The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Psalm 33:4-5,
"For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love."
These two verses are a tremendous summary of what God wants us to know about him. As he has revealed himself in the pages of Scripture, he wants us to know that there are two main characteristics of his nature we should know of: he is just and he is love. Both of these qualities reside within him immeasurably. His justice is horrific beyond comprehension and his love is boundless beyond comprehension.
Who slaughtered all of the people of the world in a flood, save one family? Our God of justice! See Genesis 6-8. Who will cast all those who reject Jesus Christ into a fiery lake of burning sulfur at the end of the age? Our God of justice! See Revelation 20.
Who is it that holds the greatest desire we all escape from his fearful judgment? Our God of love! See Romans 2:4, "Do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?" In another place Paul told Timothy, "God our Savior... wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:3-4. I am also reminded of what Peter said, "... he [the Lord] is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2 Peter 3:9b. Love so permeates his being that John tells us twice, "God is love", 1 John 4:8,16.
Two premier passages that document what the Lord wants people to know about himself are in Exodus and Jeremiah. In the Exodus 34:6-7 passage he reveals himself to Moses and says, "The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation." The Lord tells Moses of his love and his justice. In the Jeremiah 9: 23 passage the Lord tells us, "let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight." Again, love ("kindness") and justice.
While both these characteristics might appear to us as conflicting, they are both expressed in an intensity that transcends our grasp. These two character traits never impinge upon one another - both are fully expressed in a bewildering and overpowering harmony. In one act God's justice and God's love are expressed in a most breath-taking way: the cross of Jesus Christ! God's justice demands payment for sin. As Jesus hung on that miserable cross, experiencing an excruciating painful death while satisfying God's justice, he demonstrates God's love for us by taking our place of punishment and making a way for us! As Paul says, "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8.
In Psalm 33 the psalmist captures the greatest of summaries of what God is like. To know this passage, (that is, to know this passage well), is to know our God well. As we come to know God our only response can be to both fear the Lord and to love the Lord.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
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