I think we miss the term "judge" sometimes. I hear the word "judge" and I think of condemnation, rejection and other nasty experiences. Yet, in this psalm my version of "judge" gets challenged. Does it do the same for you?
I can't help but get caught up in the drum-beat of worship that echoes through all creation. God has once again brought salvation to the people, and all the earth rejoices. And we get really excited because God is coming to... judge? Argh! Run, judgment is coming! But wait, are we supposed to be excited or scared of the coming judge?
I think, because we train ourselves to think only of our unworthiness, the judge is terrifying. We register "guilty" by our names, and have seen enough episodes of Law and Order to know that we are going to be condemned. But we forget that our unworthiness, while theologically sound, is not the end of the story. The end of the story is God's glory being known throughout the earth, and God's justice prevailing. And God's justice, if we believe the prophetic visions of God's future, is of acceptance, not rejection. So perhaps, as I think of the coming judge, I don't see a black robe ready to sentence me, but the one who will change me so that I won't be guilty anymore.
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