August 5, 2007

"Looking Forward to Judgment Day"

Psalm 96

There is a lot of discussion about what happens after we die, about heaven and hell, about judgment day. And not all Christians have the same understanding on Biblical teaching. For instance there is debate about whether some animals can be saved and go to heaven. A recent poll I read showed that Americans were almost equally divided on the issue. Checking online I found one website entirely devoted to proving that pets go to heaven when they die. But the most interesting discussion of this question is found in the most recent issue of our church magazine The Banner, Herm Kelderman writes, "After reading RC Sproul's book, Questions People Ask my wife and I discussed his thoughts that pets might go to heaven. Pondering for a moment, I said, "But Bernice, how could that be? Think about all the cat, and dogs, etc., that would include. Without even flinching, she said, "But,[only the elect are saved] and they would not all be elect."

Of course, for most of us, when we think about Judgment Day, the questions that fill our minds are not first of all questions about our pets but rather about our friends and love ones, or maybe even about ourselves. I think of a dear friend of mine who died some years ago. He was good moral man who tried to do what was right. He had a big heart and often went out of his way to help others. He had an excellent mind and often thought about the deeper issues of life. Yet, as far as I know he never came to the point in his life when he accepted Jesus as his Savior and Lord. I tried to talk him about it, but he just wouldn't do it. What's going to happen to my friend on Judgment Day? And as I think about my friend, I think about those who have same questions about their spouses or their children or their parents. Or maybe there are some here this morning who worry about themselves. In the face of such questions, how can we say with Psalmist

¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;

let the sea resound, and all that is in it;

¹² let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them.

Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy;

¹³ they will sing before the LORD, for he comes,

he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world in righteousness

and the peoples in his truth.

How can we look forward with joy to Judgment Day?

Granted, the Psalmist was probably not thinking about those questions when he wrote this Psalm. Probably the questions that concerned him had more to do with the nations around that were threatening God's people or maybe with personal enemies who oppressed him. So many of the Psalms speak of enemies. Sometimes when we or a loved one is sick or when some problem comes in our lives we look to find a comforting Psalm and we're frustrated, because so many of them are all about enemies.

Why is this so? To live in Israel in that day was to live surrounded by enemies. Certainly there were times when God intervened and saved his people. And this Psalm of praise may have been written right after such a time. But, no matter how many times God intervened, the enemies always returned.

So when the Psalmist was looking ahead to Judgment Day, he was finding joy that on that day justice would be done and God would finally judge those who oppressed him. And the Children of Israel who sang that song in worship were comforted to know a day was coming when justice would be done and God would finally take care their enemies once and for all.

Earlier this year there was a murder trial in Florida in which Darry Hanna was convicted of helping his brother murder his wife Teresa in order collect $270,000 in life insurance. It was a terrible, hideous crime. Teresa's brother Charles commented afterwards, It won't bring her back, and we won't ever forget her, but at least we got justice,"

There is comfort in knowing that someday justice will be done. And that was some of the reason the Psalmist was so full of joy when he thought of Judgment Day. Yet, having said that, I should also point out that God's Old Testament people didn't know as much about Judgment Day as we do? They didn't know about Jesus coming back. They didn't about the end of world or about the new heaven and earth. So, how could the Psalmist be so joyful, when he had so little to go on.

The answer is simple: Because he trusted the Judge. This is not a Psalm of praise for a judgment rendered; this is a Psalm of praise to the one who will render that judgment. Listen to how it begins: "Sing to the Lord a new song." This is a psalm of praise to the God who rules over all. The reason the Psalmist can rejoice about Judgment Day is because he has learned to trust God's rule today. Look at the beginning of v. 10,

Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."

The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;

The Lord reigns-not the fake idol gods of our oppressors. The Lord reigns-things don't happen by chance The Lord reigns- his plans will never be thwarted and he will bring to pass all that he has purposed. The Psalmist could rejoice because believed the same truth that Paul later wrote in Romans 8: 28,

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,^ who^ have been called according to his purpose

The Psalmist did not know what God would do on Judgment Day. But he knew that because he will be the judge, justice will be done. And that is how, in spite of all the questions and fears we might have, we also can find joy as we look forward to Judgment Day: because we trust the Judge. No, I don't know what he will decide about my friend, but I trust him. I know he will do what is right.

And what kind of judge will our Lord be? Look at how the Psalm ends,

He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.

He will judge in righteousness. The word used here is the Hebrew word tsadiq. And this word can have different shades of meaning in different contexts. But, in this context, it means that God is a just judge. We live in a world where justice is often hard to find and where people are not treated fairly. Sometimes even though might try as hard as we can to achieve it, justice still eludes us. Remember several years ago when the Governor Ryan in the neighboring state of Illinois pardoned those on death row, because DNA evidence was showing that so many of them were wrongly convicted. Juries had heard the evidence in these cases and probably made the best decisions they could, but justice was not done.

Or course that is not the rest of story. Ryan, himself, after he left office was later convicted in federal court of 18 counts of corruption, leading some to believe that he was merely trying shift the spotlight off his own legal problems. False imprisonments, scandals in office, corruption are all part of life even here in the United States. Even here, justice is hard to come by. But, he will judge justly. In the end there will be justice.

Closely related to this word tsadiq is the word used in verse 10,

he will judge the peoples with equity. Equity. The Hebrew word used here is meyshorim. It comes from root meaning straight or level.

I probably could never make a living as builder or a cabinet maker. Do you know why? Because I am often too impatient to measure things carefully. And sometime even when I take the time, my measurements are still off. And to complicate matters I'm not very good a sawing a straight line. Careful measuring and sawing are so important to a successful building project.

Similarly if justice is to be served, it so important that judges must carefully and accurately apply the rule of law. How many of you children here this morning know about Lady Justice? She is often pictured on the walls of courtrooms. She wears a blindfold and carries a scale in one hand and a sword in the other. This image comes out of Greek mythology. The woman is the Roman goddess Justicia,. The sword she carries represents the execution of justice. The blindfold represents the idea that true justice is not respecter of persons-- it does not treat one person one way and one another. The scale represents the fair weighing of the facts. Even long ago pagan people like the Greeks and Romans valued fairness and equality and knew that they were at the heart of true justice. But, as much as we all know that, we still have a difficult time carrying it out. In spite of our best efforts justice is not blind and the scales are not balanced.

Not so with God. He is always perfectly fair and he applies the same fair standard equally to all. Listen again to the description of Judgment Day from Revelation 20,

¹²And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. ¹³The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.

The Psalmist could rejoice because by faith he knew that the Lord would judge great and small by the same standard. He could rejoice, because he knew that the Lord, who sees all would take into consideration all the evidence. For the Lord knows all and see all.

But, that's a little scary isn't it? For many of us have a dark secret or two. I remember some years ago in a question and answer section of church magazine The Banner, someone asked, "When the Bible says the "the books were opened" does that mean that every sin I've ever committed will be made public?" The answer to that question is "yes." Everything any of us has ever done will be made known on that day. Is that a scary thought? In fact we will confess it all. Well, if that's the case then how can we find any joy on Judgment Day?

We can find joy because of what else the Psalmist says about the judge

And [he will judge] the peoples in his truth.

The Hebrew word used here is amunah. This word doesn't refer so much to truth as an abstract idea as it does to reliability and trustworthiness of a person. Let me give an example. Sometimes we say that another person is a "true friend." What does that mean? It means that this is a friend I can count on. This is someone who is totally reliable and trustworthy. That is what Psalmist knew about the Lord. And that is why he could rejoice that Lord is Judge. He knew that the Lord is a Judge he can trust.

And that is why we as believers have nothing to fear. For, the same Lord who will open the book of our lives is the same Lord who inspired John to write in 1 John 1: 7- 9,

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all^ sin. ⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

⁸If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

The judge is faithful and just. That is why we can rejoice on Judgment Day. Do we know exactly what will happen? No Can we be certain who will saved and who won't? No Can we be sure that we won't be embarrassed by what is written on our book? No All we know is who the judge will be. And that is enough.

Jesus told this parable,

There was a man who had two sons. ¹²The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.

¹³"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷"When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' ²⁰So he got up and went to his father.

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹"The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.^'

²²"But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.

The younger went home, expecting to look into the face of a judge. And he hoped that he could persuade that judge to show him mercy. But instead he saw the face of his Father. People of God that is why we can look forward to Judgment Day. Because we know that when look into the face of the Judge we will see our Heavenly Father, who loves us and the face of the Lamb who gave himself for us. And we will know that we are home. AMEN