“The ways of the wicked succeed at all times; Yet Your judgments are on high, out of his sight; As for all his enemies, he snorts at them. He says to himself, ‘I will not be moved…His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression; under his tongue is harm and injustice. He sits in the lurking places of the villages; he kills the innocent in the secret places….unfortunate people fall by his mighty power.

He says to himself, ‘God has forgotten; He has hidden His face; He will never see it.’ ” (Psalm 10:5-8, 11, ESV)

The satirist and statesman Jonathan Swift compared laws to cobwebs, “which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.”

Lawfare and two-tiered justice are not new.

Why pray for God’s justice?     

God’s justice, which is His will, is not automatic. When Christ instructed His disciples to pray “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10) He was giving them a directive to overthrow the works of the ruler of this world (2 Cor. 4:4) and displace them with His own righteous edicts.

Notice that justice is a manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven advancing:

• Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne (Psalm 89:14, ESV)
• Clouds and darkness are round about Him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of His throne (Psalm 97:2, ESV)

Furthermore, we pray the Lord’s justice come because He longs to see it in situations:

• I the Lord love justice; I hate robbery and wrong-doing (Isaiah 61:8, NIV)
• For the Lord loves justice; he will not forsake His saints (Psalm 37:28, ESV)

Furthermore, fraud – be it applied to money, insurance, or votes – is described in the strongest Hebrew language of what Yahweh detests:

• Dishonest scales are an abomination to the LORD, but an accurate weight is His delight. (Proverbs 11:1)

Justice as a deterrent to wickedness

Years ago, I recall a pastor saying, “Pray that your children get caught if they’re getting in trouble.” Justice incurred now before they get into more serious trouble is actually a mercy.

The absence of justice encourages more wickedness.

• “When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil” (Ecclesiastes 8:11, Berean Standard)
• “The scepter of the wicked shall not remain over the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous stretch out his hands to do wrong” (Psalm 125:3, ESV)
• “For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, 4 for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer”Romans 13:3-6

Notice in this last verse that secular judges and other public servants in positions of authority are called servants of God – so long as they are punishing the wicked and affirming righteousness. That Romans 13:1-6 was said to be Hitlers’ favorite passage to cause the church to resign itself to do nothing in the face of atrocities. But a government that is rewarding wickedness and punishing righteousness is actually a rogue government, and no longer acting as a servant of God.

The judgments of God and His justice are hazy and nebulous for much of the body of Christ, likely because they are no longer trending in the post-modern church.  In all the years I partook of women’s bible studies, the subject of God’s judgments never was a topic of study. It never was a retreat theme, or a conference heading. Few if any messages from the pulpit can I recall that broached the subject (and I listen to many different preachers and bible teachers).

Yet scripture clearly delineates that justice is a cornerstone of God’s kingdom being built.

In my next blog, I am going to outline five stumbling blocks for why the clear has become foggy.