In 1 Kings 3, when Solomon is presented with the two prostitutes—one saying the living is my child and the dead thy child, and the other saying, the dead is thy child and the living my child—he calls for a sword so the child may be cut in two.
What happens? The mother of the living child yearned for her son’s life and said, “Slay him not but give him to the other woman.”
And the unjust prostitute who had stolen the child said, “Let him be neither mine nor thine. Cut him up.” So says the wicked mob.
Righteousness in the Scriptures is synonymous with justice; in Hebrew, the word is the same—righteousness is not strictly what is moral, though it includes that. Righteousness, or justice—is making what is right manifest to all.
Solomon calls for a sword to cut up the living in order to make what is right manifest before all. The power of sin is that it has the power to cast a cloud over what is right; the danger of sin is that it can throw what is good into darkness.
The justice, or righteousness of God, is that which cuts through the cloud of darkness and reveals all the acts of darkness. The justice of God makes the curtains fall.
What the famous 19th century preacher Charles Spurgeon preached concerning the verse: “TEKEL; you are weighed in the balances and are found wanting” (Daniel 5:27).
The Lord God is the avenger of everyone who is oppressed and the executor of everyone who oppresses. I see, this very moment, glancing at the page of the world’s present history, a marvelous proof that God will take vengeance. Piedmont, the land which is at this time soaked with blood, is only at this hour suffering the vengeance that has long been hanging over it.
The snows of its mountains were once red with the blood of martyrs. It is not yet forgotten how there the children of God were hunted like partridges on the mountains.
And so has God directed it—that the nations that performed that frightful act upon His children—shall there meet, rend and devour each other in the slaughter. And both sides shall be almost equal, so nothing shall be seen but that God will punish those who lift their hands against His anointed.
There has never been a deed of persecution—there has never been a drop of martyr’s blood shed yet, but shall be avenged and every land guilty of it shall yet drink the cup of the wine of the wrath of God.
And especially certain is there gathering an awful storm over the head of the empire of Rome—that spiritual despotism of the first-born of hell.
All the clouds of God’s vengeance are gathering into one—the firmament is big with thunder—God’s right arm is lifted up even now and before long the nations of the earth shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire.
They who have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication shall soon also have to drink with her of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath.
And they shall reel to and fro, their loins shall be loose, their knees shall smite together when God fulfills the old handwriting on the rock of Patmos.
Our duty at this time is to take heed to ourselves as a nation that we purge ourselves of our great sins. Although God has given so much Light and kindly favored us with the dew of His Spirit, yet England is a hoary sinner.
Favorably with mercy does God regard her; then let each Christian try to shake off the sins of his nation from his own skirt and let each one to the utmost of his ability labor and strive to purify this land of blood and oppression and of everything evil that still clings to her.
So may God preserve this land—and may its monarchy endure till He shall come, before whom both kings and princes shall lose their power right cheerfully even as the stars fade when the king of light—the sun—lifts up his golden head.
And may God grant that when we go out of this hall, most of us may be able to say, “I thank God I have a good hope that when weighed in the scales at last, I shall not be found wanting.”
Or, if that is too much to expect, may I yet trust some will go away convicted of sin, crying in their own spirits, “I am wanting now, but if God in His mercy meets with me, I shall not be wanting long.”
Sermon edited with preface by Zach Parker, news editor at The Ouachita Citizen, and pastoral intern at Church of the Redeemer in West Monroe. The excerpt is from Charles Spurgeon’s sermon, “The scales of judgment,” delivered on June 12, 1859 at the Music Hall in Royal Surrey Gardens.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.