11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and all that fills it; 12 let the field exult, and everything in it. Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy 13 before the Lord; for he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.
https://youtu.be/KCQ3ehcC15U?si=fgG_5Kq7kJRtzPm6
Nobody really wants to be judged, probably because the results will too often be disappointing. And here is a psalmist ready to declare merrymaking and more in anticipation of God’s judgment. Don’t worry about it, advises scholar Nancy Koester of the Augsburg College faculty. “These verses proclaim that God comes to judge the nations in righteousness. Yet this judgment evokes more joy than dread, for the whole world, both nations and nature, will rejoice—even the trees will sing.”
Why all the happiness and hoopla over judgment? It depends on who’s judging. God’s judgment is to be welcomed, especially compared to the pronouncements that come from those in the world who take on that role. A look at the history of judging, particularly in the ancient world, makes it clearer why God’s judgment could be a source of relief.
“The striking thing for most of us is the way these verses look forward to God’s judgment joyfully,” explained James Boice, theologian and senior minister at Tenth Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia who died in 2000. “It is striking because we usually think of the judgment of God differently. We have been taught to have an acute sense of sin and to be thankful that we will be spared God’s judgment because of the death of Jesus Christ on our behalf.
“But, as C.S. Lewis points out, the ancients lived in a world where judges usually needed to be bribed and right judgment was exceedingly hard to come by, especially for weak, poor, or disadvantaged persons. In such a climate, the disadvantaged did not fear judgment but rather longed for it, because it meant a day when evil would be punished and those who did the right things would be vindicated.”
Contributed by Dave Edmark