Is there any justice in the world? This is an important question, especially for those who have been wronged by others. The Gibeonites had been wronged by Saul. Many years earlier, Joshua had made a covenant with the Gibeonites, they would not be killed. But Saul disregarded this. It looked like he’d got away with it. But in 2 Samuel 21 we see God’s perfect justice. Keddie writes:
“God never forgets because he will perfectly vindicate his law and those who have been wronged. . . . from the Lord’s perspective nothing merely ‘blows over.’”
This is good news if you have faced injustice. God sees and one day will bring the wrongdoers to account. But it’s bad news if you have ever done wrong, because God sees it all, “no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13).
Our reading from Romans 3 shows us so clearly that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We are all guilty before God, He is rightly angry at every sin you and I have committed. The way we have treated Him, and the way we have treated others. We need to feel the weight of that. The more we see how serious the problem, the more we see how wonderful the solution.
We are guilty and deserve the full force of God’s wrath. God is just and will repay every sin. But the amazing truth in Romans 3 is that incredible word “but” in v21. Here is the turning point. We deserve wrath, but instead God’s righteousness has been revealed in Jesus. Jesus is the only one who did not deserve to face God’s wrath, yet he steps into the place of anyone who turns to Him. He takes the wrath for us, He is the propitiation (the sacrifice that turns away God’s holy anger) for our sins (v25).
In this way God’s justice is satisfied, sin is paid for, and those who trust Jesus are covered in the righteousness of Jesus. Wow!
David’s response to God’s justice, mercy, and victory is recorded in 2 Samuel 22 and then repeated in Psalm 18. Can you make that your response? I was really struck when we sang Psalm 18 in church recently. Sometimes, we may struggle to sing words like “for I have kept the ways of the LORD” when we know that we haven’t. But our pastor pointed out that if you belong to Jesus, then you can hear him encourage you in this Psalm. It’s as if he leads us in singing it, feel Him put his arm on your shoulder and tell you “you can sing that, I’ve won that for you.” Jesus kept the ways of the LORD for us, died for every time we haven’t and gives us His righteousness.
“He is a shield for all those who take refuge in Him.” (Psalm 18:30).
Light and Momentary Troubles 
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