“I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the LORD, the Most High.” — Psalm 7:17

There are passages in Scripture that can make us uncomfortable. God strikes down Nadab and Abihu for offering unauthorized fire. Uzzah touches the ark and dies. Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed. Scripture warns of a final judgment and an eternal hell.

We may read these accounts and quietly wonder, Was that too severe? Did the punishment really fit the crime?

But Scripture never apologizes for the judgments of God. Instead, it praises Him for them. The problem is not that God's standard of justice is too high. The problem is that our understanding of God's holiness—and therefore the seriousness of our sin—is far too low.

God's perfect righteousness should cause us to praise His justice, fear His judgments, and marvel at His mercy.

The Judge of All the Earth Is Righteous

David declares, “God is a righteous judge” (Psalm 7:11). God's righteousness means that He always is, does, and upholds what is perfectly right, in complete consistency with His holy character. His justice is that righteousness expressed toward His creatures.

Human judges can make mistakes. Evidence can be misunderstood. Motives can be hidden. Corruption and favoritism can distort a verdict.

None of that is possible with God.

“The righteous God tests the hearts and minds” (Psalm 7:9). He never misreads the evidence, condemns an innocent person, overlooks evil, or imposes an unjust sentence. Abraham therefore asked the great rhetorical question, “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” (Genesis 18:25).

He always will.

That is good news. Evil will not have the final word. Every injustice that escapes human courts remains before the heavenly Judge. A universe in which God simply ignored wickedness would not be loving or good. It would itself be unjust.

This is why David can praise God for His righteousness. Perfect justice is not a blemish upon God's character. It is one of His glories.

We Should Tremble at His Justice

If God's judgments sometimes seem severe to us, Scripture challenges us to reconsider our view of sin rather than God's righteousness.

When Adam sinned, God had already warned that disobedience would bring death (Genesis 2:17). Paul states the same truth plainly: “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

That helps us understand accounts such as Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10 or Uzzah in 1 Chronicles 13. Their deaths shock us because we have become accustomed to delayed judgment. Yet neither was condemned by an impulsive or temperamental deity. The perfectly holy God rendered righteous judgment against sin.

The same is true of final judgment. Romans 2:5 warns that the unrepentant are “storing up wrath” for the day when “God's righteous judgment will be revealed.”

These truths should produce a healthy fear of God. Sin is not a minor defect or harmless mistake. It is rebellion against our holy Creator. And if God gave every sinner strict justice, none of us could stand.

Which means the truly astonishing question is not, Why does God judge sinners?

It is, Why does God show mercy to any of us?

Never Take Mercy for Granted

We live every day surrounded by God's patience. We wake up, breathe His air, enjoy His creation, receive good gifts, and experience countless expressions of His kindness.

Because that mercy is so abundant, we can begin to treat it as something God owes us.

But mercy, by definition, can never be owed.

Romans 2:4 tells us that God's kindness is intended to lead us to repentance. Every day that judgment is delayed is therefore not evidence that God takes sin lightly. It is another undeserved expression of His patience.

We should not be shocked that sinners experience suffering and death. We should be amazed that sinners receive another breath. We should marvel that God patiently calls rebels to repent. And above everything else, we should stand astonished that God has provided a way for guilty sinners to be forgiven without compromising His justice.

That brings us to Calvary.

Justice and Mercy Meet at the Cross

The clearest revelation of God's righteousness is not ultimately found in Sodom, the flood, or the death of Uzzah.

It is found at the cross of Jesus Christ.

Romans 3:25–26 tells us that God presented Christ as a sacrifice for sin “to show God's righteousness,” so that He might be both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

God cannot simply pretend our sins never happened. A righteous Judge must uphold justice. Sin must be punished.

And at Calvary, it was.

Jesus Christ, the only truly innocent man who ever lived, willingly stood in the place of guilty sinners. He bore the judgment our sins deserved. God's righteous wrath against sin fell upon His Son so that everyone who trusts in Christ could receive mercy without God's justice being compromised.

Jesus willingly received the justice we deserved so that we could receive the mercy we never deserved.

This is the glory of the gospel.

At the cross, God does not lower His standard of righteousness in order to save us. His righteousness is perfectly upheld. The debt is paid. Justice is satisfied. And the sinner who trusts in Christ is freely forgiven, clothed in Christ's righteousness, and welcomed into God's family.

So we should tremble at God's justice. We should never presume upon His mercy. But above all, we should marvel at the cross.

The righteous Judge has provided salvation for the guilty through His own Son.

And with David, all who have received that mercy can gladly say:

“I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness.”