Gadsby #8

8 L.M. B. Beddome
The Justice and Goodness of God. Deut. 32:4

1 Great God! my Maker and my King,
Of thee I’ll speak, of thee I’ll sing;
All thou hast done, and all thou dost,
Declare thee good, proclaim thee just.

2 Thy ancient thoughts and firm decrees;
Thy threatenings and thy promises;
The joys of heaven, the pains of hell –
What angels taste, what devils feel;

3 Thy terrors and thy acts of grace;
Thy threatening rod, and smiling face;
Thy wounding and thy healing word;
A world undone, a world restored;

4 While these excite my fear and joy,
While these my tuneful lips employ,
Accept, O Lord, the humble song,
The tribute of a trembling tongue.

"The Rock, his work is perfect,
for all his ways are justice.
A God of faithfulness and without iniquity,
just and upright is he."
(Deuteronomy 32:4)

You may know the catchphrase, "God is good, all the time, and all the time, God is good," but we can and must also say that God is just, all the time, and all the time, God is just. God does not waver in his justice. No wrong will go unpunished.

The sticking point for us - sinners - is that we are guilty before God and God, according to his justice, will punish our sin. So, is there any way to escape God's justice? No, for God is just and he will do right. Sin will be punished. The beauty, miracle, and wisdom of God shines forth in the only way whereby we who will face God's justice can be saved from the just sentence of death - the cross of Christ. God acts justly towards all who put their faith in Christ, but the miracle of grace is that God in his justice poured out the punishment for our sin on Christ and fulfilled the penalty of the law instead of laying such wrath on us. The justice of God is seen and met at the cross of Christ and no where else.

Where are we looking to see God?