My flesh trembles for fear of You, and I am afraid of Your judgments.
Psalm 119:120
If you recall, in the prior verses of Psalm 119, we learn that God will bring judgment on the wicked. God is righteous and He demonstrates perfect justice. It is very hard for sinful people to truly comprehend absolute righteousness. We are used to comparing ourselves to other people, and when we look at those who are outwardly exceedingly wicked, we can feel pretty good about ourselves. But that is not really an accurate picture of what we are like.
The Scriptures paint a vivid picture of our nature apart from Christ. We are all sinners (Romans 3:23). Our hearts are full of deceit (Jeremiah 17:9). We are enemies of Christ (Romans 5:10). The list can go on and on. And then there is God. He is holy (Isaiah 6:3). He is righteous and just (Psalm 89:14). The descriptions could not paint a picture of greater opposites. Romans 5 makes it clear that unbelievers are “ungodly.” That means that we are the exact opposite of all that God is.
The fact that God was willing to save us and make us new in Christ should magnify our worship of God. Far too many professing Christians see God more as a buddy than One to be worshipped. The truth is, we should respond as the psalmist. We must bow the knee and be in awe of having a relationship with the living God. The only reason that we could possibly have a relationship with a just God is through the substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a great price. The way we respond to God should reflect an understanding of who we were outside of Christ and the cost of our redemption. When we finally come into the presence of the Lord, there is no doubt that we will bow in humble adoration. I expect we will all be shocked at what true righteousness looks like!
