My Defender

My defense is of God, which saveth the upright in heart. God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. If he turn not, he will whet his sword; he hath bent his bow, and made it ready. (Psalms 7:10-12)

God’s Righteousness and Judgment
Sometime back, I wrote about the value of everyone reading the Bible. Many people understand that God is righteous, but fewer recognize that He is also a God of judgment.
Scripture warns that “the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalms 9:17). Yet God’s justice is joined with His mercy. Peter reminds us that the Lord is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

The Call to Repentance
Ezekiel 33:12–20 teaches that neither past righteousness nor past wickedness alone determines a person’s standing before God. Each person is judged according to the way he responds to God’s call.

• The righteous person who turns from righteousness and commits iniquity will not be delivered by former obedience.
• The wicked person who turns from sin, does what is lawful and right, restores what he has taken, and walks in the statutes of life shall live.
• God’s judgment is fair, even when people claim, “The way of the Lord is not equal.”

Our Response 
Therefore, we must repent, do what is right, and trust God to be our defense.