Chapter 65—Founded on Righteousness
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
Psalm 97:2
,
N.E.B.
In all His dealings with His creatures God has maintained the principles
of righteousness by revealing sin in its true character—by demonstrating that
its sure result is misery and death. The unconditional pardon of sin never has
been, and never will be. Such pardon would show the abandonment of the
principles of righteousness, which are the very foundation of the government
of God. It would fill the unfallen universe with consternation. God has
faithfully pointed out the results of sin, and if these warnings were not true,
how could we be sure that His promises would be fulfilled? That so-called
benevolence which would set aside justice, is not benevolence, but weakness.
God is the life-giver. From the beginning, all His laws were ordained to
life. But sin broke in upon the order that God had established, and discord
followed. So long as sin exists, suffering and death are inevitable. It is only
because the Redeemer has borne the curse of sin in our behalf, that man can
hope to escape, in his own person, its dire results.
We are to accept of Christ as our personal Saviour, and He imputes unto
us the righteousness of God in Christ.... “Herein is love, not that we loved
God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins”
(
1 John 4:10
).
In the love of God has been opened the most marvelous vein of precious
truth, and the treasures of the grace of Christ are laid open before the church
and the world.... What love is this, what marvelous, unfathomable love that
would lead Christ to die for us while we were yet sinners. What a loss it is
to the soul who understands the strong claims of the law, and who yet fails
to understand the grace of Christ which doth much more abound.... Look
at the cross of Calvary. It is a standing pledge of the boundless love, the
measureless mercy of the heavenly Father.
There is a God in Israel, with whom is deliverance for all that are
oppressed. Righteousness is the habitation of His throne.
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