April 1, 2020 -- Psalm 119:142 -- What is Righteousness?

Your righteousness is righteous forever,

and your law is true.

Psalm 119:142 English Standard Version

Hmm, righteousness? That exact term is used six times in Psalm 119, a total of 308 times in the Bible, plus there are the variants like righteous which are frequently used as well. What does this word mean? God alone is the highest possible standard by which all other laws and standards and actions are judged. Louis Berkhof, in his tome Systematic Theology notes that righteousness and justice are closely linked. Berkhof notes that righteousness includes within it this aspect of justice: “He maintains Himself over against every violation of His holiness and shows in every respect that He is the Holy One…Justice manifests itself especially in giving every man his due, in treating him according to his deserts” (Berkhof, Systematic Theology, page 75).

The challenge for us as humans is that we tend to treat the bible like a smorgasbord. We pick and choose what we like, what we agree with and what we’ll submit to and judge the rest as not applicable or too hard, unfairly stacked against us, or not something we choose to submit to. The Psalmist puts such cherry-picking to rest. The righteousness of the LORD is righteous forever. It was applicable in ancient times, in Jesus’ day, and for us today and for all times and places. His standard is perfect, His law is our high calling.

There are potentially two responses to this. The first is: God is unfair. Requiring too much and people then reject or despise Him. The second is the pathway of Christians. We recognize we fail at every point of the law. We know the good we should do and leave it undone (sins of omission). We know the standard of the law and we intentionally violate it (sins of commission). And as those who recognize their sins we cry out to God to rescue us from this body of death. The glorious response from heaven is that Jesus was punished in our place, bearing on His person the weight of God’s wrath against our sin and exchanging His righteousness for our sinfulness. All who cry to Jesus and obediently follow Him know their sins are forgiven and our Father in heaven sees our lives through the perfect obedience of His Son Jesus.

Ah, what joy there is in obedience. What peace in believing. God’s righteousness is perfect. His law is holy and true and altogether wonderful as we walk in the pathway of life. We confess our sins—and confirm each time we do so, that He is fully righteous forever and just in His condemnation of sin and every violation of His will—and we grow in our dedicated love for this tender Father Who would not leave us in our sin and misery, but provided for us the way of salvation. We give thanks to God as we read the word and live in obedience to Him, obedience empowered by the Spirit of God He has given us as the guardian of our ways and One Who lifts us to Christ.

Thank You, Father in heaven, for Your faithfulness. Thank You, King Jesus for Your extravagant love. Thank You, Spirit of God, Guardian of our souls. Forgive us our sins we pray You, Holy and Triune God. Direct us in Your righteousness and help us to explore the richness, the wonder and multi-faceted glories of all You command. Most Blessed God, let Your glory and goodness be made known especially now in these times of crisis when so many are filled with fear. May we as believers live in the peace of Christ with such fullness that others will be drawn to Him, Who is the Desire of all Nations. Amen.