Wisdom 5:17-23: a reflection

17He will take his zeal as complete armor, and will make the whole creation his weapons to punish his enemies: 18He will put on righteousness as a breastplate, and will wear impartial judgment as a helmet. 19He will take holiness as an invincible shield. 20He will sharpen stern wrath for a sword. The universe will go with him to fight against his frenzied foes. 21Shafts of lightning will fly with true aim. They will leap to the mark from the clouds, as from a well-drawn bow. 22Hailstones full of wrath will be hurled as from a catapult. The water of the sea will be angered against them. Rivers will sternly overwhelm them. 23A mighty wind will encounter them. It will winnow them away like a tempest. So lawlessness will make all the land desolate. Their evil-doing will overturn the thrones of princes.

In a striking image, the book of Wisdom pictures God arming himself to set right a world gone wrong. He will put on righteousness as a breastplate, it says, and will wear impartial judgment as a helmet; he will take holiness as an invincible shield. God is pictured as a warrior arrayed for battle, but his armor is his own righteousness, justice, and holiness; his commitment is to set things right, to see that wrong does not have the last word. This is not a portrait of arbitrary force but of God's settled commitment to justice; he arms himself, as it were, with righteousness, and creation itself stands ready to serve his cause. God is committed to righteousness; he will act to set the world right, arrayed in his own justice and holiness. The wrong that seems to prevail will not prevail forever, for God is committed to setting things right.

Notice what God's armor is: his own righteousness, justice, and holiness. The image is of a warrior, but the armor is not brute force; it is righteousness as a breastplate, impartial judgment as a helmet, holiness as a shield. This pictures God's settled commitment to justice, his resolve to set right a world gone wrong. He is not indifferent to the wrong and injustice of the world; he is committed to acting against it, arrayed in his own righteousness. This is a comfort to those who long for wrong to be set right: God is committed to it, and his righteousness and holiness are, as it were, his armor for the task. The injustice that seems to prevail is not the last word; God will act to set things right. His commitment to righteousness is not passive but active, arrayed for the setting-right of the world. God cares that wrong be answered, and he will answer it.

That is worth resting in, for God is committed to righteousness and will act to set the world right. We can be troubled by how much wrong and injustice seem to prevail in the world, wondering whether it will ever be set right; but the book of Wisdom pictures God arming himself with righteousness, justice, and holiness, committed to setting things right. God is not indifferent to the world's wrong; he will act against it. The injustice that seems to prevail is not the last word. When the wrong of the world troubles you, rest in God's commitment to righteousness, that he will act to set things right. Rest in God's commitment to righteousness, that he will act to set the world right, as the book of Wisdom pictures him arraying himself in righteousness, justice, and holiness against the wrong; for God is not indifferent to the injustice that seems to prevail, but is committed to answering it, and the wrong that troubles us now is not the last word, since God will act, in his time, to set things right, arrayed in his own righteousness and holiness.

Lord, in a striking image, the book of Wisdom pictures you arming yourself to set right a world gone wrong. He will put on righteousness as a breastplate, it says, and will wear impartial judgment as a helmet; he will take holiness as an invincible shield. You are pictured as a warrior arrayed for battle, but your armor is your own righteousness, justice, and holiness; your commitment is to set things right. This is not a portrait of arbitrary force but of your settled commitment to justice. You are committed to righteousness; you will act to set the world right. Show me what your armor is: your own righteousness, justice, and holiness. The image is of a warrior, but the armor is not brute force; it is righteousness as a breastplate, holiness as a shield. This pictures your settled commitment to justice, your resolve to set right a world gone wrong. You are not indifferent to the wrong and injustice of the world; you are committed to acting against it. This is a comfort to those who long for wrong to be set right: you are committed to it. The injustice that seems to prevail is not the last word. Let me rest in that, for you are committed to righteousness and will act to set the world right. I can be troubled by how much wrong and injustice seem to prevail in the world, wondering whether it will ever be set right; but the book of Wisdom pictures you arming yourself with righteousness, committed to setting things right. When the wrong of the world troubles me, help me rest in your commitment to righteousness, Lord, that you will act to set things right, arrayed in your own justice and holiness.