Righteous art thou, O LORD,
And upright are thy judgments (Psa 119.137).

This verse begins the next eight-verse section of Psalm 119, the one beginning with the 18th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Tzaddi or Tsadhe.

To worship God is to relate properly to him—that is, to be, say, and do that which is according to his nature and his revealed will. Here the psalmist worships in the presence of God by rehearsing his inherent excellence. As the psalms were all intended to be sung by the holy congregation, the human writer is leading them to worship God using the very same words. No exaggeration of God’s glory is possible since it is infinite. The most exalted language is never too high in describing God.

Holy praise consists of ascribing excellence to God, including his righteousness.

GOD’S OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS

“Righteous art thou, O LORD.” The particular divine attribute praised is God’s “righteousness” or his “uprightness,” and these words are closely related. The English words both contain “right,” from the Latin “rectus” (cf. “rectitude”), meaning straight, a rule or standard. The original Hebrew words translated “righteous” and “upright” likewise mean straight, right, according to a standard.

The first occurrence of this adjective “righteous” relating to the Lord in Scripture appears in Exodus 9 in the aftermath of the plague of hail when Pharaoh says, “The LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked” (v. 27). The word of contrast, “wicked,” means in criminal violation of a standard. Pharaoh seems to be admitting that the LORD has a right to demand his people’s release, and that the high and mighty Pharaoh and the Egyptians were nevertheless the LORD’s subjects, bound to do his will, but admittedly found in violation of it. Further, Pharaoh is, at least outwardly, justifying the severe judgments that had come upon him and his people, with a view toward divine clemency. No criminal could rightly expect release from the punishment he has begun to suffer by the determination of a judge while the criminal complains that the sentence was unjust, especially when the judge has demonstrable domination over him. Confession of one’s own sin and liability to just punishment for the honor of God is a fitting prelude to the extension of his mercy; however, sometimes it pleases God to inflict the punishment anyway after constraining the guilty to such a confession (Josh 7.19 ff.).

Ordinarily “righteous” has reference to a standard outside itself, but not with respect to God, for he himself is the standard of righteousness. He is a law unto himself, and justly so. His righteousness is inherent, not derived, and absolute, not relative. Whatever righteousness exists in any creature flows from the Lord, and should be recognized as righteousness only to the degree and extent it conforms to God’s own being, ways, and laws.

God’s righteousness may be considered in general and in particular. Generally, it is tantamount to his personal excellence and goodness, even his holiness. More specifically, the righteousness of God is his inherent nature related to truth and justice by which he keeps his inviolable word, punishes evildoers, and rewards his faithful servants. It is his perfection of nature that leads to perfect treatment of his subjects.

In our text David emulates Moses who centuries before had exhorted God’s people to worship him along the same lines:

I will publish the name of the LORD: ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he (Deut 32.3-4).

The last two adjectives, “just and right,” are the same Hebrew words in Psalm 119.137. These are the divine traits that make him fit to be the moral governor of all his creatures, to issue laws for us to keep, and to pass judgment upon our hearts and conduct.

Further, the psalter testifies of “the righteous God” (Psa 7.9), that “gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful” (116.5), and likewise that it is his righteousness which moves him to “cut asunder the cords of the wicked” (129.4). “The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works (145.17). His perfectly righteous being is on display in these outward expressions of his inner nature. A most conspicuous example is the righteousness of his word, that is, Scripture.

THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD’S WORD

“Upright are thy judgments.” The particular noun here is the one that means, “what the divine Judge has ruled to be right” (ESVSB, Psalm 119 introduction). In the context of this Psalm, it has a primary reference to God’s word written, especially those parts which proclaim his revealed will, but without excluding any part of the inscripturated divine revelation. Gill is probably right in saying that the second line of this verse

refers to the precepts of the word, the doctrines of the gospel, as well as the judgments of God inflicted on wicked men, and all the providential dealings of God with his people, and also the final judgment (in loc.).

God displays his glory and our privilege as God’s people by entrusting us with his righteous word. “What nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?” (Deut 4.8). In this glorious righteousness the Scriptures bear their own internal evidence that they are what they purport to be, namely, the word of God.

The scriptures manifest themselves to be the word of God, by their majesty and purity; by the consent of all the parts, and the scope of the whole, which is to give all glory to God; by their light and power to convince and convert sinners, to comfort and build up believers unto salvation.¹

Because this righteousness of the word is so obvious to believers, we may find our assurance of their divine inspiration greatly strengthened by close study and frequent meditation on the Bible’s excellence. No men could have possibly been the ultimate Author of this Book!

Other practical and spiritual uses follow from the due consideration of these truths. They prove a bastion against the entrance of unworthy thoughts about God, as if, for example, he is the blameworthy cause of any bad thing. While God is the ultimate cause of all beings, powerfully preserving and governing all his creatures and all their actions, still, these works of Providence are but his most holy, wise, and powerful actions.²

We are tempted to doubt God’s own righteousness and the righteousness of his Word, but God is unobjectionable despite the malice of sinners and the perplexities of saints. One godly man who suffered chronic depression and barely escaped multiple suicide attempts wrote,

“Righteous art thou.” This is the first ground of comfort—a meditation of the righteousness of God’s nature; he alters not with the times, he changes not with the persons, he is, always and unto all, one and the same righteous and holy God. Righteousness is essential to him, it is himself: and he can no more defraud the godly of their promised comforts, nor let the wicked go unpunished in their sins, than he can deny himself to be God, which is impossible.³

This doctrine is also important because we tend to become what we worship, and so it is vital to appreciate the righteousness of God, that we might grow ever more closely conformed to his glorious image.
Our sovereign Lord is righteous and rules righteously. This is a solid foundation for faith, a comfort to afflicted saints, and a great inducement to worship. Rejoice in it! Amen.

Notes:

1. Westminster Larger Catechism, Answer 4.
2. Westminster Shorter Catechism, Answer 11.
3. William Cowper, cited in Treasury of David, Spurgeon, in loc.