In his Second Inaugural address given in January, 1865, while the War Between the States was at its bloodiest, President Abraham Lincoln quoted our text (v. 9b) in a most profound way:
“…If God wills that [the war] continue, until all the wealth piled by the bond-man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash, shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said, ‘the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.'”
It is very striking that Lincoln avoided the self-righteous crusading of many Northern abolitionists who dogmatically insisted that “God is on our side.” Instead the wise and compassionate leader with vivid imagery acknowledged that God had every right to unleash His sword upon the whole nation by permitting the horrific judgment of war.
We too must acknowledge that God's judgments – wherever and upon whomever they fall – are “true and righteous.” Only then can His righteousness be produced in us.
In a world of lies, God's Word is absolutely true. In a world of sin, God's judgments are totally righteous. With our finite knowledge, we may not always understand the reasons for God's judgments, but let us adore where we cannot comprehend. “When you cannot trace God's hand, trust His heart.” We should “esteem all God's precepts concerning all things to be right” – absolutely and unequivocally. God's judgments are infallible because His character is unimpeachable. If the “heavens declare the glory of God” (v. 1), how much more does His written revelation?
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Bob Vradenburgh is the senior pastor of Friendship Baptist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has spent 40 years in full-time Christian service: the first 20 years as a missionary and the past 20 years in the pastorate. Bob’s passion is the expository preaching of God’s Word,...
