God’s Word for You
Psalm 119:52 Judgments from Ancient Times
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Sunday, March 17, 2024
52 I remember your judgments from ancient times, O LORD,
and I find comfort in them.
Luther was fond of quoting this Psalm to remind us to trust in God at all times on account of his omnipotence. And the acts of God are certainly part of his judgments. But there are other sides to the judgments of God, and perhaps it would be good to consider as many of these as we can.
First, God’s judgment in eternity was to create the universe. When Moses begins the history of Genesis, he begins with the act of creation, but we know that God did not act on impulse as if he suddenly decided to buy himself a new hat. The universe was considered, shaped, molded, and drawn out in its long history in the heart and mind of God before he ever set any of the creation in motion. This is part of God’s secret wisdom, “hidden in mystery, and that God foreordained for our glory before the ages” (1 Corinthians 2:7).
Second, God elected his saints to come to faith in him and to be his people before he set the world going. The doctrine of election is always presented in the Bible for the comfort of the reader, not as an explanation of what happened for others, but always what happened in God’s heart for you, yourself. God thought of you and set the world going in part so that you, you yourself, would be his own dear child. “From the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth” (2 Thessalonians 2:13).
Third, God’s good judgment was to give Adam and Eve a single law to follow to show their worship of God. That one law was to avoid a single fruit in the ancient Garden of Eden, filled with a vast array of different fruits. They were to mark and avoid the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. All the other fruits were theirs. The berries, the vegetables, the greens, the sweet things growing on vines—any and all of the fruits of the garden—were theirs for the taking. “Pick it and eat it” was their dinner menu for every meal. Just one, just that one, was all they were commanded to avoid. Was it too much, too unloving, for God to withhold just one thing from them? He exposed Satan’s folly and lies with this law.
Fourth, when some of God’s holy servants, a group of the angels led by the devil, fell into sin, God judged them with a hard judgment: They were damned from that moment without any hope of reprieve. For the demons, there is no way back. They will be punished and tortured for all eternity in hell, which God set aside for their imprisonment when they fell. “For God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment” (2 Peter 2:4).
Fifth, when man fell due to Satan’s lie, God in his mercy gave the judgment of punishment on earth—the threat and reality of death—to work regret and repentance in the hearts of mankind. Unlike the angels, man did not live constantly seeing the face of God, but man lived and still lives in the world, guided by God and served and protected by the angels. And so man’s punishment is different from the demons. Death brings an end to the sinful life of man, and allows for the rebirth into the renewal and perfection of glory in everlasting life in heaven. The flesh of man “is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power” (1 Corinthians 15:43). For those who spend their lives rejecting Christ, this renewal is lost, but for those who seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him (Acts 17:27), there is forgiveness and life.
Sixth, God’s ancient judgment was to send a Savior for man’s sins, his own Son, who would fulfill all of God’s holy law and also be punished for man’s transgressions. For men and women cannot be justified or saved by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for Christ’s sake through faith when they believe. They are received into God’s favor, for their sins are forgiven on account of Christ, who by his death made satisfaction for our sins. This faith is imputed by God for righteousness in his own sight (Romans 4:5).
Seventh, God’s ancient judgment was to send faith into men’s hearts through the preaching of his word and through the sacraments. Through these, the instruments or means of grace, the Holy Spirit is given to us, and the Holy Spirit produces faith, where and when it pleases God, in those who hear the Gospel, “that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:14).
God works faith through his word, but he illustrates his works in our lives and throughout the history of mankind. Luther goes so far as to say:
“Even if there were no books or sermons, our very own lives would, if considered properly, abundantly commend to us the ever present and most tender goodness of God. Thus Moses says in Deuteronomy 32, ‘The Lord kept him as the apple of his eye, and led him about, and carried him on his shoulders.’ Out of this conviction the exhortations in the Psalter were born: ‘I remember the days of old; I meditate on all your works; I ponder the work of your hands’ [Psalm 143:5]; ‘Surely I shall remember your wonders of old’ [Psalm 77:11]; and, ‘I have remembered your judgments, and I am comforted’ [Psalm 119:52]. These and other exhortations are all intended to teach us that since God was with us when we did not think so, or he did not seem to be with us, we should not doubt that he is always with us, even when it seems that he is absent from us. He who upheld us in many times of need, even without our request, will not forsake us in a smaller affliction, even though he seems to do so. Thus he says in Isaiah, ‘For a brief moment I forsook you, but I will gather you with great mercies.’”
Every Sunday school child can think of many more examples than these, from Abel’s sacrifice, the Flood, Abraham’s life and faith, Isaac’s faith, Jacob’s troubles, Joseph’s troubles, the Exodus, the Ten Commandments, and so on. But it will also serve for each of us to consider five, fifteen or fifty examples in our own lives when our Almighty God showed his grace and favor to us in his holy judgments, and brought each of us to this moment, so much closer to the resurrection and to everlasting life through our Savior Jesus.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.