Chapter X

The Righteousness or Justice of God

also “Righteousness” and “Justice,” in the English Bible represent the same Hebrew and Greek T-vords in the Old and New Testaments.

I. The Fact that God is Righteous.

Ezr. 9: 15 — “O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous.”

Ps. 116: 5 —” Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is

merciful.”

Ps. 145: 17 —” The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all

his works.”

Jer. 12: i — “Righteous art thou, O LORD, when I plead with thee.” Jno. 17: 25 —” O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee,

but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: God is righteous, or just.

II. What is it to be righteous, or just I

Ez. 18: 5 — “But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right.”

Zeph. 3: 5 — “The just Lord is in the midst thereof; he will not do iniquity: every morning doth he bring his judgment to light, he faileth not; but the unjust knoweth no shame.”

To be just, or righteous, is to have that character that leads one to always do that which is right.

The Hebrew word, according to its etymology, means “right ’ or “straight.” The etymology of the English word “righteous” is the same. The etymology of the Greek word is “custom” or “usage” — that which conforms to custom.

The Righteousness or Justice of God is that attribute that leads Him always to do right. It is not to be limited, as it so often is in modern theological usage, to His punitive justice. This, as we shall shortly see, is only one manifestation of the Justice, or Righteousness of God, and not the one that is most prominent in Biblical usage.

Holiness seems to have more reference to God’s character as He is in Himself; Righteousness to His character as manifested in his dealings with others.

III. How the Righteousness, or Justice of God is manifested.

(1) Ps. ii: 4-7 — “The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD’S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men. The LoRDtrieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.”

FIRST PROPOSITION: The Righteousness of God is manifested in His loving righteousness and hating iniquity.

(2) Ex, 9: 23-27 — “And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.”

2 Chron. 12: 5, 6 — “Then came Shemaiah the prophet of Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous.”

Dan. 9:12, 14 — “And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. Therefore hath the LORD watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice.”

Rev. 16: 5, 6 — “And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art and wast, and shall be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.”

JO What the Bible Teaches

SECOND PROPOSITION: The Righteousness of God is mani* fested in his visiting upon sinners the punishment due to their sins.

(3) 2 Tim. 4: 8 — “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

1 Kings 8: 32 — “Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his righteousness.”

Ps. 7:9-11 — “O, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins. My defense is of God, which saveth the upright in heart. God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.”

Heb. 6: 10 — “For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister.”

THIRD PROPOSITION: The Righteousness of God is manifested in His bestowing upon the righteous the reward due their faithfulness.

(4) Ps. 98: 1-3 — “O, sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvelous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory. The LORD hath made known his salvation: his righteousness hath he openly showed in the sight of the heathen. He hath remembered his mercy and his truth toward the house of Israel: all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.”

Ps. 103:6 — “The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.”

Ps. 129: 1-4 — “Many times have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say: Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me. The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows. The LORD is righteous: he hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.”

2 Thess. i: 6, 7 — “Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you. And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels.”

FOURTH PROPOSITION: The Righteousness of God is mani.

fested in His protecting and delivering His people from all their adversaries.

In modern theological discussions we hear more of the Justice, or Righteousness of God in its relation to the punishment of sinners, but in the Bible we read of it more in relation to the protection of His people. In modern usage it is more frequently held up as an attribute of God at which sinners should tremble; in the Bible it is constantly dwelt upon as an attribute of God at which His people should rejoice and be confident. See, for example:

Ps. 96: 11-13 — “Lfit the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice, before the LORD: for he cometh,yr Jie conicth to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness and the people with his truth.” Jer. 9:24 — “But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment and righteousness in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” Ps. 116: 5, 6 — “Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful. The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and he helped me.” Ps. 145:5, 15-19 — “The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that are bowed down. The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.” Rev. 15:3 — “And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of Saints.”

Even the righteousness of God in the punishment of the sinner is sometimes spoken of in relation to its connection with the deliverance or avenging of His people. As in:

Rev. 19:1, 2 — “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying-, Alleluia; Salvation and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.”

Rev. 16: 4-6 — “And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of water; and they became blood. And 1 heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.”

Here it is the vindication and avenging of His people, rather khan the suffering of the wicked, that is the prominent thought.

(5) Neh. 9: 7, 8 — “Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram, and broughtest him forth out of Ur of the Chaldees, and gavest him the name of Abraham, and foundest his heart faithful before thee, and madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebusites, and the Girgashites, to give it, I say, to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous.”

FIFTH PROPOSITION: The Righteousness of God is manifested in His keeping His promises.

(6) Rom. 3: 25 — “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to declare his righteousness, because of the passing over of the sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God; for the showing, I say, of his righteousness at the present season: that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus.”

SIXTH PROPOSITION: The Righteousness of God is manifested. (1) In His providing a propitiation when sin was for given. (2y In His justifying him that hath faith in the substitute.

(7) i Jno. i: 9 — “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

SEVENTH PROPOSITION: The Righteousness of God u manifested in the forgiveness of the sins of the believer when they are confessed.

Restored from a scan of the 1898 edition, with page headers and numbers removed and words rejoined across line breaks. Scan-derived text, still being proofread; compare the original scan before quoting.