Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer! -Psalm 4:1
A few weeks ago, I was honored with a beautiful glass block with a Bible verse etched inside. It was given to me to celebrate the 5th year anniversary of me receiving the call to serve at Emmaus (which has been a HUGE blessing and joy to me, and my family). The verse inside was the one above, Psalm 4:1.
Over the last year, Psalm 4:1 has become a treasured verse to me. It has been a verse that has prompted and guided my prayers, and one that has given me great encouragement and hope during the Coronavirus pandemic. Last spring, I remember standing outside the Menards in Maplewood, waiting to get inside. It was taking a while, and would take a while, and I decided to put my mind to good use. I memorized it while standing in line, repeating it to myself softly, with my mask on.
“Answer me when I call….” The psalm opens up with a word that encourages us to pray. It asks God to answer us. As we ask that, we are encouraged to pray. If we are asking God to answer, what will we ask Him? What will we bring before Him?
“…O God of my righteousness….” We often think of the Old Testament as being “works righteous,” that is, it teaches that we are righteous before God by what we do. However, a verse like this shows this is not the case. God is the speaker’s righteousness. It is imputed to the speaker by faith. As Christians, we approach God in the righteousness of Jesus. We can only approach God because of Jesus. He is the God of our righteousness. Or, to put it in a more personal way, He is the “God of my righteousness.” We can call to God and approach Him because we have been made righteous before Him.
“…You have given me relief when I was in distress…” The psalm now looks backwards before it looks forward. The speaker recalls the past help that God had given him. God gave him relief when he was in distress. One of the most beneficial things we can do in our faith life is remember. Specifically, we remember what God has done for us. He has claimed us in baptism. He has saved us. He keeps us in the faith. He has provided for us every day of our lives. When we look back and see what God has done for us, it helps us to look forward. It helps us to be grounded in what He has done and to look forward to what He will do.
“…be gracious to me and hear my prayer!” After being encouraged to pray, reminded of our righteousness that comes from God, and strengthened from looking at the past, we are prompted to step forward in faith. We ask that God would be gracious to us and hear our prayer. By faith, we know that He will, and that He will answer it in the best way for our good in Jesus. He will certainly be gracious. He will certainly hear our prayer.
As we continue to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, let the words of Psalm 4:1 bless and guide your prayer life. Let it encourage you to pray. Let it ground you in the righteousness of faith. Let it open your eyes to see God’s abundant provision in the past, and let it prompt you to step forward in faith.
Pastor Nick Kooi
(Originally published in Emmaus Footprints, Vol. XXII, Number 11, June 2021)