There is a powerful article here entitled “The Awful Grace of God: The Civil War as Theological Warfare.” The author (Naivion) wrestles with the theological nature of the American Civil War.

“The irony was that both sides appealed to the same Bible . . . Abolitionists believed all humans bore the image of God; enslavers believed Africans were ontologically inferior, drawing not only on distorted readings of Scripture but also on pseudo-scientific racism. The struggle was thus over the very definition of humanity. Augustine’s City of God describes two cities: one grounded in the love of God, the other in domination. The Civil War revealed two such cities, clashing on American soil . . . In Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, we see perhaps the deepest theological interpretation of the conflict. He declared that if every drop of blood drawn by the lash must be repaid by the sword, then “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.” Lincoln here became less politician and more prophet, seeing the war as expiation for America’s sin . . . the enslaved themselves had long seen the truth of the matter. Their spirituals, sung in the fields and whispered in the hush arbors, declared God’s judgment on Egypt and God’s coming deliverance. For them, theology was not abstract but embodied: it was sung, wept, and endured. They interpreted the war as God’s liberation breaking into history.“

Many Americans forget that this country paid a huge price in blood for its foray into slavery. More Americans were killed in the Civil War than all other wars combined that this county has fought. The bloodiest day in American history was the Civil War battle of Antietam with almost 23,000 casualties – in a single day. The bloody Civil War was the ultimate reparation demanded by a just God of this nation. It is noteworthy, as the article points out, that the enslaved prayed for justice and judgment on the nation.

Naivion goes on,

“The war confronted the tension between justice and mercy . . . Could a nation soaked in blood and built on slavery be forgiven? Or must justice demand its toll in cannon and bayonet? Augustine saw divine justice always tempered by mercy; Aquinas saw providence ordering all things toward the good. Yet the war seemed to suggest that mercy itself could be violent, that purification might come only through blood.”

Naivion correctly sees the American Civil War as judgment upon the nation. The article raises a pressing question that is increasingly pertinent for the turbulent time in which we live – when is it right to pray for justice and judgment? As much of the nation increasingly and figuratively shakes its fist in the face of God . . . taunting Him . . . one must wonder at what point is it right to pray for justice and judgment? Earlier I wrestled here with the question whether the nation had passed a point-of-no-return after which God’s judgment becomes inevitable. If the country has not already passed the point-of-no-return, it is difficult to imagine how much further the country can descend into collective debauchery, lust, heresy, greed, murder, pride and corruption without embracing wholesale nihilism.

When is it right to pray for justice and judgment? The ancient Hebrew prophets were not reluctant to do so. Naivion concludes, “The Civil War was America’s suffering, and from its ashes we still seek wisdom, a wisdom hard-won, born of pain, touched by the awful grace of God.”

There are many Psalms that call for God’s judgment. Psalm 58 expresses a desire for justice against the wicked. Psalm 109 seeks divine retribution for wrongs suffered. These psalms reflect a deep yearning for God to act against injustice and uphold righteousness. A major theme in Psalms is in fact justice, appealing to a sovereign and righteous God to make things right.

Here are just a few Psalms:

Psalm 82:3-4 “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

Psalm 37:28 “For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed; the offspring of the wicked will perish.”

Psalm 103:6 “The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.”

Psalm 97:2 “Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.”

Psalm 10:17-18 “You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror.”

Psalm 7:9 “Bring to an end the violence of the wicked and make the righteous secure—you, the righteous God who probes minds and hearts.”

Kenneth Kok argues here, “We often overlook the amount of judgment in the Psalms . . . the whole Psalter is full of God’s judgment. Everybody’s favorite, Psalm 23, speaks of God preparing a table for David in the presence of his enemies. This means that David’s enemies will sit in chains while David is enthroned and passes judgment on them. As a result, C. S. Lewis concluded that Psalm 23 was “sub-Christian.” However, you cannot avoid God’s judgment against the wicked and the prayers of the righteous for judgment without eviscerating the Psalms.”

We cannot separate God’s justice and judgment from his mercy and grace. Naivion is correct – judgment and justice turn out to be the “awful grace of God.”