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Know His Character
Praising, Trusting, & Imitating the God of Justice & Mercy
Psalm 146
This week I’ve been reading about Martin Luther King Jr. Though I
don’t agree with everything that Dr. King believed, said, or did, he
continues to inspire me.
His particular belief in the imago dei (the name of our church and
title of this series) drove much of the civil rights movement, as noted
by Richard Willis’ book Martin Luther King Jr. and the Image of
God.
Dr. King believed that every person was created by God, and worthy
of dignity, love, basic human rights, and fair and just treatment.
He fought for equality and called out those who discriminated
against races. He said of the imago dei:
“You see the founding fathers were really influenced by the Bible.
The whole concept of the imago dei … is the idea that all men have
something within them that God injected. Not that they have
substantial unity with God, but that every man has a capacity to
have fellowship with God. And this gives him uniqueness…. There
are no gradations in the image of God. Every man from a treble
white to a bass black is significant on God’s keyboard, precisely
because every man is made in the image of God. One day we will
learn that. We will know one day that God made us to live together
as brothers and to respect the dignity and worth of every man. This
is why we must fight segregation with all of our non-violent might.”
(sermon, 1965, Ebenezer Baptist Church)
He called out the church for not living out this belief, and for not
worshiping together. At the National Cathedral, during his last sermon
before he was assassinated, he said, “We must face the sad fact that at
11 o’clock on Sunday morning when we stand to sing ‘In Christ
there is no East or West,’ we stand in the most segregated hour of
America.”

He also reflected on the irony that a particular white Baptist church
spent thousands of dollars to evangelize Africans, yet fired its pastor
for allowing a black man to sing in its choir (Lischer, 19). Evil.
I’m also moved by King's concern for the poor. He was moved to
tears as he observed the intense poverty in Quitman, MS, specifically
as he watched a school teacher feed her students their lunch,
consisting of only a slice of an apple and some crackers. He grieved
over the poor in Harlem, and defended poor sanitation workers in
Memphis.
Psalm 146
The ideas of God as creator, and God’s compassion for the poor
appear in Psalm 146.
The Psalmist points us to nature of the LORD in this psalm. It is so
relevant because our view of God determines everything.
Tozer said, “Were we able to extract from any man a complete
answer to the question, ‘What comes into your mind when you think
about God?’ we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of
that man... The first step down for any church is taken when it
surrenders its high opinion of God”
Big Idea: When we have a high view (or biblical view) of God, we
will praise him continually, trust him supremely,
and imitate him faithfully.
Verses 5-10 form the heart of the Psalm. Spurgeon delivered a
sermon on verses 7-9 called “The Lord’s Famous Titles.” Indeed, he
is glorious here.
When you consider who God is, you will praise him. You will trust
him. You will imitate him.
If you aren’t praising him, trusting him, and imitating him – you
don’t know him. At least, at the moment, you don’t believe he is who
he says he is.
#1: PRAISE THE LORD CONTINUALLY (1-2, 10b)

Five joyous Psalms in a row (146-150) complete the Psalter. Each
begins and ends with the word “Hallelujah” (‘Praise the Lord’ in
English). See 147-50.
The Psalm takes up phrases from Psalm 145, and the surrounding
Psalms, as we will note.
One hymn that reflects this Psalm is Isaac Watt’s hymn, “I’ll praise
my Maker while I have breath.”
A. Praise the Lord Corporately (1a)
The opening call is plural; it’s an inclusive summons for everyone to
praise God.
Why praise? The rest of the Psalm gives you reasons. That’s what
you need. You need reasons!
Read verses 6-10. Here are reasons! Does these virtues move you?
“He did not study God, he was dazzled by him” (Les Mis, the Novel).
Let us be dazzled by him!
B. Praise the Lord Personally (1b-2)
Within the corporate call is a call to praise God individually. The
phrases “my soul” and “I will praise as long as I live” demonstrate this.
Notice the depth, “o my soul.” This is similar to Psalm 42, 103, and
others, as the Psalmist is speaking to his soul. “Come on soul! Wake
up and sing!”
C. Praise the Lord Constantly (2)
The Psalmist resolves to live a life of praise. His resolve goes beyond
the mere moment. He longs for sustained praise.
“I will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my
mouth” (Ps. 34:1)

Psalm 104:33 says the same thing: “I will sing to the Lord as long as I
live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.”
145:2: “Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and
ever.”
Do not simply praise God on a Sunday or at conference, but be a
lifelong worshiper.
I was thinking about the many changes over the past several years,
including fashion. How hard is it to buy a pair of pants these days!
You can even by Capri overhauls for men. They have jumped the
shark with these. (If you wear them, I love you, and I get it if you are
going fly fishing). While things changes, one thing must remain the
same: we will praise our God – while we have our being.
Application
How can you sustain a life of praise? You must have a great vision of
God. If your vision of God is just based on man’s tradition, or
cultural opinion, instead of God’s revelation then you will not sustain
a life of praise.
But if your view of God is based on God’s revelation, and it your
mind is renewed daily by God’s revelation, then praise results. Do
you have a plan this year for meditating on the Scriptures?
Look at Ps 145:1-9 – where does this truth come from? The Bible.
Why is it important to live a life of praise?
• You were made for this. “The chief end of man is to glorify God
and enjoy him forever.” You are an image bearer of God. To be
a human doesn’t mean autonomy, it means that you were made
for communion with God. You are so made for it, you can see
and hear expressions of praise everywhere, from:
o Teenage girls screaming at Boy concerts,
o Old man extolling the virtues of Home Depot
products

o Readers praising Tolkien for his brilliance
o Car lovers, raving over 68 camaroes at Car Shows,
o Duck Dynasty fans telling their friends to watch this
incredible show about millionaire rednecks (a new
category of heroes have ensued)
o Armchair quarterbacks raving about their football
team winning on Facebook
o Southern belles, showing off the latest designs in
Southern Living,
o Techies exalting Apple Products,
o Fans admiring those in People Magazine,
You will praise something. Make it the Triune God.
In his fantastic book A Dangerous Calling Paul Tripp, commenting
on the previous Psalm 145, says
“Every human being has been hardwired by God to live in daily awe
of him…. Awe of God should be the reason I do what I do with my
thoughts. It should be the reason I desire what I desire. Awe of God
should be the reason I treat my wife the way I do and parent my
children in the manner I do. It should be the reason I function the
way I do at my job or handle my finances the way I do.” (117). We
have been hardwired to stand in awe of God.
• You live out of the overflow of your heart. Mission begins with
the heart, not strategy. A lot of missions movements are not
sustained because they aren’t deep enough. They must be rooted
in the character of God and the worship of him. Mission follows
worship.
When a person reflects on the grace of God, and his grace gets
driven inside the heart to the point of heartfelt worship, the result is
generosity. The heart acts.
When a person praises the God who cares for the fatherless, then
a result of that praise is care for the fatherless.
When a person praises the God of justice, then that person longs
for justice. “Seeking justice doesn’t begin at the door of a brothel.
Seeking justice beings with seeking the God of justice.” (Bethany

Hoang, Deepening the Soul for Worship). At IJM, one hour a day is
devoted to prayer the reading of a Psalm. God’s people were to “do
justly and love mercy” and throughout the Psalms what you find is
them praising God for these attributes:
“I will sing of steadfast love [hesed] and justice; to you, O
LORD, I will make music” (101:1)
Gentry calls Psalm 117 a summary of Psalms
“Praise the Lord, all nations!” Extol him all peoples! For great is
his steadfast love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord
endures forever.” (117).
#2: TRUST THE LORD SUPREMELY (3-10)
The Psalmist contrasts Man’s fallibility and God’s infallibility.
A. Man’s Fallibility (3-4)
The Psalmist directs us to trust in God supremely, not human
leaders. (See Ps 118:8-9, 20:7).
This makes since in light of the rest of the passage. Because God is
who this text says he is, then he is worthy of our total trust.
Governments and armies have their proper place, but ultimately
God rules the world, and we must put our hope in him.
Derek Kidner points out that the term “princes” (ESV, NIV, NASB)
distances the modern reader from the force of this verse. One could
translate it as “the influential.” Some translate it as follows: “Nobles”
(HCSB); “Leaders” (CEB); “Experts” (Message); “Powerful people”
(NLT)
The famous and influential are not always what they seem.
Application

Politically. Every leader will let you down in some way. No
politician is worthy of complete trust, not because they are
necessarily more immoral than others, but because they are just like
them. “The best of men are men at best.”
In the Toronto Star newspaper, an article came out in 1996
announcing that Mr. Jean Chretien, the Prime Minister of Canada,
had complete fulfilled 78% of his election promises (Gentry, 147). I
think we would be happy with a 78% score of most leaders!
In contrast, God fulfills 100% of his promises.
This is why we praise God, our king, not a human leader. The
Psalmist says, “For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a
Psalm. God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne” (48:7-8)
Leaders rule well when they rule according to the character and
ways of God; when they rule in wisdom, justice, and goodness; when
they seek the welfare of others, when they seek the glory of God, not
their own personal glory.
Throughout the Psalms, prayers are offered for rulers that they may
take on the character of God. “Give the king your justice, O God and
your righteousness to the royal son. May he judge your people with
righteousness, and your poor with justice…. May he defend the cause of
the poor and give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the
oppressor” (Ps 72:1)
• Many influential leaders seek their own glory. They do not
seek to lead according to God’s character.
• Our world is filled with tyrants, as well. The end of Psalm
146 speaks of their end, “the way of the wicked he brings to
ruin” (9). Recently the world has witnessed Putin ban
Americans from adopting children in Russia. Children,
orphaned children, the most defenseless members of their
society, are being used as political pawns. Some already in
process. 120,000 available. Shameful.

The Psalmist goes on to say don’t trust them because they cannot
bring “salvation” and they are here today and gone tomorrow. “He
returns to the dust.” “Man in his pomp will not remain” (Ps. 49:12, 20)
Today’s political and religious leaders are tomorrow’s oil paintings.
They may get a building named after them, but they all live and die,
and most of them are forgotten.
Don’t trust in mortal men; don’t make a god out of them. Fix your
eyes on the God of glory.
Relationally. Every person will fail you in some way. This doesn’t
mean you should never trust anyone. It simply means you should not
make a functional god out of a person.
B. God’s Infallibility (5-10)
The Psalmist points us to the greatness, the goodness, and justice of
God, to show us that God cannot fail. He is worthy of trust.
5: Trust in the maker of heaven and earth.
5: Trust in the God of Grace.
We must recognize where our help comes from: the God of Jacob,
and that our hope is in the Lord.
“Jacob” is probably meant to refer to the people of God; but it may
carry a reminder of the man who was touched and transformed by
the God of grace. It is a term of endearment, celebrating God’s
relationship with his people.
Put your hope in this God - the God who transforms sinful men and
women, and enters an eternal covenant with them, through the blood
of Jesus.
The remaining verses show us what a privilege it is to know God.
6a: Trust in God of Creation

This is the language of Gen 1 and Ex 20:11. God stands alone. No
human being spoke the universe into existence. He made everything,
including you.
Verse 10 highlights the end “The Lord will reign forever.”
The verses in between 6-10 show us how to live in between.
6b: Trust the God Who Is Faithful
God remains faithful to us, though we often fail him. He keeps his
word.
Paul said, “All have deserted me, but the Lord stood by me and
strengthened me” (2 Tim 4:16).
7a: Trust in the God Who Is Just
God executes justice for the oppressed (as in the case of Egypt, Ps.
103:7) – not always in this life, but ultimately he will.
Throughout the Scriptures, we see that God is on the side of the
oppressed.
“The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed” (Ps
103:6). This is why we do justice ministry, not because it’s trendy,
but because God is just, and we are his people. He is the kingdom,
and we are to display the values of the kingdom.
7b: Trust the God Who Provides
He gives food to the hungry. God has a concern for the poor, as
should we (Gal. 2:10).
This high and exalted God, understands the needs of his people. He
tells us not to worry about bread (Matt 6), for he will provide – and
that usually means that he is going to use his people to do so!
Around this Psalm we see God providing for creation:

“The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing” (145:16)
“He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares the rain for the earth; he
makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beasts their food and to the
young ravens that cry” (147:8-9)
7c: Trust the Lord Who Frees the Prisoners
Like some of the other titles, this is true sometimes physically, and
certainly true spiritually.
Physically, examples of the Lord rescue included: Joseph, Israel,
Peter, and Paul and Silas
Spiritually, the Lord frees us from condemnation through Jesus.
Our sin imprisoned us, and we were under the judgment of God,
awaiting execution, when Jesus substituted himself for us, freeing us
from the awful wrath of God.
Even though some have been liberated spiritually, they tend to fall
into some sort of bondage to the flesh, or to works-based, Phariseelike
righteousness (like the Galatians), or the bondage of our old
idols. Live like the free person you are if you are a Christian.
8a: Trust in the Lord who Opens the Eyes of the Blind
Again, the Lord may choose to do this physically, but he certainly
does spiritually. This probably is another reference to freedom from
exile.
8b: Trust in the Lord Lifts Up the Bowed Down
Again, the Psalms around 146 highlights this attribute of God.
“The Lord upholds all who are falling and raises up all who are bowed
down” (146:14)

“The Lord lifts up the humble” (147:6)
When we are down, the Lord is the lifter of our head.
8c: Trust in the Lord Who Loves the Righteous
This may not seem like good news if you correctly understand that
you are NOT righteous! It is only good news when you realize that
Jesus Christ is the Righteous One, who through his life and death,
makes us righteous. (2 Cor 5:21).
Now, God loves us in Christ. He loves us with the love he has for his
righteous Son!
9a: Trust in the Lord Who Watches Over the Sojourner
He watched over Israel in their wandering.
Peter called the dispersed Christians, sojourners, who were never
apart from the presence of God.
9b: Trust in the Lord Who Upholds the Widow and the Fatherless
Here we see God’s concern for the defenseless. In the OT, God set up
laws to protect them and warned God’s people against mistreating
them. In the NT, the same concern is expressed by Paul (1 Tim 5),
and James (1:27)
Deut. 10:17-18
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the
mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He
executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the
sojourner, giving him food and clothing.
Psalm 68:4-5
4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
his name is the Lord;
exult before him!

5 Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
is God in his holy habitation.
When people ask me, “How do you want to be introduced?” I usually
propose they say, ‘This is Tim Keller, minister of the Redeemer
Presbyterian Church in New York City.’ Of course, I am many other
things, but that is the main thing I spend my time doing in public life.
Realize, then, how significant it is that the Biblical writers introduce
God as a ‘father to the fatherless, a defender of widows’ (Psalms 68:4-
5). This is one of the main things he does in the world. He identifies
with the powerless, he takes up their cause.
One of the main ways that he takes up their cause is through his
people!
9c: Trust in the Lord Who Will Judge the Wicked
While evil may prevail for a short time in this life, ultimately the
wicked will stand before God and be brought to ruin.
10a: Trust in the Lord Who Reigns Forever
Human leaders only rule under God, and the only rule for a
moment. God rules now and forever.
“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures
throughout all generations” (145:13)
Like Father Like Son
As you read these attributes of God, you can see Jesus, the perfect
king that Ps 72 alludes to.
146:3-4: He is the Son of Man, the Prince of Peace that you can trust.
6: He was creator (Col 1)
7-8a: Not only does he keep his word, but these verses remind us of
the announcement of his earthly ministry.

Isaiah 58 and 61 comes to mind, the chapters Jesus used to announce
his mission in Luke 4.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to
proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to
the captives and recovering of the sight to the blind, to set at liberty those
who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
Luke 4:18-19, see also Luke 7:21-ff.
Jesus deliberately chose this passage and announced his ministry. He
showed that he was concerned about the poor, the captives, the
blind, and the oppressed (the helpless).
• Proclaimed freedom and forgiveness, and displayed grace.
• "Oppressed" refers to his earthly ministry: healing the sick,
casting out demons, & taught on mercy. (Grudem & Schreiner)
His ministry demonstrated this concern. Physically, many were set
free, and spiritually he set them free as they believed in him.
His miracles were signs of the kingdom, previews of the coming
kingdom of God.
8b: he lifts up the bowed down (cf, Lk 13:10-13)
8c: Jesus Christ is the Righteous One. He showed his love by
fulfilling all righteousness. Then died for the Unrighteous that we
may be declared righteous.
9: he loved the helpless. "I will not leave you as orphans, I will come
to you" (John 14:18). He is our groom, and we are his bride (widowless
no more). We are no longer strangers, but are members of the
household of God.
10a: he will reign forever.
10b: What about judgment? Jesus will bring ultimate judgment
that’s described in Psalm 146. (See Jude 15, Jer 33:15-16).
So, in Christ, we have been made positionally righteous, and in
Christ we can become practically righteous – living out the type of
mercy and justice described in Psalm 146.
#3: IMITATE THE LORD FAITHFULLY (6-9)

Regarding vs. 6-9: “When God’s people sing these words in faith,
they will own these qualities as virtues toward which they will
strive.” (Collins, ESVSB)
Think with me about motivations and actions drawn from these
verses.
A. Motivations: Creation and Redemption
We find two driving motivations for imitating God's compassion and
justice. We need motivations!
The Bible gives us not just the moral imperative, but the inner power
and motive to do it.
Here they are: “A joyful awe before the goodness of God’s creation,
and the experience of God’s grace in redemption.’ (Keller)
“You could make a good argument that people do know they should
share with others and help the poor. Most people do know and
believe this. The real problem is that, while knowing it, they are
insufficiently motivated to actually do it.” (79)
Creation. We are created to image God, to imitate God (verse 6). We
are to share his concerns.
We are also to value humanity because they bear his image. “Image
conveys the idea of a work of art or craftsmanship.” (Keller, 82).
Human beings are marvelous works of a majestic creator. They
represent God – not in every way, but as images. They think, love,
choose, and can know God.
Psalm 145:9, 17 declares that God loves all that he has made
(common grace).
Nicholas Wolterstorff compares this to a foreigner observing the Mt.
Vernon estate in Virginia. A visitor might be perplexed since there
are other plantation homes more beautiful. Why the big deal about
this one? It is because this was the house of George Washington, the

founder of our country. We honor the house because we treasure the
owner. Because Washington loved it and treasured it, so do we.
So it is with human beings. We honor them because we treasure
their Maker, and respect his majesty.
C.S. Lewis reminds us of the wonder of a human being:
“There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere
mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations – these are mortal, and
their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. It is immortals whom we joke
with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit” (Lewis, The Weight of
Glory, 46)
To summarize this first motivation, consider these questions by John
Stott:
• "First what sort of God do we believe in? Is he concerned
exclusively with individual salvation? Or does he have a social
conscious? Is he (in the words of Dr. Carl Henry’s memorable
phrase) “the God of justice and of justification?” How is it that so
many of us staunch evangelical people have never seen, let alone
faced, the barrage of biblical texts about justice?"
• "Second, what sort of creature do we think a human being is?
Have we ever considered the unique value and dignity of human
beings, made in the image of God, so that abuse, torture, rape,
and grinding poverty, which dehumanize human beings, are also
an insult to the God who made them?" (Good News About
Injustice, 10)
Transition: As important as the motivation of creation is, the most
frequently used motivation is redemption (Keller, 92).
Redemption. In the OT, God concern for the vulnerable and
defenseless in his work of redemption for Israel.
This is not just a NT theme.
You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were
sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall not mistreat any widow or
fatherless child.
Exodus 22:21-22

Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer
stubborn. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the
great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no
bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the
sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore,
for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 10:16-19 ESV
Israel had been the poor outcasts, but God brought redeemed them.
He saved them. He rescued them. He liberated them.
God essentially says, “Do for them, what I’ve done for you.”
Verse 16 mentions circumcision of the heart, another redemptive
them. “Heart circumcision” had to do a commitment to God on the
inside, not the outside. Physical circumcision was a sign on the
outside that one had a relationship with God. Meeting the needs of
the vulnerable was a sign not just of formal, external obedience, but
internal devotion to God.
Keller rightly points out, “If a person has grasped the meaning of
God’s grace in his heart, he will do justice” (93).
Of course, this gets expanded in the NT, for those who know Christ,
have been adopted, no longer fatherless. We were strangers to the
covenants of promise, when God welcomed us. We were widows,
when Christ became our groom.
When James talks about redemption, about saving faith, he says
regarding the poor, that faith should function. Faith without works
of compassion is dead. (James 2:14-16)
Further, the doctrine of justification by faith, which is so central to
us, should make us a just people. Jesus’ death on the cross
demonstrated both God’s love and God’s justice (Rom. 3:21-26).
Blood bought believers should also demonstrate God’s love and
justice.
B. Actions: Exhortations from Psalm 146 us:

1. Let us care for everyone made in God’s image (6a)
• From the womb to the tomb, we value everyone on God's
keyboard.
2. Let us execute justice for the oppressed (7a)
• Free from spiritual oppression certainly.
• Sometimes physical precedes this – Psalm 119:134
• Justice ministry is viewed as hobby or sometime to be
tolerated at best, or a distraction at worst. We need an
impulse of justice to drive us. Taking the gospel to unreached
people is not just motivated by compassion, it is motivated by
justice as well – why should they not hear the gospel!
• When we work the justice of God into our hearts, we will be
a people who seek to alleviate urgent physical and spiritual
needs. And places of darkness often have both!
• Speak truth to power. Even though we shouldn’t place our
ultimate trust in politicians and governments, we still should
do what we can in these arenas for the good of others. Often
political leaders do not make it a priority to defend the
defenseless.
Micah 6:8 – “love mercy” (love it, not just do it) do “justly”
• To treat people equitably (Lev. 24:22). You shall have the
same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the Lord
your God.”
• To give people their rights (Deut. 18, Prov. 31:9). Open your
mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and
needy. (Proverbs 31:9)
• Misphat, then, means: to punish criminals, as well as protect,
and care for the vulnerable. This is how justice and mercy go
together: justice for the villain, mercy for the vulnerable.
3. Let us feed the hungry (7b)
• Of course this is part of our PEACE Plan
• Locally and globally
• Tomorrow the elders are leaving for what is perhaps the
poorest country in the world. Pray that we can make some

good partnerships and help relief the awful conditions in
Haiti.
• This isn’t all that we’re doing, but it’s an important part.
• Isaiah 58 warns us about simply doing religious rituals, even
good things like fasting, when we ignore the needs of the poor
and needy. This is how our light shines:
“Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
(Isaiah 58:6-8 ESV)
4. Let us bring freedom and sight like Jesus (7c, 8a)
• Ultimate freedom is found only in the gospel.
• Often the places of greatest darkness have the greatest
physical and spiritual needs.
• Acts 26 - "I'm sending you to open their eyes"
5. Let us lift up the bowed down (8b)
• Those who are weighed down with trial, difficulty, hardship
and suffering.
• Let us care for the disabled and the injured.
7. Let us live righteously through Christ (8c)
Through everyday living (cf., Ps 112). Live righteously in
relationships and in all your dealings. Live generously.
Job said, “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like
a robe and a turban” (Job 29:14). He says that he wears justice.
• That is, he lives a life of integrity and purity and compassion.
In every day life, like the Good Samaritan, who is it that is

lying in the road that needs help; who needs attention; who
needs grace: Elderly, hungry, handicapped, non-profit?
Job goes on, “I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame. I was father to
the needy, and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know. I
broke the fangs of the unrighteous and made him drop his prey from his
teeth” (29:15-17). That sounds a lot like Jesus! The truly righteous
one. The one who hates evil, and loves victims of it.
In Job 31, commentator Francis Anderson points out that this text is
one of the most important texts on Israelite ethics, and that for Job it
was mainly social. “To omit good to any fellow human being, of
whatever rank or class, would be a grievous offense to God.”
• Put on justice like a turban. Wear it. This by the way will
affect your purity. As you grow in your love for justice, you
will at the same time have a hatred of sin.
• Further, we need to remember that pornography is also a
justice issue. “It would therefore be prudent to assume that
the burgeoning porn industry, to some degree, overlaps with
the world of human trafficking and commercial sexual
exploitation of women and children” (Martin, 161). Do not
think of those ladies (or men) as being mere object for your
sinful fantasies. You are de-humanizing them, not honoring
the imago Dei. They are made in the image of God. And some
of them no doubt have been caught up in the unjust practice
of sex slave industry. Pornography should be viewed from
both a purity perspective and a justice perspective.
8. Let us care for the sojourner, the widow and the fatherless (9)
Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds
from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct
oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause. (Isaiah
1:16-17 ESV, Zechariah 7:10. Deuteronomy 27:19)
• International student
• Immigrant worker (or any outsider living in our midst)
• The single mom
• The elder lady alone

• The Fatherless
A study revealed that a dad is 10 th most requested gift by
children (Mail Online). This is the fatherless generation.
Here are a few things we want to do:
• We want to continue to speak up for the voiceless millions.
• We want to welcome them into our homes.
o Exciting News: Adoption Fund is now active at IDC.
Matt will be blogging about it later.
• We want to encourage foster care
• We want to train local leaders in other countries to start and
sustain an adoption and orphan care movement. (Translation
of Orphanolgy in different languages)
Remember: all of this must be done in a spirit of desperate prayer.
We trust in God, not our abilities or goodness.
Conclusion
In the Just Church, Jim Martin points out that two obstacles get in
people’s way to doing justice and loving mercy: lack of courage and
lack of humility. They are scared, or they aren’t teachable or
dependent.
Do you have the courage? Bilbo Baggins courage? I love that movie.
I love when he says, “I have a home, but you don’t. I’ve come to help
you take yours back.” And how Gandolf challenges the reluctant
hobbit: I'm a Baggins. We stay at Bags End." Gandalf: "You're also
a Took and Took's are made for adventure."
Come on little hobbits! Let us fight the good fight with courage. And
let us remain teachable, let us learn, and ask for God’s help.
Shaloam
Through it all, we are longing for Jesus to return, for peace and
justice to dwell. For then there will be total shalom.
• Perhaps the best concept of justice is Shalom, wholeness. You
might think Fabric. Sin and evil has ripped the fabric. It’s in
different pieces. Shalom is what it looks like in one piece.

• The webbing together of God, humans, & all creation in justice,
fulfillment, & delight is what the OT prophets called Shalom."
(Plantinga)
• He calls sin, “the vandalism of shalom."
• Our job as people who are part of the kingdom of God, is to help
put pieces of the fabric together, so that the weak don’t fall
through it. All the while, realizing that it won’t be complete until
the King returns.
We don’t have shalom now. Just look at the violence. Look at the
poverty. Look at the racism. Look at the orphans. But let us bring
the kingdom of God to bear on places of darkness, and look forward
to the day in which Jesus brings ultimate Shalom.
Bring the future into the present.
Jesus Shall Reign (Another Great Hymn by Watts)
Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does his successive journeys run;
His kingdom stretch from shore to shore,
Till moons shall wax and wane no more.
Blessings abound wherever He reigns;
The prisoner leaps to lose his chains;
The weary find eternal rest,
And all the sons of want are blessed.
Where He displays His healing power,
Death and the curse are known no more:
In Him the tribes of Adam boast
More blessings than their father lost.
Let every creature rise and bring
Peculiar honors to our King;
Angels descend with songs again,
And earth repeat the loud amen!

Great God, whose universal sway
The known and unknown worlds obey,
Now give the kingdom to Thy Son,
Extend His power, exalt His throne.