This is the fourth post in an Advent blog series. Read last week’s blog in this series.
He rules the world with truth and grace
and makes the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness
and wonders of his love,
and wonders of his love,
and wonders, wonders of his love.
As the Israelites awaited the coming Messiah, many expected a strong, fearless military or political leader. Some anticipated a ruler who would be greater than the kings and judges they had known.
They did not expect the Messiah to be born in a stable among smelly animals and hay or to be the son of a simple carpenter. They did not expect Jesus.
This Messiah would rule the world, though perhaps not in the way they imagined. As the fourth stanza of “Joy to the World” says, He rules with truth, grace, righteousness, and love.
Righteous Love
“The Lord has made his salvation known and revealed his righteousness to the nations. He has remembered his love and his faithfulness to Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. … let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.” -Psalm 98:2-3, 9
God is righteous. What that means is God is completely just. He does not sweep sin under the rug; He addresses every iniquity justly and carries out the punishments with fairness.
“God’s righteousness (or justice) is the natural expression of His holiness. If He is infinitely pure, then He must be opposed to all sin, and that opposition to sin must be demonstrated in His treatment of His creatures. When we read that God is righteous or just, we are being assured that His actions toward us are in perfect agreement with His holy nature.” -Richard L. Strauss
God also judges the world with equity, meaning He employs His righteousness on both His enemies and His children. People are used to headlines of corrupt public figures trying to hide the crimes of their loved ones. This is not how God operates. Even the Israelites, His chosen people, were not exempt from the wrath of His judgement.
This is bad news for those who sin, which is all people. But while God rules with truth and righteousness, He also rules with grace and love. The Lord executes judgement on all sin, and yet He knows that all people have fallen short of His perfect standard and are incapable of paying the debt for their sin. And so, He promised a Messiah, one who would bring justice and salvation to all peoples.
More than 2,000 years ago, the Messiah arrived. He was mighty but not ruthless. He was fair but not cruel. He did not have a noble birth, and He brought an unexpected grace and mercy. Humbly, He stepped down from his heavenly throne to come to Earth. And, humbly again, He gave up His life to satisfy the wrath of God for our sins.
Upon His resurrection, God gave Him authority over Heaven and Earth, allowing Him to rule with righteousness and love. And this Messiah, Jesus, was given another role—our Defender to advocate on our behalf before God, the Judge.
“But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” -1 John 2:1b
Jesus not only paid the penalty for our sins but also advocates for the fact that we are forgiven in Him. That is a wondrous love.
The Lord is just, ruling with truth and righteousness; and He is wonderful, freely giving grace and love. The world did not realize that a baby laid in a manger would be the Messiah it would need, but it didn’t take long for a song of joy to begin.