Psalm 98:9 “For he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.”
Psalm 75:7 “But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.”
Matthew 18:7-9 “Woe unto the world because of offences! For it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.”
Psalm 19:9 “The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.”
President Abraham Lincoln delivered his Second Inaugural Address on March 4, 1865, shortly before the end of the Civil War and before his assassination. It was laced with Biblical truths about the righteousness of God’s judgment.
Quoting Matthew 18:7, Lincoln stated: “Woe unto the world because of offences! For it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!” Claiming slavery as one of those offenses, he continued on with the following: “ He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came.” The war may “continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman’s two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword.” With up to 850,000 people dead (over 1 in 4 soldiers who fought) and $170 billion in direct and indirect costs, such a price was indeed paid.
Then President Lincoln ended this section with the second half of Psalm 19:9: “the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.” In spite of the horrible price of the Civil War, Lincoln acknowledged the righteousness of the costs of God’s judgment.
In today’s society, we elevate offenses towards God, His plan, and His Word. We flaunt unrighteousness and celebrate sin. But God’s word still says “woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!” With whatever price God chooses to exact, His judgments are true and righteous altogether.
PLEASE PRAY FOR AMERICAN CHRISTIANS TO REGAIN OUR SENSITIVITY TO THE EXPECTED RIGHTEOUS PENALTIES OF SIN. Woe to that man who offends a righteous God.
