“Evil shall slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.” (Psalm 34:21)

God makes clear in this verse what the end of the wicked will be. Their punishment is inescapable: “Those who hate the righteous will be condemned.”  This is a basic characteristic of the nature of God. He must punish evil.  In His self-revelation to Moses in Exodus 34:6-7, God proclaimed the fundamental qualities of His nature: “compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness … yet who will by no means leave the guilty unpunished … “.  God reveals here that the punishment of evil is part of His innate nature.  We need not wonder if it will be done, or if the wicked will not suffer for their wrongs.  As surely as God, and this universe, exists, the wicked will be judged. Nothing is more certain in the universe. The God of justice will punish evil.

Presidents may posture and say after a terror attack: “These perpetrators will be found and brought to justice” — but the truth is, they may or may not be able to find and punish the evildoers. But no one can hide from God. He sees every hiding place. And He WILL bring the guilt of every soul to punishment.

More pertinent to us is that He will do this not only for the “terrorist” or those committing what we consider to be “great atrocities”, but for the sins of each of us!  How shall WE excape the certain judgment of God which we rightly deserve?  The thought of facing His certain judgment should be terrifying to us —  and it should cause us to fly for refuge to the Messiah He graciously provided to bear the punishment for our sins!