is speaking in the first person in this, I will sing, I will behave wisely, I will not set a wicked thing before, I won't know any wicked thing, so on. So it's in the first person, David's speaking by the inspiration of the Spirit of God. But here's the other thing, too, about this song. That we know that in David's own life, in his own experience, even though he spoke these things, they were true.

He spoke in the first person. He was speaking by the Spirit of God. He was anointed by God, the Holy Spirit. And he was speaking of a good desire, wasn't it? It was a good resolve to want to set no wicked thing, to behave wisely, to walk in the house of the Lord with a perfect heart. All these things were good. And it is good that we do these things, that we have these things.

And yet, In David's own life, in his own experience, what do we find? Well, we find that he didn't do what he resolved to do, don't we? At least not in the way that we would have expected it in the first person. Right? So let me just give you some of the things that we know are true about David's life. Let's see if I can find my list here.

For example, remember the matter of Bathsheba and Uriah the Hittite, Bathsheba's husband? He murdered Uriah after committing adultery with his wife. And he hid that. He hid his own sin. He acted as if everything was okay for a period of time, a long period of time, and finally had to be confronted. He wasn't coming forth on his own. He had to be confronted by Nathan, the prophet. So he failed.

Does that correspond to what he says in Psalm 101, verse two, I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way? Oh, when wilt thou come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart and so on. I will not know, I will set no wicked thing before my eyes. Is that consistent? No, it's not, is it? We know that David failed to do what he said he would do in Psalm 101. And then also, there were many times in David's life, in his reign over Israel, where he did not perceive wickedness in proud men, as he should have.

For example, Absalom, his own son, Absalom murdered his brother, Amnon. Amnon committed or raped his sister, and Absalom determined and did kill his brother, and yet there was only sort of a separation. He was delegated or set aside to not allow to come into Jerusalem, but he wasn't punished in another way. And then later Absalom arose and tried to overthrow David's rule. and overthrow all of those loyal to David. So Absalom was a very bad man, and he was David's own son. And this uprising against David and his throne is something David didn't recognize. It seemed like he had blinders on when it came to Absalom.

So that was one thing. Joab, David's own captain over his army, and Joab's brothers Abishai and others, he didn't recognize their wickedness, or he did, but he didn't have ability to squash it. And so if you remember, Joab murdered Abner, who was Saul's captain, and he did that after David had made a covenant with Abner that Abner would bring the rest of Israel under David's rule. And then there was Ahithophel, David's own counselor, who betrayed David. David didn't recognize that.

There was Ziba. Ziba, remember, was a servant of King Saul and when David learned that Mephibosheth, Jonathan's son, who was lame, that he was still alive and David determined to give to Mephibosheth all that had belonged to King Saul He appointed Zeiba over that and told Zeiba to take care of it for Mephibosheth. But Zeiba was a crooked man. He was a liar and he slandered Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth to David, David didn't recognize it.

So that was another case. So there was a lot of things like that that happened in David's rule, which did not conform to Psalm 101 in his commitment. Then remember also plainly that in Psalm 51 and Psalm 32, David confessed himself to be a sinner. That certainly wasn't consistent with being a perfect man, was it?

Remember, Abigail was sent, she was the wife of Nabal, and David had determined to kill Nabal and all that belonged to Nabal, the males in Nabal's house, because Nabal refused to give David's men provision, even though they cared for Nabal's sheep and his belongings. And so, if it weren't for Abigail, God restraining David through Abigail, David would have committed murder of many people. So that's something. And remember, David also at one point numbered Israel, contrary to God's will. will, revealed will at least, and God punished Israel for that sin of David. So through all these things we can see that David did not conform to what he said here in Psalm 101. But here's the thing, in the New Testament many times it's the words of David from the Psalms are brought to reveal the things that are true of Christ in the gospel.

And that's what I wanted to point to you. Look at Acts chapter two, point out to us. In Acts chapter two, notice how in the sermon that Peter gave, what he says about David. In Acts chapter two in verse 30, he says, therefore, In verse 29, men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day.

Therefore, notice these words, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn an oath, with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, that means his own offspring, According to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne. David, knowing that, he says in verse 31, he, David, seeing this before, so when he wrote this, he understood it. David did. Seeing this before, he spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. Okay, so it's clear from that in Acts chapter 2 that David understood when he wrote Psalm 16 that God was going to raise Christ from the dead. And he wrote as a prophet of Christ's resurrection. He understood that. He looked to it. He believed it. And so you can see here that God gave him not only the words, but he was in his mind, he understood the truth he was writing about. That's significant.

And then also in Acts chapter four, it says this, In verse 24, it says when they heard that, when Peter and John heard this, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord and said, Lord, thou art God, which has made, I'm reading from Acts 4 verse 24, which has made heaven and earth and the sea and all that in them is, who by the mouth of thy servant David said, why did the heathen rage?

And the people imagined vain things. The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ. For of a truth against Thy holy child Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were gathered together to do whatsoever Thy hand and Thy counsel determined for to be done. Alright, so David also wrote Psalm 2. That's where this is mentioned. And Peter is quoting this, and he's showing that David also understood that God's Christ, the King, would be opposed by the people of the land and the Gentiles.

And they would put him to death and do whatever God determined before to be done. And this was the will of God. Therefore, this is what Christ would suffer. even though God had anointed him, and he would be king, yet before that, he would be put to death, and his reign as king would be subsequent to his death, he would be raised, and he would rule.

All right, one more example. In Acts chapter 13, showing how David had this understanding, it says in verse, Verse 28, it says, though they found no cause of death in him, these people of the Jews, though they found no cause of death in Christ, yet they desired Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, so they fulfilled it and put him to death. This was written in the scripture. They took him down from the tree and they laid him in the sepulcher. But God raised him from the dead, and he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who were his witnesses unto the people.

And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise of The promise which was made to the fathers, God has fulfilled the same unto their children, in that He hath raised up Jesus again, as it is also written in the second Psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee. Those words from Psalm 2 are explained here in verse 33, that was the resurrection of Christ.

Upon the resurrection of Christ, the Spirit of God declared with power This is the Son of God. This is God's only begotten Son. That's what he's saying here. That's what the resurrection proved. The Spirit of God raising Christ from the dead was the testimony of God. This is my only begotten, my well-beloved, my son.

He says, as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, verse 34, now no more to return to corruption, he said, on this wise I will give you the sure mercies of David. wherefore he saith also in another psalm thou shalt not suffer thine holy one to see corruption for David after he had served his own generation by the will of God as the king remember he fell on sleep and was laid unto his fathers and saw corruption but he whom God raised again saw no corruption Be it known to you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by him all that believe are justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses."

Okay, so David knew. David knew and wrote as a prophet knowing that God was going to raise up Christ from the dead and that the one who is Christ would be his own son after the flesh. Psalm 110 says, the Lord said to my Lord, that's David's word speaking of Christ, Jehovah said to my Lord, sit on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool. So the Psalms are full of these kinds of quotations from David knowing what God was going to do. So Psalm 101 then is David writing as a prophet speaking in the first person, singing of God's mercy and judgment as the words of Christ, expressing the words of the King, the anointed King Christ over his people.

All right. So if you understand that, then I think that we can see this psalm in its proper light. Notice the very first verse again. I will sing of mercy and judgment. Unto Thee, O Lord, will I sing. All right. Now, you've been with us studying these Psalms. How many times have we read, sing a new song? Or sing with a loud voice? Sing with all of these instruments. The loudest possible expression of praise and thanksgiving and joy. It's always because of the new song, isn't it? It's because the Lord reigns. And that one who reigns is Christ, and that new song is the gospel. Remember? The new song. They sang in Revelation a new song. The song of the Lamb.

So, when it says here, I will sing of mercy and judgment, this is Christ speaking to his people of the gospel. That in the gospel, God's mercy and judgment are revealed. and he is singing of this. He is rejoicing as the king, and he's declaring this to all of his kingdom, to all of his people, how they can join his song to sing of mercy and judgment, okay? So that's the first thing.

Recognize that this is expressing the heart, the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ about His own God and Father, and not just about His God as if it's not true of Him, but really He's declaring to us His God and Father through His own nature, His own character, His own words and thoughts and works.

Everything that Christ did was only the words of his father, the works of his father. He said in John 8, I speak the things my father has spoken, the things I've heard from my father. I only do those things that please my father. So everything he did in his life and in his death was to reveal his father. And so he asks his father, glorify thy name. He says, glorify thy son that thy son also may glorify thee.

So this connection of the revelation of who God is to Christ is evident throughout the New Testament. If you've seen me, you've seen the Father. So singing of mercy and judgment, Christ as the King is reflecting his own heart But his heart beats with God's heart because they are one. His mind, his will, his heart, his affections, his work, everything in his rule as king is one with God in mercy and in judgment.

Okay, so that's the first thing I want you to see here. And the second thing is that when we view this psalm as being spoken from David as a prophet through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit concerning Christ, therefore we understand the words of this psalm as being expressed by Christ Himself.

Therefore, when we see in verse 2 and verse 3, I will behave myself wisely in a perfect way, and so on. I will set no wicked thing. He's talking about Christ. He said these things, and He actually did these things. And then he goes on after verse four, talking about a froward, verse four, a froward man shall depart from me, I will not know a wicked person.

It reminds us of those words in Matthew seven, for example, where in judgment, Jesus will tell those men to depart, who he called workers of iniquity. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity. And he said before that, only those who do the will of my Father shall enter heaven, enter life. And all others are told to depart.

So we see then, first of all, Christ sings of mercy and judgment. Christ himself, personally, will behave himself wisely, no wicked thing. And third, Christ himself would not allow any wickedness in his city, in his kingdom. No one who was wicked could dwell with him.

All right. So that's true. But is that comforting? Even mercy and truth, are those things comforting to God's people? Well, The fact of the matter is, they are by the gospel. They are by the gospel. And that's what really we're needing to do as we look at this psalm here, is to understand these things from the gospel light. Okay, so if we understand this as speaking of Christ, His joy, His celebration, His public declaration of God's mercy and truth in verse 1, and that being His own heart.

And then in verse 2 and 3, His own purity. his own intolerance of wickedness. There was no sin in him. He knew no sin, he did no sin, in him was no sin. And then, in the other verses, he would tolerate no one who is slanderous, who is proud, but he does all the faithful of the land, he'd dwell with him, and those who walk in a perfect way serve him.

So let's, at first, before we get into the details here, let's at least touch on a couple of those things because I think we need to establish this clearly before we lose sight of it. And that is this. The Lord Jesus Christ has spoken these things. They are true. There's no doubt about it. For the Lord's people, we need to understand how they're true, how they can be true.

How could he have anyone in his kingdom who conforms to the descriptions given here? And that's why I have several questions that I want to ask to sort of prime our thoughts along these lines. The first one is, how can God be both, how can he have both mercy and judgment? How can He be both merciful and judge?

Without, I mean, and we know that He has to be. It says in Psalm 89 and verse 14 that, let me read that to you in Psalm 89 and verse 14. He says this. Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne. Mercy and truth shall go before thy face. So there they are together. Judgment and mercy. Mercy and judgment. The habitation of God's throne.

This is how God rules. God rules according to his own nature. Anything deviating from God's own attributes is intolerable. God is not going to allow it. If God were to tolerate anything that deviates from his own attributes, then God would be compromised. He would be compromising himself. God cannot deny himself.

And so we see then from Psalm 89, 14 that his very rule is based on his own character and attributes, who he is as God. And this is what the Lord is expressing, the Lord Jesus is expressing in this psalm. I will sing of mercy and judgment. And one more verse along these lines in Proverbs chapter 20 and verse 8, he says this, Chapter 20, verse 28. Proverbs 20, verse 28. He says, mercy and truth preserve the king. His throne is upholden by mercy. Now that's a significant thing, isn't it? And we know that in the affairs of men, that makes sense.

On the one hand, if there was no judgment, then the poor and the needy would suffer because there would be no one to judge them. Throughout scripture, Jesus decries the fact that the Pharisees would not judge the widows and the fatherless. And by that, he means that they didn't judge between them and their oppressors. They didn't come to the aid of the fatherless and the widows. So in that sense, we see that without judgment, then people would suffer. And that's true. If there's lawlessness, then the wickedness abounds and people are going to suffer at the hands of the wicked, right? So there has to be judgment.

But on the other hand, if there's no mercy, If there's only judgment, then no one can stand. Isn't that what scripture says in Psalm 143, verse 2? He says, oh Lord, if you would mark iniquities, who could stand? But there, and then he says in Psalm 130, another case like that, he says, We see, he says in Psalm 130, if thou, Lord, should, this is where I was quoting from, if thou, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?

But there is forgiveness, that's mercy. If there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. And so you can see that unless there's forgiveness, God is not going to be feared. He's not going to be revered. He's not going to be held in holy awe, because there's only terror. Without mercy, God's judgments would breed only terror and torment in us. But without judgment, then wickedness would overcome God's own throne.

So both have to be present. We understand that just from thinking about it on a human level. But it's much higher than that, really, really, much higher than that. So I wanted to ask these questions in order to stimulate your thinking along these lines to understand this psalm.

First one is, how can God have both mercy and judgment? Are not these two attributes of God at variance? Don't they oppose? Aren't they in conflict, mercy and judgment? How can you show mercy and also be holy in judgment? That's a problem. I don't know how to solve that problem. And then the second question, if God's throne is established in judgment and if also in mercy, then how can God be the God of truth and have mercy in judgment. How can God be God of truth and have mercy in judgment?

I mean, it seems like they're incompatible, doesn't it? If you're going to judge somebody, you're going to hold them to the strictness of the law. If you're going to have mercy on someone, then even though they're a debtor, even though they are held captive, and maybe that because of their own disobedience, you can't help them. There's no mercy, there's only judgment. So how can God be the God of truth and have mercy in judgment?

That's a question. The other one, can God in truth, I mean really, in truth without compromise, can God justify the ungodly? Can God justify the ungodly in judgment? When we stand before Christ, Will God justify the ungodly? These are questions. Can God be both just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus? We know he can, but how?

Can God be merciful to sinners and also be just in judgment? Isn't that what the Lord is saying throughout scripture? Can he be merciful to sinners and also be just in his judgment? Another question, can God act according to his holy character and also receive into the presence of his glory those who have sinned against him?

Think about that. We don't have much time here, but let me end on this question here. I want to take you to one verse of scripture, because as I was thinking about this, this scripture has always been a comfort, but it's a great delight. Hebrews chapter 10. Look at Hebrews chapter 10. I want to answer this question before we close tonight for your own edification, your own comfort.

And the question is, can God act According to his holy character, uncompromising, there's no darkness in him. There's no shadow of turning, no shadow of compromise, no lies, truth, pure truth and holiness. Can God accept anyone into his presence who is anything less than pure in his sight? Absolutely without sin, holy, Well, notice this in Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 19.

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. You see that? So God is saying here that there are those who do boldly enter into the holiest place, into the presence of God's glory. And knowing that God is holy, knowing that his own character forbids him to justify the wicked, that's an abomination to God, to justify the wicked or to condemn the just, both are an abomination to the Lord. Yet this verse is saying, through the blood of Jesus, we are to boldly enter into the holiest. We have access to God through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

What does that say? It's saying that the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ makes us so that God in the presence of his glory is not just tolerant of us, but delighted in us, that we meet the strictest possible measure of God's own character by the blood of Jesus. We did not contribute to that. Christ washed us from our sins in his own blood.

Revelation 1.5. It says, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as snow. Though they be red as crimson, they shall be as wool. white, pure. And that day, the Lord will search for sin and iniquity, and there will be none, because He has blotted it out like a thick cloud. He's blotted out our iniquities like a thick cloud.

In Isaiah 43, He says it this way, read this to you. This is the blood that makes us in the sight of God so acceptable according to the measure of God's own holy character that we are allowed into his presence with delight because of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He says in Isaiah 43 and verse 25, he says Sorry, it's on across two pages here. He says, This people I have formed for myself, they shall show forth my praise. This is verse 21 of Isaiah 43.

But thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob. Thou hast been weary of me, O Israel. Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy bird offerings. Neither hast thou honored me with thy sacrifice. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee within, since thou hast brought me no sweet cane with money. Neither hast thou filled me with the fat of thy sacrifices, but thou hast made me to serve with thy sins. Thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities.

And in verse 25, I, even I, And he that blotteth out thy transgressions for my own sake and will not remember thy sins. If God does something, it's done right. It is holy and it is complete and perfect. And he's saying that he himself will blot out the sins of his people and he will do it for his own sake, for his name's sake, his fame, his honor. because it's consistent with his word, consistent with his own nature to blot out the sins of his people. So much so that God himself, before whose eyes every thought and intent and motive and word and deed of all men at all times and angels are open and naked before him, He's gonna say, I will not remember your sins. This is what the Lord has done, the Lord Jesus Christ. So how can God, the question I was asking is, can God act according to his holy character and also receive into the presence of his glory those who have sinned against him?

Yes, by the blood of Jesus. And in Psalm 101, the Lord Jesus Christ speaking here, In the words of this psalm, he says this in verse six, my eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me. He that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. How can we walk then in a perfect way? Through the blood of Jesus. You see, faith in his blood is the way we walk. And those who have faith in Christ's blood, according to scripture, are washed from their sins.

They're white as snow in God's sight. He's blotted out their sins like a thick cloud. And He did it for His namesake. And there are sins and iniquities He doesn't remember. When a search is made, when judgment is held, their sins will not be found. Because judgment passed upon them passed upon them in their sins in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that's mercy, and that's judgment. And so you can see here that this is the delight, this is the praise of the Lord Jesus Christ from his heart, that God's own character in his mercy and judgment, things to us that seem incompatible, at conflict, at variance with one another, these things are reconciled, not just intolerance of one another, like we would, well, okay, I'm gonna make a decision, it's gonna be suboptimal for everybody here, but I'm gonna have to cut down the middle of the road here and compromise this, that, and the other in order to make this decision. That is not the way our salvation works. Justice was magnified and honored and judgment was fully delighted. and mercy fully delighted in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And that's what this song is celebrating. All right, let's pray. Father, thank you that for the Lord Jesus Christ, whose heart and mind and character and words and motives of his heart and his will, his work, everything about him, his honor, his glory are all tied are all the foundation, are all the cause of our salvation, the rest and the assurance of our salvation, that we can now boldly come into the presence of God through the blood of Jesus, trusting nothing and no one else except Him, but trusting Him fully. and therefore having this full assurance that comes through his precious blood. Thank you for this cleansing blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who loved us and washed us from our sins. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Psalm 101, p1 of 3

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about God's mercy and judgment?

How do we know that the Scriptures are true?

Why is it important for Christians to understand God's attributes?

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Psalm 101, p1 of 3

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about God's mercy and judgment?

How do we know that the Scriptures are true?

Why is it important for Christians to understand God's attributes?

Sermon Transcript

About Rick Warta

Comments

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