“Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne:
mercy and truth shall go before thy face.”
(Psalm 89:14)
God’s throne of grace rests entirely on foundations that cannot be shaken. Though the introduction of sin into the world opened the way for judgment and forfeited every claim to communion with the Creator and eternal blessedness, God’s mercy prevailed. He established His throne from which mercy could be extended without compromising His righteousness, so that guilty sinners might be pardoned and brought again into His favor.
Justice forms one foundation of this throne. God gives what is right according to the perfect righteousness of His nature. His law requires complete obedience, and every good promised as a result of that obedience must be granted where its demands are fully met. Fallen man cannot provide such obedience. In the Garden he lost the opportunity to fulfill the law perfectly and, as a result, cannot fulfill the righteousness necessary for acceptance before God.[1]
Judgment forms the other foundation. Sin must be condemned and justice must be satisfied. Moreover, divine wrath must pursue guilt until satisfaction has been rendered. And no finite creature can provide an infinite satisfaction sufficient to answer divine justice.
No help could therefore be found among men or angels. Men were both guilty and unable. Angels, though capable of obedience, owed their obedience for themselves and could not answer for sinners of another nature. The entire creation lacked what was necessary to establish a throne of grace for the guilty. Only One was found able, the Son of God Himself.
Christ became fully man while remaining fully God. He assumed the same human nature in which sin had been committed, possessing a true body and soul. Yet because He was also the eternal Son, His obedience and suffering possessed infinite worth. In His one person, the requirements of both justice and judgment could be fully answered.
Christ provided the foundation of justice through His perfect obedience. He fulfilled all righteousness, obeying universally, perfectly, constantly, and voluntarily. No command was neglected, no degree of obedience lacking, and no temptation caused him to turn aside. He delighted to do the Father’s will and remained obedient unto death. Thus the law received from Him the complete righteousness it required.
Christ also provided the foundation of judgment by suffering in the place of sinners. He was made a curse for His people and bore the demands of divine justice without resistance. The sentence against sin was executed upon Him until satisfaction was complete. He answered all that justice required so that mercy might flow freely to guilty sinners without any injury to the holiness or righteousness of God.
Every pardon comes through the obedience and blood of Christ. Every gracious acceptance of a sinner rests upon foundations laid at immeasurable cost. This gives believers abundant reason for thanksgiving. Their access to God, forgiveness, acceptance, and hope of eternal blessedness rest fully in the finished work of the incarnate Son and the unchangeable righteousness of God Himself.
Contemplations:
- Thanking You for a Throne of Grace. Thank You that You did not leave me before a throne of judgment with no hope of mercy. My sin forfeited every claim to Your favor, yet You provided a way by which I may draw near without Your justice being denied. You established a throne of grace where pardon may be obtained and help may be found. I am ever grateful that Your mercy toward me is not uncertain or contrary to righteousness but rests on foundations You Yourself have laid.
- Thanking You for the Perfect Obedience of Christ. Thank You that the righteousness Your law required has been fully rendered by Your Son. I could never obey universally, perfectly, constantly, and willingly as Your law demands. Yet Christ did. He fulfilled all righteousness, resisted every temptation, obeyed every command, and continued faithfully unto death. You provided a foundation that cannot fail because it rests in the obedience of the One who never sinned and never turned aside from Your will.
- Thanking You for Justice Satisfied. Your judgment against evil is righteous, and the curse of the law could not simply be removed without satisfaction. Yet Christ stood in the place of His people and bore what justice demanded. He was made a curse and answered the sentence due to sin. No part of the debt remains unpaid and no claim of justice stands unanswered against those who are in Him. Every pardon You grant through Christ is righteous as well as gracious, because His suffering has fully satisfied the judgment Your holiness required.
- Thanking You for Access Purchased at Such a Cost. Thank You that every gracious approach to You has been purchased by the obedience and blood of Your Son. Christ laid the foundations of the throne of grace through His life and death. I may come near because He stood in my place. Let me never treat lightly what cost Him so dearly. Every prayer heard, every mercy received, every assurance granted, and every hope of glory comes through the wounds of my Redeemer and displays the greatness of Your grace.
Prayer (Thanksgiving):
Righteous and merciful God, I thank You for establishing a throne of grace for guilty sinners. Sin separated me from Your favor and left me unable to satisfy the demands of Your law, yet You provided what no creature could supply.
Thank You for sending Your own Son. He became truly man so that He might obey and suffer in the nature that had sinned, yet He remained truly God so that His obedience and death would possess infinite worth.
Thank You for the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ. He fulfilled every command, resisted every temptation, and remained obedient unto death. The law received from Him everything it required.
Thank You also that justice was fully satisfied in His sufferings. You did not ignore sin or weaken Your judgment. Christ bore the curse and answered every demand of Your justice. Because of Him, mercy may be shown without any compromise of Your righteousness.
My pardon, acceptance, access, and hope do not rest on my performance, but on foundations laid by Christ Himself. Every gracious favor I receive comes through His obedience and blood.
Make me grateful for every mercy, tender toward sin, and deeply conscious of the price at which access to You was secured.
Through Jesus Christ, receive my thanksgiving for a salvation in which justice is satisfied, mercy is exalted, and grace reigns in perfect righteousness.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Further Scripture References:
Ps. 97:2; Deut. 32:4; Rev. 15:3; Ps. 99:4
[1] Thomas Boston, The Whole Works of Thomas Boston: An Explication of the Assembly’s Shorter Catechism, ed. Samuel M‘Millan, vol. 7 (Aberdeen: George and Robert King, 1850), 621-628.
