Praising the God of Justice

Over and over again, God speaks in scripture about the ways those in power have created systems that exploit those who are weaker than they are. The picture God paints of what happens to the oppressors is not pretty.

Listen in to the deep emotions that God evokes about these issues:

Woe to those who make unjust laws,
    to those who issue oppressive decrees,
to deprive the poor of their rights
    and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people,
making widows their prey
    and robbing the fatherless.
What will you do on the day of reckoning,
    when disaster comes from afar?
To whom will you run for help?
    Where will you leave your riches?- Isaiah 10:1-3

By naming these realties and sending leaders to expose them, God is inviting all of us to participate in what Jesus calls “the renewal of all things” (Matthew 19:28). There’s a new way of being in this world that is fair and just and healthy and communal. It’s the way of Jesus. It is the kindom of God.

So rejoice with David as he praises the God who upends oppression. Take time to praise God as you read through these verses.

Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord
    and delight in his salvation.
My whole being will exclaim,
    “Who is like you, Lord?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
    the poor and needy from those who rob them.” - Psalm 35:9-10