Message Notes

(I) SINGING OF THE THEME OF MERCY AND JUSTICE

“I will sing of mercy and justice; to You, O Lord, I will sing praises.” Psalm 101:1

1. The consideration of mercy and justice

2. Mercy and justice are foundational

“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face.” Psalm 89:14

3. The focus on a sense of justice

(II) UNDERSTANDING THE JUSTICE OF GOD

1. As a Great God, He administers justice

“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality nor takes a bribe. He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving him food and clothing. Therefore love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Deuteronomy 10:18, 19

a) He shows no partiality

b) He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow

2. The law taught that there should be the administration of just judgment

“You shall appoint judges and officers in all your gates, which the Lord your God gives you, according to your tribes, and they shall judge the people with just judgment. You shall not pervert justice; you shall not show partiality, nor take a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and twists the words of the righteous. You shall follow what is altogether just,…” Deuteronomy 16:18-20

a) There should be just judgment

b) There should be no perversion of justice…no partiality

3. A personal experience of the justice of God

a) David’s pride in counting his army ( 2 Samuel 24 )

b) God’s justice

(III) AN EXAMPLE OF HAVING A GOOD SENSE OF JUSTICE

1. David’s pre-requisite in having a good sense of justice is a personal desire to behave wisely

“I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.” Psalm 101:2

a) Externally

b) Internally

c) A personal desire to wisely behavior would help us develop a sense of justice

2. The dispensing of justice against the wicked

a) Discerning those who are wicked or faithful

i) Avoiding all that is wicked

“I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness.” Psalm 101:3, 4

ii) Associating with the faithful

“My eyes shall be on the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me; he who walks in a perfect way, he shall serve me.” Psalm 101:6

b) David sought to dispense justice against those who are wicked

“Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, Him I will destroy; the one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure. He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence. Early I will destroy all the wicked of the land, that I may cut off all the evildoers from the city of the Lord.” Psalm 101:5, 7, 8

(IV) THE CHALLENGE TO SING OF THE LORD’S MERCY AND JUSTICE

“I will sing of mercy and justice; to You, O Lord, I will sing praises.” Psalm 101:1

1. Recognise our need to know the justice of God

2. Developing a personal sense of justice in our life

3. Singing about the justice and mercy of the Lord to Him