“All God’s children- all the sons of Wisdom have always exhibited in some degree this moral feature- they have justified God.

Let the reader consider this. It may be he finds it hard to understand what is meant by justifying God; but a passage or two of holy Scripture will, we trust, make it quite plain. We read in Luke 7 that ‘all the people that heard Jesus, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him’ (ver. 29-30). Here we have the two generations brought, as it were, face to face. The publicans justified God and condemned themselves: the Pharisees justified themselves and judged God. The former submitted to the baptism of John-the baptism of repentance: the latter refused that baptism-refused to repent-refused to humble and to judge themselves.

Here we have the two great classes into which the whole human family has been divided, from the days of Abel and Cain down to the present day; and here, too, we have the simplest possible test by which to try our ‘pedigree.’ Have we taken the place of self- condemnation? Have we bowed in true repentance before God? This is to justify God. The two things go together-yea, they are one and the same. The man who condemns himself justifies God; and the man who justifies God condemns himself. On the other hand, the man who justifies himself judges God; and the man who judges God justifies himself.” (C.H. Mackintosh, Notes on the Pentateuch, 1882, p.425)