The Righteous Cry
March 21, 2024 | By Kailyn Liu Cornell ‘23
image description: man stands alone atop a mountain in France
Many times when I think of the phrase “the righteous,” I think of activists like Martin Luther King Jr., who organized many public protest marches, sit-ins, and speeches, and risked his life countless times in his fight against racial segregation and for justice for all people. I also think of brave moments of faith, as exemplified by the bridge of the song “Christ Be Magnified,” an unflinching set of declarations to publicly risk one’s life for Jesus without compromise: “I won't bow to idols, I'll stand strong and worship You, and if it puts me in the fire, I'll rejoice 'cause You're there too.” [1] These examples are not far off from the Biblical exhortation “to act justly and to love mercy,” but to think of “the righteous” as always being confident and strong ignores much of the Bible’s view on righteousness, as seen in Micah 6:8, which shall be explored later. As I read today’s lectionary from Psalms, I see righteousness defined in moments of weakness and need:
The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry…
The righteous cry, and the Lord hears them
and delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
and will save those whose spirits are crushed. [2]
These verses make “the righteous” appear weak and helpless: crying for help, brokenhearted, and having many afflictions. If you were to see a righteous person as described in this passage, you probably would not see a well-put-together, heroic figure, but someone in distress and danger, possibly even wrestling with doubt. They would appear unimpressive, at least externally. Instead of helping themselves out of their struggles and fighting for justice on their own strength, they seek help from God, their hearts broken by injustice.
Many are the troubles of the righteous,
but the Lord will deliver him out of them all. [3]
The actions described in this Psalm focus less on what the righteous do for the Lord and more on what the Lord does for the righteous. The work of the righteous here is to cry out to God for help and follow his commands, and the resulting valiant deeds are ultimately His. Even Martin Luther King Jr., who was not only a civil rights activist but a devout Christian minister, cried out to God after receiving a harrowing death threat in 1956, praying: “Lord, I'm down here trying to do what's right. Now, I am afraid… I am at the end of my powers. I have nothing left. I've come to the point where I can't face it alone.” He heard God reply, “King, stand up for justice.” His house was bombed three days later, yet he and his family were not harmed. [4] King went on to lead the Civil Rights movement for over a decade from then while continuing in prayer and relationship with God.
Another example of the relationship between God’s actions and the righteous’ actions is found in the book of Exodus, where God calls Moses, telling him to plead with Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Moses’ obedience in interceding for God’s people before a powerful king is certainly valiant and commendable. However, the greater actions of deliverance are accomplished by God, who parts the Red Sea for the Israelites to go through and defeats Pharoah’s great army Himself. In Deuteronomy, Moses repeatedly reminds the Israelites that “the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand,” giving glory to God instead of himself or any other person. [5]
Evil shall slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
The Lord ransoms the life of his servants,
and none will be punished who trust in him. [6]
It should be noted that the Bible still records and commends many courageous acts of the faithful, calling the righteous to put themselves at risk for the sake of God and His people. Heroes of the faith such as Daniel, Esther, and the disciples of Jesus all stood before rulers who sought to punish God’s people and refused to compromise their allegiance to the Lord despite threats and “many troubles.” But before these righteous people could cry out boldly against oppression, they cried out to God for help, as the disciples of Jesus did when they prayed for boldness:
They lifted their voices to God together and said…Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus. [7]
Once again, these people’s righteousness is defined by their relationship with and obedience to God, which produces the fruit of courageous actions. Then, as Psalm 34 attests, God ransoms the lives of the righteous in ways that are tied to their actions, yet that clearly go beyond the scope of anything they can do. Moses led the Israelites to the Red Sea, but he did not part it, nor would he be able to. Daniel and his friends actively chose to go into a furnace for their faith, but even they knew they would certainly burn if it were not God’s will for them to survive; God not only protected their lives but made His presence visible standing alongside them in the fire. The disciples proclaimed the Gospel of Christ with boldness, but it was the Lord who added to their number those who were being saved. [8]
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God. [9]
Psalm 34 reminds me of how the Bible defines righteousness. My intuitions tell me that one’s actions are what defines them as righteous. In other words, our actions precede and “make” our righteousness. However, the Bible is clear that when we trust and put faith in God, He gives us His own righteousness, and our actions follow from our new state of righteousness. The New Testament further reveals that the gift of righteousness comes through Jesus Christ, who is fully God yet lived a human life, being the only person to live who was completely righteous in everything He said, thought, and did. Jesus then willingly died and was resurrected to take on, and free us from, the punishment for our own sins even though He alone did not deserve it. This freedom from the power of sin and restoration of fellowship with God allows Him to turn us into “the righteous” through His transforming grace.
God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. [10]
With this knowledge, we can rejoice knowing that righteousness is not something we have to earn, but something that results from humble submission to God. Being righteous does not mean we have to cover up our weaknesses and always look strong; the Bible allows and encourages us to be honest about our need for God’s help and cry out to Him. Then we can be brave and confident, not in our own strength but in that of the Creator and King of the universe. When we are made righteous in Christ, we can be assured that His ears are attentive to our cries.
References:
[1] Cody Carnes, Cory Asbury & Ethan Hulse. “Christ Be Magnified.” December 31, 2019.
[2] Psalm 34: 15, 16–17
[3] Psalm 34:19
[4] Sura. “Martin Luther King and the Power of Prayer.” HuffPost. www.huffpost.com/entry/martin-luther-king-the-po_b_6471720
[5] Deuteronomy 6:21 ESV
[6] Psalm 34: 21–22 NRSV
[7] Acts 4: 24, 29–30 ESV
[8] Acts 2:47 ESV
[9] Micah 6:8 NIV
[10] 2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV