PRÉCIS ON THE PERFECT JUSTICE OF GOD MIXED WITH PERFECT MERCY

SCRIPTURE. “You answered them, O Lord our God; You were a forgiving God to them, although avenging their evildoing and wicked practices.” – PSALM 99:8, AMPC

KEY TERMS:

• “FORGIVING.” ‘Nasah’ [נָשָׂא]: “To lift, advance, accept;’ to suffer or bear; to hold up; to spare; to take or carry; to pardon; to remit, as an offense or debt; to overlook an offense, and treat the offender as not guilty. The original and proper phrase is to forgive the offense, to send it away, to reject it, that is, not to impute it, [put it to] the offender.”

• “AVENGING.” ‘Naqam’ [וְ֝נֹקֵ֗ם]: “To grudge, avenge or punish; the infliction of pain on another, in return for an injury or offense; such infliction, when it proceeds from malice or more resentment, and is not necessary for the purposes of justice, is revenge, and a most heinous crime; when such infliction proceeds from a mere love of justice, and the necessity of punishing offenders for the support of the laws, it is vengeance and is warrantable and just. In this case, vengeance is a just retribution, recompense or punishment.”

QUOTATION. “God’s Justice is higher than merely punishing someone who has committed an injustice—He desires to Restore everything that was lost.” ― JESSICA NICHOLAS, God Loves Justice: A User-Friendly Guide to Biblical Justice and Righteousness, 2017; edited

COMMENTARY. ‘Thou tookest vengeance of their inventions’ (or, works). —This does not refer to the personages just mentioned but to the people at large. The train of thought is as follows: ‘There are great saints among us, as in olden time, but, as then, their prayers, while often procuring forgiveness, could not altogether avert punishment for sin; so the present community must expect retribution when sinful, in spite of the mediation of the better part of the nation.’ The Hebrew style did not favour similes, and hence the Poet omits the signs of comparison, and leaves his inference to be drawn by his readers.” – CHARLES ELLICOTT, An Old and New Testament Commentary for English Readers, 1878, 1897; edited

DK’S TAKE: CONSEQUENCES! And that’s pretty much it, beloved: There are ‘Repercussions’ for our sins (and good deeds as well, of course). However, since the Postmodern American Church has largely if not overwhelmingly dispensed with the entire idea of ‘Sin’ and the ‘Price’ we pay for it by placing all, theologically seditiously, “under the blood,” we have a:

 ‘Church Gone Wild.’

The Consequence of this is an ‘America Gone Wild,’ voting in her elections for the least moral candidates who will essentially let the citizens do whatever they desire. This is the “SPIRIT OF LAWLESSNESS” summarized satirically by Sol Luckman (and Donald Trump!) describe as a:

BANANA REPUBLIC: “Lawless Society where the Monkeys rule” (The Angel’s Dictionary, 2016; edited). Thus, an America and Church become ‘Simians,’ feeding on politics and preachings of Banana Soufflé toward Self-Indulgence and Spiritual Death.

Without Repentance, beloved, this is nothing less than a ‘Fait Accompli.’