Acts 22-23 tells the story of Paul defending himself to the Jewish authorities after his arrest, one of several legal trials he will endure before the end of his earthly Apostolic career. Courtroom imagery and language can be found throughout this morning’s service: see how often you find terms like “judge,” “justice,” “acquitted,” “condemned,” and “plea” in the bulletin. Hallelujah, Praise Jehovah(a versification of Psalm 146) invites us to praise our God, who has the power to “set the mourning prisoner free” and sends “judgment on the wicked.” We read and sing from Psalm 82, which pictures God holding judgment in a rather mysterious “divine council,” warning against unjust partiality towards the wicked, and encouraging justice to the weak and poor. Hymns like Rejoice, The Lord IsKing and O Lord Most High (Psalm 9) call Jesus “the judge,” who is seated on His “judgment throne” where He makes “perfect justice known.” In contrast to the Gospel Invitation from John 3, which declares that Christ did not come “into the world to condemn,” Psalm 110 (which we sing in the second half of the service) looks forward to great kings and nations being “justly condemned beneath His rule.” But the trial imagery can also be comforting: the hymn Before The Throne Of God reassures us with a courtroom scene in which God, who is indeed “just,” is satisfied to look on Jesus and pardon guilty sinners like us.
—Henry C. Haffner
