"He rested and was restored" — the Torah says God rested on the seventh day. But from what did He rest? From labor, or from judgment? The Mekhilta uses the word "restored" to determine the answer.
"Restored" (vayinafash) connotes physical refreshment — the kind of relief that follows exertion. This suggests rest from labor, not from judicial activity. God ceased the creative work that had occupied the six days and was refreshed by the cessation.
But the Mekhilta immediately adds: judgment never departs from God. The Sabbath may pause creation, but it does not pause justice. God continues to judge the world on the Sabbath, even as He rests from creative acts.
The proof texts are emphatic. (Psalms 89:15): "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; lovingkindness and truth precede Your countenance." Justice is not an activity God performs — it is the foundation of His throne. It cannot be suspended any more than a throne can suspend its own foundation. And (Deuteronomy 32:4): "The Rock — perfect is His work, for all of His ways are justice." God's justice is identical with His being.
The Mekhilta thus distinguishes between creative labor, which God suspended on the seventh day, and divine justice, which is permanent, ceaseless, and inseparable from God's nature. The Sabbath is a rest from making — never a rest from judging.