Praising the Attributes of God - Psalms 9-11

 Psalms 9:7-8 (ESV)

But the LORD sits enthroned forever;

he has established his throne for justice,

and he judges the world with righteousness;

he judges the peoples with uprightness.

When we meditate and/or think about the character of God, there are many aspects of that character.   In the above couple of verses we can see four aspects of God’s character:  His sovereignty, His eternality, His righteousness and His justice.  

In regard to His sovereignty we read that God is “enthroned.”  The Hebrew word used here means to “sit down” (for the purpose to judge ... which we will see in a moment).   God is “seated on His throne.”    This is a picture of God’s sovereign reign over all the earth.   The verse goes on to say, “... he has established his throne ...”.    In order for us to fully praise God we must begin with His sovereignty over us. 

The second aspect of His character we read about is His “eternality.”    God is sovereign, yes, and He is sovereign “forever.”    He is enthroned “forever.”    We must rejoice in the fact that God is not a passing thing.   Today, in our world, things come and go.  Nothing we have today will last.   Everything is always changing.  We can rejoice that we serve a sovereign God who is eternal.   He is the same yesterday, today and forever.   

These verses also teach us that God is righteous.   God never does wrong.   God can’t do wrong.    Whatever God does, whatever He allows, whatever God thinks about us, is completely and unequivocally right.   No other person or thing has that attribute or can claim that attribute.   You never hear rulers say they did something wrong.    They walk around and claim that they are doing what is “right” for all their constituents.  This is not the case.   Only God is righteous.  We can rejoice in the fact in dealing with HIs children He will always do right.  God is eternally righteous. 

The last aspect we read in these two verses is that God is the judge.  God is going to judge mankind and is, even now, carrying out His justice.  God will “judge” the world in His sovereign, eternal, righteous judgment.  No one can escape God the judge.   In Hebrews we read that believers have come before “God the judge of all.” 

Hebrews 12:22-24 (ESV)

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Because of the blood of Christ believers have come before “God, the judge of all,” but through Jesus, the “mediator of a new covenant” and the “sprinkled blood” of Christ.  That means we can stand before a sovereign, eternal, and righteous God and be judge as righteous.    We can meditate on these attributes of God and praise Him for who He is because He has made us righteous before Him.