Psalm 33:4
For the word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.
I don’t know what’s in the news today, as you listen to
this. But I wouldn’t be surprised if sometime this week there’s a headline about a celebrity caught doing something that doesn’t match their carefully-constructed image, or a politician acting in a way that doesn’t live up to their promises. We’re used to figures in public life not living up to their words. We may be frustrated and disappointed when it happens but we're rarely completely shocked. It's normal for public figures to sometimes say one
thing and do another. Or to say one thing in public and another in private.
It's normal, and not completely surprising, because we know
that we do it too. None of us is consistently right and true in what we say. Even when we do our best to reject every kind of deception, and try to speak only truth, we can never be 100% right. We just don't know enough. Very often, we THINK we are right, but then more facts emerge and it turns out we're wrong
after all. Even the most trustworthy among us cannot claim that our every word is right and true.
But God can. He only ever thinks and speaks what is right.
He knows all things. He alone never has to backtrack, because new evidence has emerged. He alone never has to apologise for jumping to a wrong conclusion.
His words are true. He himself IS truth. There is no deceit
in him. He doesn't ever have to weigh up the different things he might say next, and decide whether he prefers to tell the truth or to lie. Every word God has ever spoken is 100% true. So true, that his word actually defines the way reality is.
And so he is faithful in all he does. He never has to change
his plans part-way through, because he discovers he was wrong. He never has to swerve off course, to cover up a mistake or avoid being caught in a lie. Everything he says is good and true, so he
can consistently do what he says he will do. He is faithful to all his
promises.
There is absolutely no-one else in the world of whom that is
true. The best and most honest person we know will never be always, completely right. We can't even consistently trust ourselves. But we can trust God. His words will never fail us. His actions will always be right. Let's praise him that he is right and true and faithful. And let's commit ourselves afresh to trust
HIS words above anyone else's, even our own.
