Psalm 85:10
“Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”
In this verse we have a figure of speech called “personification,” by which the attributes of God are represented as actions of human beings. In this we observe the harmony of God’s divine attributes in Christ’s undertaking of our salvation.
Because of Christ’s work, God shows mercy upon the fallen race without violating His truth and justice. In Him mercy and truth are met together, righteousness and peace kiss each other. Separated for a time, now joined, they are at-one in Him. Christ as Mediator not only brought heaven and earth, God and man, together. He also joined together forever the divine attributes of God.
Some persons dwell on God’s mercy but not His justice. Others focus the attention on the justice of God to the neglect of His mercy. At times we are apt to lose sight of either or both of these prerogatives. However, we must keep in mind that God is infinite in every perfection. A prerogative is a right or power belonging to a person by virtue of rank, position or character.
God’s prerogatives of justice and mercy are equal in rank and authority. They are clothed with imperative power. Both have a right to require and demand priority. These prerogatives we will consider in this chapter.
Justice and mercy are twins, but not identical.
They are not one and the same. Each has an identity of its own. Lucifer (later became known as Satan), the angel who sinned and defected from the government of God, challenged God’s justice and mercy. Sin brought questions to the minds of all intelligent creatures in the universe concerning the prerogatives of justice and mercy during the war of the universe between God and Lucifer.
From the beginning of the controversy, Lucifer was at odds with God’s moral law (see John 8:44, 45; Isaiah 14:12-14). Because justice and mercy are foundational to the government of God and therefore to His law, conflict arose concerning the pardon of sin. If justice should be found inconsistent with mercy, it would be impossible for sinners to be forgiven. If God’s law should be broken, then every violation of it must be punished. And if mercy should be extended, God would not be a God of justice and of truth. From legal proceedings in our own day we observe that Satan’s purpose has been to divorce mercy from justice.
After making man in His image, God carefully and specifically informed Adam about the single forbidden tree placed in the garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9, 16, 17). Lucifer knew that in some manner the prerogative of justice had to be revealed to man. He knew well the attributes of God. He knew that God’s government must stand by virtue of the unity of the prerogatives of God, and accordingly, that it must fall by separating these same prerogatives.
The great mastermind of evil knew God better than any other created being. He knew where and how to strike a telling blow against God. Attributes most despised by Lucifer are the prerogatives of truth, justice and mercy. These he was compelled to assault.
Lucifer thought that if God should exercise any one of His prerogatives, others would have to be set aside. He reasoned that if justice should be exercised, then mercy would have to go. But if mercy should be exhibited, then truth and justice would be denied.
The enemy of God and man laid well his plans. That which worked in heaven was now set into motion against Adam.
Step one: through the medium of influence of mind upon mind he enticed Eve to sin.
Step two: Eve in turn by the same principle of mind influencing mind, led Adam into sinning against God’s express command.
Step three: thus Lucifer hoped to create a gulf between the sovereign prerogatives of truth, justice and mercy.
Consider this scenario of the personification of God’s prerogatives in relation to Himself after sin entered the human race:
Truth: Is it not true that You fixed a punishment for man if he should disobey? If You are true, You are obligated to follow that which is true.
Mercy: If You are merciful, You must have mercy on fallen man. If You can have no mercy on him, You cannot be called merciful.
Justice: Are You not called just and righteous? If You are just, You will exercise punishment on the transgressor. If You do not, You cannot be just.
Peace fled from the heart of God.
Through sin Satan succeeded in separating not only man from God, but also the prerogatives of the justice and mercy of God. There is nothing in the universe by which finite minds can compare the rending of the divine attributes within God Himself. Satan thought the gulf separating justice and mercy could not be spanned.
With an intensity that defies description, both fallen and unfallen beings watched the unfolding of the principles of truth, justice and mercy in man’s redemption.(1 Peter 1:10-12). Angels studied into the significance of the sacrificial system established after man fell. Later, when the tabernacle was built in the wilderness, they studied that earthly typical sanctuary and its services. The mercy seat covered the ark that enshrined the tables of the law. Here was foreshadowed Christ, the mysterious Mercy-seat of God. Here God was revealed. He was revealed as both just to His law and as the justifier of the repenting, believing sinner (Romans 3:25, 26; Hebrews 2:17; 1 John 4:10).
It took nothing less than the cross of Calvary to settle the question raised by sin. The cross was the mysterious medium used by God to reconcile His own prerogatives. Not only man and God were drawn together by the death of Christ, but also justice and mercy. The cross alone was the bridge by which the gulf produced by sin could be spanned and thus the prerogatives of God could be reunited.
Paul caught a glimpse of the glory of the cross as on it Christ reconciled the things of heaven as well as those of earth:
“It pleased the Father that in Him [Christ] all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of the cross … in the body of His flesh through death …” (Colossians 1:19-22).
The agonizing, questioning cry of Christ, “My God, My God! Why have You forsaken Me?” echoed God’s own breaking heart as He as well as Jesus felt the conflict between infinite emotions in the rending asunder of His own attributes of justice and mercy. This was part of the horrible experience of the atonement from God’s standpoint in affliction. In all of Christ’s affliction He was afflicted. Especially through the cross, Christ gave to man a new revelation of God. Yes, God and man were reconciled. But more than this, through the death of Christ justice and mercy within God’s very being were at-one-ment also! Just before His committal prayer, Jesus made His last declaration, “It is finished” And as Justice approached the cross in reverent submission, Mercy echoed, “It is finished,” and replied, “It is enough.”
Thus through the cross, Christ reconciled “things in heaven”—the holy attributes of justice, and mercy and truth. When Christ was uplifted on the cross, He drew both justice and mercy across the gulf of separation. In Christ, God reconciled the world unto Himself; in Christ God reconciled His own attributes of justice and mercy.
Full of significance are the words of Christ when He said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all to Myself” (John 12:32). (The word “men” is in italics to indicate that it was added.) Not only is man drawn to Jesus, but the very attributes of God are pulled across the gulf that sin produced. The devil’s charges were proved to be false. God’s government and His administration were found to be flawless. Justice and mercy and truth were vindicated and honored. One day Satan will bow down and concede and confess that the conflict he generated was forever settled beyond question.
Psalm 85:10, personifying God’s attributes, reveals the work of the cross and sums up the healing process in the heart of God. “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness [justice] and peace have kissed each other.”
Because of Christ’s work of reconciling the prerogatives of justice and mercy, each stand separate in all their exalted dignities, yet they are united. Because of the cross and the consequent reconciliation between the divine prerogatives, mercy becomes a terrible power to punish sin while justice demands forgiveness for all who believe. The believing sinner has a right, based on God’s justice, to ask God to revive him and to deliver him from trouble. Because of mercy the Psalmist asked that his enemies be cut off:
“Revive me, O Lord, for Your name’s sake! For Your righteousness’ [justice’s] sake bring my soul out of trouble. In Your mercy cut off my enemies, and destroy all those who afflict my soul; for I am Your servant” (Psalm 143:11, 12).
Compare that with the following proverbial saying written by Solomon: “By mercy and truth iniquity is purged” (Proverbs 16:6, KJV). On the one hand, God’s mercy is involved not only in showing clemency, compassion and sympathy, but also in execution and in punishing sin. Justice, on the other hand, is exercised in forgiveness and cleansing from sin. It is because of justice that we have a right to a Savior. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
Man considers justice as the reason we should not be pardoned, knowing we deserve to be punished. Justice must be satisfied. But justice has been satisfied. Because of this, justice has a royal right to declare forgiveness to anyone who believes in Jesus as his Substitute and Savior. Rather than a barrier to justification, the justice of God is the very ground and reason for it. It is God’s argument in our behalf. Notice what Paul wrote concerning this:
“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness [justice], because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness [justice], that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:24-26).
Clearly, justification by faith rests on God’s justice.
Justification is an act of His justice. This is because Christ exhausted the penalty of justice on our behalf, in our stead, in our place. Then, when we believe, justice demands our justification. We call for mercy, but justice answers. As a just God, He cannot condemn the believer, since Christ dissipated the sentence against us. The attribute that seemed both to Satan and man to be the reason for God not to forgive is the very basis for why He does pardon us through faith in Christ.
Because of the reconciliation of the divine prerogatives, compromise with sin is not allowed and the claims of justice are not ignored. Each attribute of God is given its ordained place. Mercy’s clemency and compassionate character are not destroyed when mercy punishes sinful, impenitent man devoid of remorse who throws away God’s gift of Christ to him. And without violating its integrity, justice is exercised in pardoning the repentant transgressor.
Through mercy Christ became a curse for us. Consequently, we have been redeemed from the curse, according to justice. Because of justice we have a right to claim Christ as our Savior. Because we are sinners we are entitled to come to Christ.
Like a flash of lightning, Satan and his accusations fell from the affections of the watching universe when the redemption price was paid.
Since the cross of Christ, the devil has changed his tactics.
Now he claims that because of Christ’s death, justice is set aside. The mercy and love of God are offered as his message to man, minus justice. Today many in Christianity are convinced that not only the penalty for sin was abolished, but also the justice of God. Mercy according to this doctrine distances itself from justice. But no, God’s mercy manifested to mankind through Jesus does not set aside justice.
The last battle of the universe will be over the prerogatives considered in this chapter. Satan’s claim that God’s mercy destroyed justice at the cross has implications for us today. While he clothes God with his own tyrannical attributes, he advocates a sentimental love that veils the law, justice and retributive punishment. It matters not to Satan how he accomplishes his nefarious work. He needs confusion to establish himself. He attempts to amalgamate the meanings of justice and mercy into a single meaning when he cannot separate them.
God’s message for the last days will present both justice and mercy. Each attribute will be allowed to stand distinct but united in their sovereign majesties. The meeting together—the linking—of these prerogatives means they are forever inseparable. In Christ, they are always found side by side in every situation.