In Psalm 143 David prays again to God. He intreats God to hear and answer him. Once again, David is in danger, but he does not dare to trust himself. He begins his prayer, “Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.” (Psalm 143:1) David knew he could depend on God. Had David been unfaithful? Perhaps, but God was always faithful. Had David been unrighteous? At times, but God is always righteous. Therefore, David pleaded with God to answer him because of God’s faithfulness and righteousness. Here are some other verses to consider.
- “In thee, O LORD, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in thy righteousness.” (Psalm 31:1)
- “Deliver me in thy righteousness, and cause me to escape: incline thine ear unto me, and save me.” (Psalm 71:2)
- “O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away….” (Daniel 9:16a)
It is not by any merit of our own that we cry to God for help and deliverance. It is because of God’s faithfulness and God’s righteousness that He hears the cries of His children and delivers them in trouble and answers their prayers. God’s faithfulness never fails, and He can always be depended upon. God’s righteousness is never tainted or questionable. He is always true and right.
David realizes that he cannot be justified before God by his own merit. He continues his prayer, “And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.” (Psalm 143:2) If we tried to stand before God by our own good works and deeds, we would fail. The good news is that there is forgiveness with God. Psalm 130:3,4 explains, “3) If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? 4) But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.” We have the wonderful consolation that “He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” (Psalm 103:10) The Bible promises, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” And we further have the joy of knowing that “…as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” (Psalm 103:11,12)
Because we know that God is righteous and we have the assurance that He will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness, we have the confidence to come before Him in prayer. “14) And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: 15) And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.” (I John 5:14,15)