May it be far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?”
Parallel Translations
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May it be far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?”
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That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
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That be far from Thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from Thee; shall not the judge of all the earth do justly?'
Cross-references (18)
Passages linked to Genesis 18:25 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Job 8:20 “Behold, God will not cast away a blameless man, neither will he uphold the evildoers.
- Job 8:3 Does God pervert justice? Or does the Almighty pervert righteousness?
- Isaiah 3:10-11 Tell the righteous “Good!” For they shall eat the fruit of their deeds. Woe to the wicked! Disaster is upon them; for the deeds of his hands will be paid back to him.
- Psalms 58:11 so that men shall say, “Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”
- Deuteronomy 32:4 The Rock: his work is perfect, for all his ways are just. A God of faithfulness who does no wrong, just and right is he.
- Psalms 94:2 Rise up, you judge of the earth. Pay back the proud what they deserve.
- Romans 3:5-6 But if our unrighteousness commends the righteousness of God, what will we say? Is God unrighteous who inflicts wrath? I speak like men do. May it never be! For then how will God judge the world?
- Job 34:17-19 Should even one who hates justice govern? Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty?— Who says to a king, ‘Vile!’ or to nobles, ‘Wicked!’? He doesn’t respect the persons of princes, nor respect the rich more than the poor; for they all are the work of his hands.
- Psalms 98:9 Let them sing before Yahweh, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.
- Malachi 3:18 Then you shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who doesn’t serve him.
- John 5:22-27 For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him. “Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Most certainly I tell you, the hour comes, and now is, when the dead will hear the Son of God’s voice; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself. He also gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man.
- 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
- Ecclesiastes 7:15 All this I have seen in my days of vanity: there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked man who lives long in his evildoing.
- Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 Though a sinner commits crimes a hundred times, and lives long, yet surely I know that it will be better with those who fear God, who are reverent before him. But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he lengthen days like a shadow, because he doesn’t fear God.
- Isaiah 57:1-2 The righteous perish, and no one lays it to heart. Merciful men are taken away, and no one considers that the righteous is taken away from the evil. He enters into peace. They rest in their beds, each one who walks in his uprightness.
- Jeremiah 12:1 You are righteous, Yahweh, when I contend with you; yet I would like to reason the cause with you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why are they all at ease who deal very treacherously?
- Job 9:22-23 “It is all the same. Therefore I say he destroys the blameless and the wicked. If the scourge kills suddenly, he will mock at the trial of the innocent.
- Psalms 11:5-7 Yahweh examines the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and him who loves violence. On the wicked he will rain blazing coals; fire, sulfur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup. For Yahweh is righteous. He loves righteousness. The upright shall see his face.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 25. Shall not the Judge of all the earth…
25. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? He does not here teach God His duty, as if any one should say to a judge, ‘See what thy office requires, what is worthy of this place, what suits thy character;’ but he reasons from the nature of God, that it is impossible for Him to intend anything unjust. I grant that, in using the same form of speaking, the impious often murmur against God, but Abraham does far otherwise. For although he wonders how God should think of destroying Sodom, in which he was persuaded there was a number of good men; he yet retains this principle, that it was impossible for God, who is the Judge of the world, and by nature loves equity yea, whose will is the law of justice and rectitude, should in the least degree swerve from righteousness. He desires, however, to be relieved from this difficulty with which he is perplexed. So, whenever different temptations contend within our minds, and some appearance of contradiction presents itself in the works of God, only let our persuasion of His justice remain fixed, and we shall be permitted to pour into His bosom the difficulties which torment us, in order that He may loosen the knots which we cannot untie. Paul seems to have taken from this place the answer with which he represses the blasphemy of those who charge God with unrighteousness.
‘Is God unrighteous? Far from it, for how should there be unrighteousness with Him who judges the world?’ (Romans 3:5,6.)
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This method of appeal would not always avail among earthly judges; who are sometimes deceived by error, or perverted by favor, or inflamed with hatred, or corrupted by gifts, or misled by other means, to acts of injustice. But since God, to whom it naturally belongs to judge the world, is liable to none of these evils, it follows, that He can no more be drawn aside from equity, than he can deny himself to be God.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Hebrew, do judgment.
Hebrew, do judgment.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 18:25 That be far from thee to do…
Gen 18:25 That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
Ver. 25. Shall not the Judge, &c.] He "fills his mouth with arguments". {Job 23:4} Let us also: this will increase faith and fervency.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Now he clearly perceiveth that this person was no…
Now he clearly perceiveth that this person was no less than the Creator, Governor, and
Judge of the world, even the second person in the blessed Trinity, to whom that title and work is ascribed, as Joh 5:22,27; Ac 10:42; 17:31. He speaks not this as if it were simply unjust for God to involve the righteous in the same temporal destruction with the wicked; for he knew very well, and by his own experience, that there was not a just man upon earth, that did good and sinned not, Ecc 7:20, and therefore no such just man who did not for his own sin deserve that death and destruction which is the proper wages of sin, Rom 6:23. But he speaks not here of strict and rigorous justice, but of that moderate and equitable way which God is pleased to use with the sons of men, and of that right to temporal deliverances which by virtue of God’s gracious covenant and promise did accrue to pious and virtuous persons, especially in the times of the Old Testament, when temporal promises were more expressly and particularly made to good men.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain That be far from thee to do after this…
That be far from thee to do after this manner,.... He represents it as a thing unbecoming the divine Majesty, and contrary to the nature and perfections of God:
to slay the righteous with the wicked; which is true of eternal punishment, but not of temporal calamities, in which the righteous are often involved with the wicked, though not for the same reasons, and under the same considerations, and for the same ends:
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and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee; the one suffer as the other; that he judged was not agreeable to his divine Majesty; nor are they treated without any difference; what befalls the righteous is not for their sins, nor considered as a punishment for them, nor intended for their hurt, but for their good, as the issue of them proves; but it is the reverse with the wicked:
shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? meaning the Lord, to whom he drew nigh, and was praying to, and pleading with, even the Son of God in human form, who, as he made the world, was the Governor of it and Judge in it; and indeed, as Mediator, has all judgment committed to him, and is appointed to be Judge of quick and dead at the last day, and who does all things that are just and equitable in Providence now; for there is no unrighteousness in him, nor in any of ways and works, and who will judge righteous judgment hereafter. Though by "right" Abraham seems to mean, not strict rigorous justice, but a mixture of mercy with justice, even moderation and clemency; for such are used by earthly judges, with whom it is a maxim, "summum jus summa injuria" (i.e. extreme law, extreme injustice); and therefore Abraham argues, surely the supreme Judge of all the earth will show mercy, and in the midst of deserved wrath remember it, and not deal according to the rules of inexorable and inflexible justice; and to this sense the answer of the Lord inclines.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 25. Shall not the Judge of all the…
Verse 25. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?] God alone is the Judge of all men. Abraham, in thus addressing himself to the person in the text, considers him either as the Supreme Being or his representative.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain With the wicked. God frequently suffers the just to…
With the wicked. God frequently suffers the just to be here the most afflicted; designing to reward them abundantly hereafter. But this was not so common in the days of Abraham and Job. (Calmet)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 25. That be far from thee — An exclamation…
25. That be far from thee — An exclamation of indignant aversion; חללה לךְ; abominable to thee! Shocking to thee would be an act like that!
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 25. That be far from thee] An exclamation of…
25. That be far from thee] An exclamation of deprecation, like “God forbid,” or the Lat. nefas tibi sit. LXX μηδαμῶς, Lat. absit a te. Cf. chap. Gen_20:4, “Lord, wilt thou slay even a righteous nation?”
that so the righteous should be as the wicked] This was one of the great problems of religious thought in ancient Israel. The Book of Job is devoted to the consideration of this mystery of human life. Under a Divine Government of the Universe, should the innocent be consumed in the same overthrow as the evil-doer? If the Israelite’s sense of justice rebelled against the notion that suffering always implied sin, conversely it cherished the hope that the suffering of the innocent might vicariously be for the good of the community.
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the Judge of all the earth] A very remarkable declaration that Jehovah is supreme throughout the world. Whether or not the writer admitted the existence of other gods in other lands, he here asserts the complete sovereignty of Jehovah: cf. Gen_6:1 ff., Gen_8:21-22, Gen_11:1-9. This is not monotheism, but it is the stage next before it. The “Judge” of a Semitic people was ruler, judge, and advocate. God does not judge after the sight of the eyes, or the hearing of the ears, but righteous judgement. Cf. Deu_32:4; Isa_11:3.
do right] Lit. “do judgement.” The Judge (shôphêt) will do judgement (mishpât). This is the foundation of a moral belief.
“Righteousness is one, whether in God or in man. It would be wrong in a human judge or ruler to condemn the righteous with the wicked, or destroy them indiscriminately … The fact that God is God does not withdraw Him and His actions from the sphere of moral judgement. Nothing would be right in God because He is God, which would not be right in Him were He man” (Davidson, Theology of O.T. p. 130). This is one great contrast between the Christian and the Mahommedan view of God.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain That be far from thee literally to profane things…
That be far from thee literally to profane things (be it) to thee nefas sit tibi absit a te! an exclamation of abhorrence, too feebly rendered by mhdamwv (LXX)to do after this manner (literally, according to this word), to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked (literally, and that it should be as the righteous, so the wicked), that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? The patriarch appeals not to Jehovah"s covenant grace (Kurtz), but to his absolute judicial equity (Keil). It does not, however, follow that the Divine righteousness would have been compromised by consigning pious and wicked to the same temporal destruction. This must have been a spectacle not infrequently observed in Abraham"s day as well as ours. Yet the mind of Abraham appears to have been perplexed, as men"s minds often are still, by the magnitude of the proposed illustration of a common principle in Providence. Though prepared to admit the principle when its application is confined to solitary cases, or cases of no great amplitude, yet instinctively the human mind feels that there must be a limit to the commingling of the righteous and the wicked in calamity, though it should be only of a temporal description. That limit Abraham conceived, or perhaps feared that others might conceive, would be passed if good and bad in Sodom should be overwhelmed in a common ruin; and in this spirit the closing utterance of his first supplication may be regarded as giving expression to the hope that Jehovah would do nothing that would even seem to tarnish his Divine righteousness. Abraham of course regarded this as impossible, consequently he believed that Sodom might be spared.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain Shall not the Judge of all the earth do…
Gen_18:25
Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
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God in human history
I. GOD WORKS IN HUMAN HISTORY.
1. He originates all the good.
2. He controls all the evil.
II. GOD WORKS RIGHTEOUSLY IN HUMAN HISTORY. Abraham meant either that God ought to do right, or that He will do right. Both are true. (Homilist.)
The Judge of all the earth doth right
I. THE LORD IS JUDGE OF ALL THE EARTH.
1. The Lord is a judge.
(1) He sees and knows all things (Pro_15:3).
(2) He weighs human actions in the balances of justice (1Sa_2:3).
(3) He rewards the good and punishes the bad, in some instances even in this world.
2. He is the Judge of all the earth.
3. He will finally judge the world in the last great day (Act_17:31). That judgment will be solemn, grand, awful, equitable, and final.
II. IT IS CERTAIN THAT THE JUDGE OF ALL THE EARTH DOTH RIGHT,
1. There is nothing wrong in any voluntary action, but what may be traced up to the following principles: it proceeds, in all instances, either from ignorance or from wickedness.
2. He cannot do wrong for want of knowing better. Speaking after the manner of men, all things, whether past, present, or future, are fully known to Him.
3. He is perfectly holy, and cannot do wrong from any evil principle. Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with Psa_5:4). Viewing His infinite wisdom, and His transcendent purity, we are constrained to say, He cannot do wrong.
4. He doth what is right to men, in all their temporal affairs.
5. He doth right to men in all their spiritual concerns. All men fell in Adam, and all have been redeemed by Christ.
6. He will do right in the eternal rewards and punishments of men.
III. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THIS IMPORTANT SUBJECT.
1. Pious men, of widely different sentiments on the purposes and decrees of God, meet on this ground, and, while they sincerely acknowledge that the Judge of all the earth doth right, may cordially embrace each other in the arms of Christian love.
2. While we are piously impressed with the great truth, that the Judge of all the earth doth right, we shall submit ourselves to Him, in all the varying circumstances of life.
3. We should walk before the Judge of all the earth with circumspection, carefully avoiding everything that is offensive in His sight, and steadily pursuing those things which He approves.
4. While we conduct ourselves on this plan, and at the same time rely on the merits of Christ for salvation, we may safely leave all our affairs in the hands of our Judge.
5. This is matter of great joy to holy men. They may be accused and slandered, hut God will vindicate their character; and they may suffer with Christ, but they shall also reign with Him.
6. But this subject is truly awful and alarming to the wicked. They may be suffered to prosper in this world. There are weighty reasons for this in the
Divine mind; but they stand in slippery places, and ere long will be cast down into destruction. (Sketches of Sermons.)
The moral rectitude of God
I. GOD IS A BEING OF MORAL RECTITUDE.
1. God ought to be a Being of moral rectitude. He knows what is right and wrong respecting His own conduct, and respecting the conduct of all other moral beings in- the universe. He ought therefore to feel and act according to His moral discernment of what is right in the nature of things. And as He feels much more sensibly His obligation to moral rectitude than any other being, so we have far more reason to believe that He possesses moral rectitude, than that any other being in the universe does.
2. God claims to be a Being of moral rectitude. When Moses requested Him to show him His glory, The Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty.
3. God has made His rational creatures capable of discerning His moral as well as natural attributes. He has implanted in their minds a moral sense, by which they can distinguish moral beauty from moral deformity in moral characters. But can we suppose that He would have done this, if He knew that His own moral character would not bear examination?
4. God has not only made us capable of judging of His moral rectitude, but commanded us to do it. Judge, I pray thee, between Me and My vineyard. Are not My ways equal? are not your ways unequal? saith the Lord. His knowledge of His own moral perfections is the only ground upon which He can, with propriety, or even safety, appeal to us in respect to His moral rectitude.
5. God has not only commanded His intelligent creatures to judge of His moral rectitude, but has placed them under the best advantages to judge. He has placed them all in a state of trial, and in different parts of the universe, where they have had great opportunities and strong inclinations to examine His conduct with the strictest scrutiny. Now, if the greatest and best of Gods intelligent creatures, after their strictest scrutiny of His conduct in the various parts of the universe, have not been able to discover the least moral defect or imperfection in His character and conduct, we may confidently believe that He possesses the perfection of moral rectitude. And to close this connected train of reasoning, I would observe--
6. That God has appointed a day for the very purpose of giving all His intelligent creatures the best possible opportunity of judging of His moral rectitude. The day of judgment is called the day of the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
II. How ABRAHAM COULD KNOW THAT GOD IS A BEING OF MORAL RECTITUDE.
1. Abraham could not know the moral rectitude of God by knowing what God would do to promote the highest happiness of the universe.
2. Abraham could not know the moral rectitude of God by knowing that the punishing of the innocent would not promote the highest good of the universe.
3. Though Abraham could not know what would be right or wrong for God to do, either by knowing what had a direct tendency to promote the highest good of the universe, or what had an indirect tendency to promote that great and important object, yet he could know what was right or wrong for God to do to answer any purpose whatever, by knowing that right or wrong or moral good and evil are founded in the nature of things. Moral good, which consists in true benevolence, is morally right in its own nature. And moral evil, which consists in selfishness, is morally wrong in its own nature.
IMPROVEMENT.
1. If God be a Being of moral rectitude, then He can never do evil that good may come.
2. If God be a Being of moral rectitude, then He can never approve of His creatures doing evil that good may come.
3. If God be a Being of moral rectitude, then He will not punish the finally impenitent the less, on account of the good they have done in the world.
4. If God be a Being of moral rectitude, then it is morally impossible that He should ever injure any of His creatures.
5. If God be a Being of moral rectitude, then all the objections which have been made or can be made against His conduct are altogether groundless. For He has always acted agreeably to the moral rectitude of His nature.
6. Since God is a Being of perfect moral rectitude, all His works will eventually praise Him. They will deserve and receive the approbation and praise of all His holy creatures.
7. If God be a Being of moral rectitude, then the weight of His wrath will be insupportable to the finally miserable. They will know that He does not punish them from malice, revenge, or malevolence, but from true, pure, disinterested benevolence and justice. (N. Emmons, D. D.)
Justice
I. Notice the grand fundamental truth that the ways of God are ways of righteousness.
II. That the impartiality of Gods dispensations is evident from the fact that the entire field of judgment is subject to His control, all the earth.
III. That Gods dealings with men are not partial in this life; i.e., they do not involve injustice here to be counterbalanced and rectified by the judgment which is to be hereafter.
IV. That while justice must be tempered with mercy, every appeal for mercy should be grounded on an underlying principle of justice. (The Lay Preacher.)
The moral government of God
I. By the moral government of God is meant His GOVERNMENT OF INTELLIGENT AND ACCOUNTABLE CREATURES ACCORDING TO PRINCIPLES OF MORAL RECTITUDE. It implies a government similar to that which a civil magistrate exercises over his subjects. All government supposes a law, together with an obligation on the part of the governed to obey it, and power lodged with the magistrate to enforce the obligation. In moral governments it is essential that the law should be righteous, and its administration just. An arbitrary and lawless government may inflict punishment where it is undeserved, and confer rewards where they are unmerited; but a righteous governor will regulate his conduct towards his subjects by the moral quality of their characters. He will reward the good; he will punish the wicked. The law of his empire will have its foundation in righteousness, and his subjects will know that instead of being liable to the effects of misrule and caprice, they will be treated with a uniform regard to truth and justice. Such is the notion we form of the moral government of God.
II. And now, having thus explained what is meant by His moral government, I may proceed to point out to you SOME OF THOSE PROOFS AND ILLUSTRATIONS OF ITS EXISTENCE AND ADMINISTRATION WHICH MAY SERVE THE PURPOSES OF GENERAL IMPROVEMENT.
1. Man is a moral agent. A moral agent is a being capable of those actions which are properly the subjects of commendation or of censure, which are either laudable or worthy of blame. He is endowed with intellectual and moral powers. He can distinguish between good and evil. He has a capacity of choice, guided by understanding and reason; a will governed by moral motives and inducements; and a power of acting according to his determination and pleasure. These are some of the most essential and distinguishing attributes of moral agency. Such a being is man. Since, then, the natural constitution of man is so framed--since there is obviously everything in his mental character to render him a fit subject for moral government, it is reasonable to conclude that such a government is actually established over him.
2. The same thing is to be inferred from the supremacy of conscience. It is the office of conscience to preside over and control all the other faculties of our moral nature. To direct the will, to curb the passions, and to regulate the conduct, belongs to conscience. To conscience also it belongs to judge what propensities may be indulged, and in what degree, and which ought to be restrained. Conscience is set up within us as the arbiter of our actions, the superintendent of our senses, affections, and appetites; and the judge who shall bestow commendation or censure on all our principles and motives.
3. The tendency of mankind to institute moral governments among themselves is an argument in favour of the moral government of God. Such a tendency, from its almost universal development, may be considered as among the original properties of our nature. It seems to fall in with mans natural perceptions of the fitness of things, not only that he should live in society with his fellow-men, but that society should be so framed as to involve moral subordination and supremacy--that, in other words, there should be governors and the governed.
4. The course of events in the present dispensation of Providence, is upon the whole so ordered as to indicate on the part of the Supreme Disposer a preference for virtue in distinction from vice. In this constitution of things, therefore, we have a declaration from Him who orders all the arrangements of providence, and presides over the course of natural events, which side He is of, and what part He takes in the great conflict between moral good and evil. In the struggle which is carrying on between these opposite and contending principles, He determines to give no countenance to vice. The worker of iniquity shall have no sanction from Him; but if a man will be true to virtue, to veracity and judgment, to equity and charity, and to the right of the case in whatever he is concerned, he shall have the righteous God to be the Protector of his integrity, and the whole weight of His moral administration to countenance and uphold it. For the voice of nature, and the events of providence, concur to proclaim aloud that the Lord loveth the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked He turneth upside down.
5. The moral government of God is the only proper basis upon which religion can be made to rest with security. If men can once discard from their minds the fact of their responsibility to their Creator, nothing will remain upon which to build any sense of piety, or by which to enforce the claims of religious faith and duty.
6. The moral government of God has received its grand proof and establishment in the scheme of human redemption. True it is, that the prevailing character in the mediatorial economy is mercy. It is a dispensation of grace. Its design is to pardon the guilty, to save the lost. But, in making its wonderful provision for the spiritual exigencies of man, it does no violence to the righteous claims of God. If it had, such a circumstance would have been conclusive against it. It would then have been a method of salvation upon which no satisfactory or enlightened dependence could be placed. But it is now worthy of all acceptation, being alike honourable to justice and mercy. If grace reigns, it reigns through righteousness. (E. Steane.)
The principles of Gods government
I. In the first place, THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD PROCEEDS ON PRINCIPLES OF PURE COMPASSION AND LOVE.
II. THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD IS NOT LESS MARKED BY PRINCIPLES OF PURITY AND JUSTICE THAN BY THOSE OF COMPASSION.
III. THE DIVINE GOVERNMENT GOES ON THE PRINCIPLE OF PREVENTION.
IV. Observe THE SPIRIT OF REFORMATION AND AMENDMENT WHICH PREVAILS THROUGHOUT THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD. (J. W.Cunningham, M. A.)
Abrahams intercession, or, doubt and confidence
Observe the great honour which the Lord conferred upon His faithful servant. Surely this signal recognition of personal worth and faithful service speaks volumes of the esteem in which the Lord holds His servants. Observe, again, the unselfish use which Abraham made of the wonderful interview with which he was honoured. Men of the world, when ushered into the presence of royalty, only think of their own interest; they consider well how such an opportunity may be improved for their own personal advantage. How very different the conduct of Abraham! Observe, again, the nature of the plea which Abraham sets up for the preservation of the city. He points out the claims of righteousness, which the Lord, as a righteous judge, could not less than respect. Wilt Thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? And the Lord readily admitted the validity of his plea, for He said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then will I spare all the place for their sakes. Thus the only thing which God values in man is righteousness, purity of character; compared with this, the accidents of birth, possessions, attainments, are utterly insignificant in His eyes. In the conversation which followed, Abraham not only showed his intimate knowledge of Gods merciful disposition, but showed also that this intimate knowledge was far from being perfect. Let us contemplate the words--
I. As AN EXPRESSION OF DOUBT. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? With regard to what the Judge of all the earth ought to do, there can be but one opinion. The position of any judge is one of dignity, authority, and responsibility; he cannot, therefore, maintain his position for a single day unless he do right, and execute justice, and act impartially. Nevertheless, a superficial view of the condition of this world--a world so full of confusion, disorder, and lawlessness--have led some to doubt the righteousness of its great Judge and Governor. Let us now glance, for a moment, at some of the circumstances which give rise to these distressing thoughts.
1. When right is defeated, and wrong is triumphant. In this world, it is might that triumphs, and not right. Read the records of the past, and see how empires grew, waxed strong, and acquired wealth. In very many instances it was the work of the sword, the result of military skill, valour, and power. What was Alexander the Great? What was Julius Caesar? What was Napoleon Buonaparte? What was the nature of the work which they severally accomplished? They were neither more nor less than conquerors; men who established the dominion of might. They may have sometimes been the champions of right, and used their splendid victories for the best purposes. Look at individuals. The mighty, the powerful, the strong, have it all their own way; while the weak are ruthlessly trampled under foot. And many a down-trodden weak one, knowing the righteousness of his cause, whispers in the bitterness of his soul, Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?
2. When wickedness prospers and virtue fails. There can be no dispute whatever as to which ought to prosper, and which ought to fail. It is only reasonable to suppose that the order of things established by a Creator who is infinitely wise and good, should discountenance vice and favour virtue.
3. When what we conceive to be strict order is displaced by what seems to be utter confusion. Can you look back upon the experience of a single day, and say that all things have been conformable to your own notions of propriety? Does not the most superficial review suggest many improvements? It was strange to see King Edward the Sixth, under whose beneficent reign England began to enjoy the blessings of freedom, enlightenment, and true religion, cut off a tender youth, to make room for the tyrannical and bloodthirsty Mary, who brought upon the land darkness, oppression, and despair. The only child of rich parents, who have more possessions than they can possibly use, is carried away by death, while their poor neighbour, who finds it a difficult matter to earn the bare means of existence, is allowed to rear a numerous family. Is this the way we should have arranged matters?
II. As AN EXPRESSION OF CONFIDENCE. Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? There can be no doubt whatever that Abraham used them in this sense--to express his unlimited confidence in the wisdom and righteousness of God. Having trusted God, he trusted Him altogether; and never allowed even the shadow of a doubt to darken the brightness of his faith. Many considerations might be suggested here which are adapted in the highest degree to hush our doubts, and to inspire our confidence. Consider--
1. That in this world we know Gods ways only in part. What may be the entire bearing, or the ultimate issue of any event, we have no means of ascertaining.
2. That whenever we have understood the whole bearing of mysterious events, we have been compelled to admit their wisdom.
3. That things which are apparently evil and unnecessary, may be really good and necessary. (D. Rowlands, B. A.)
God makes no mistakes
There is here a young man of about thirty, of fine talents and capabilities for active life, but for years a cripple, paralytic and helpless. He would starve if left alone, A friend was commiserating his condition, when, with deep earnestness, he exclaimed, as he slowly raised his withered hand, God makes no mistakes? How noble the sentiment! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? This is piety. Only a heart divinely taught could thus speak. (Dr. Talmage.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.