"Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness." [Psa 143:1]
We know even from Moses that God is faithful. It is one of God’s most longstanding and common attributes. Our God, “The LORD [our] God, He is God, The Faithful God.” [Deut 7:9] One can hardly study the writings of scripture and conclude otherwise: certainly God is a faithful God. But not just a faithful God, The faithful God. To be faithful means, “firmly adhering to duty; of true fidelity; loyal; true to allegiance.” [Webster] It should come as a great comfort to us, though it is no wonder, that God is faithful; for even if one does not agree with all of His actions, most assuredly they would come to the conclusion that all God says, He does, for He is faithful to His word. Furthermore, God is faithful to every promise He has made; He is faithful to His revealed character; He is faithful to any and all relationships and people or things He engages with. There has never been a time, no, nor will be, when one could rightly proclaim, ‘God has been to me unfaithful.’ And in this truth we rejoice; for above all things, let us be reminded that “salvation is of The LORD,” [Jon 2:9] and that He has said “for I am with thee, saith The LORD, to save thee.” [Jer 30:11] Regarding this promise and truth of God, we can be confident – our God is the faithful God, and “whosoever believeth on Him shall not be ashamed.” [Rom 10:11]
There is yet another attribute of our lovely and triune God to which we should stay and ponder awhile: and that is, His righteousness. Righteous is defined as, “just; accordant to the divine law,” and in the sense that God is just, the word signifies, “upright; honest; having principles of rectitude; or conforming exactly to the laws…equitable in the distribution of justice;” and also, “conformed to truth; exact; proper; accurate.” [Webster] See what a good thing it is for us, that God is righteous. For by the word’s very nature it reveals to us God is exactly as His law; that is, if God’s law says one thing, God Himself does not practice another: He is in complete conformity to that which is written, it having risen from His heart, for “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” [Mt 12:34] Our Heavenly Lord is utterly equitable and conformed to truth – in His dealings, whether in word, thought, or deed, God is most uncompromisingly upright, never deviating from scripture nor from His revealed character. Through-and-through our most gracious Father is upright and just, perfectly righteous. “The LORD is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works.” [Psa 145:17]
Having spoken briefly about the faithfulness and righteousness of God, let us now combine the two and find some encouragement. First, let us sweetly remember that we have been imputed Christ’s righteousness. It is written, “for [God] hath made [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” [2 Cor 5:21] And again, we remember how that “David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom The Lord will not impute sin.” [Rom 4:6-8] For those who, like Abraham, have righteousness imputed to them, no sin will be accredited to their account. Despite our former wretchedness and failures, whether past, present, or future, for the man believing in Christ, no sin shall ever be imputed to him.
“For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” [Rom 8:3-4]
And,
“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” [Rom 10:4]
Praise God that our sins are utterly wiped away. The LORD promises in His word, “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins.” [Isa 44:22] And, as one can hardly see through the clouds unto what lies above or below, so too The LORD does not, when studying us, see our sins; but rather, He sees Christ’s righteousness: for it is written that Jesus “is made unto us…righteousness.” [1 Cor 1:30]
Now, since God indeed is “conformed to truth” and “conforming exactly to the laws;” and Jesus truthfully spoke of His own righteousness, saying, “till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled;” [Mt 5:17-18] and God’s law states He is “faithful,” then we can rightly conclude Christ Jesus was not just utterly righteous, fulfilling every single word flawlessly, but also that He was (and is) entirely faithful. Yea further, since we have been made into and gifted this righteousness, “being now justified by his blood,” [Rom 5:9] then we too, in God’s sight are esteemed as exhibiting the exact same faith and righteousness of Jesus.
But where we have been imputed righteousness, and indeed shall pluck up and enjoy the fruits thereof, we know that we still sin in practice; for, “if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” [1 Jn 1:8] But thanks be to God, for The LORD is the source and perfection of all righteousness and faithfulness, and He never fails at performing them, no, not in the past nor ever shall He in the future. We then come to our verse for today, wherein the Psalmist prays, “in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.”
What a delightful thing has been recorded here for our admonition and encouragement! With this truth, may we be ever prodded onward into prayer and intercession to our Great God. David appeals to God’s righteousness and faithfulness, implying that if God were to disregard David’s prayer, He should neither be righteous nor faithful. It has been written for us, “The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.” [Psa 145:18-19] And again, “The LORD heareth the poor;” [Psa 69:33] and once more, “if ye shall ask anything in my name, I will act.” [Jn 14:14] For those in Christ, who fear The LORD, their prayers are always heard. They travel upwards into heaven and reach our Lord’s ears. Truly we may each say, “I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and He gave ear unto me.” [Psa 77:1] If The LORD did not hear us, He has been a liar, and has broken not only His allegiance given to us through the blood of Jesus’ covenant, but also been unrighteous, for His law states He must hear us. This is a sweet truth indeed. However, it is not the end of it, for not only will God surely hear our prayers and do something about them (though He may not grant all), but He greatly desires to hear from us.
We read in Songs a picture of Jesus’ love,
“O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely.” [Songs 2:14]
And,
“Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse; thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, with one chain of thy neck.” [Songs 4:9]
Our Lord not only hears us, but desires to hear us. Our voice is most pleasant to His ears, even as the bride to the bridegroom. May His listening ear prick our heart to greater affection and love for Him. As David wrote, “I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.” [Psa 116:1-2] And may we never fail to remember this precious reality. But alas, even if we do, God still hears us; for “If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself;” and, “I said in my haste, I am cut off from before thine eyes: nevertheless thou heardest the voice of my supplications when I cried unto thee.” [2 Tim 2:13, Psa 31:22]
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