Monday, September 26, 2005

Love the Law (8)

Good judges will know and love God’s law.

I hate and abhor falsehood but I love your law.
Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws.
Great peace have they who love your law,
and nothing can make them stumble (Psalm 119:163-165).
A judge should praise the wisdom of Gods law seven times a day. Love of the law will prevent many mistakes.

Ezra was told to appoint judges “who know the laws of your God” (Ezra 7:25). He was also instructed to teach those who do not know them. Christian theologians will have a role in teaching judges about the meaning of the law.

Modern day judges are trained academically. They learn about legal interpretation and the principle of precedence. These things are really important, but they know very little about God’s law. This is a recipe for injustice.

Unfortunately, very few Christians love the law. Most misinterpret Psalm 119 as a command to love the scriptures. This is a distortion of an important truth. The entire psalm is devoted to the wonder of the law. Our refusal to love the law might be one reason we lack wisdom about government.

No comments: