God of truth
Psa
31:5 Into
your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth.
At
the peak of history, Pontius Pilate said, “What
is truth?” (Jn 18:38). In
that he was reflecting the skepticism that Satan so often uses. Is
there such a thing as truth? Philosophers throughout the ages have
pondered on it. We won't waste our time quoting their many speculations
– for that is what philosophy is – speculating about the truth.
A
dictionary might provide the following definition: being in accordance
with experience, facts, or reality; conformity with fact. Put another
way we might say it is exactly what is. Scientists seek to find the
truth of how matter ‘works'. Psychologists seek to find the truth
of how the human mind responds to the world outside it. The “X-files”
TV series had the phrase, “The truth is out there.” What they were
saying is that ‘out there' somewhere is an account of what has happened
that accords perfectly with what did actually happen. Sometimes people
might say of themselves, “You get what you see” and what they're trying
to say is that I am what you see. Of course that is never true. The
only person of whom that is true is God. There is no ‘side', no falseness
in God. He is utterly true in every way you can think of
explaining those two words.
When
Jesus came, he said “I am the truth”
(Jn 14:6). What he was saying was, I am the dependable, perfect expression
of the One who is and was and always will be. Philosophers will say
that if there is a Supreme being, He has to be the source of all movement
and all what we call life. Some speak of God as energy. Whatever it
is, at the ‘back' of everything is God. He is the reality that brings
everything else into being and indeed, keeps it going (Heb 1:2b,3b).
Nothing exists without Him; He is the truth.
But
even more than that, because He is that and because He is unchanging,
everything He says is truth. He cannot deny Himself, He cannot speak
untruth. Perhaps that why the Gospels record Jesus so many times saying,
“I tell you the truth”. This
wasn't just a simple little cultural expression. This had meaning.
What Jesus was saying WAS the truth. It was true. There was nothing
false or unreal about it.
David,
in this psalm, was in a state of anguish (v.9,10), aware that his
enemies were out against him (v.4,11). He has come to the end of himself
and thus declares, “Into your hands I commit
my spirit.” This is the ultimate expression of trust in
God – I put myself entirely in your hands. Then he cries, “Redeem
me!” meaning, save me from this situation where only death
faces me. He then names his God, LORD, which you will know from Exodus
3 means the “I AM” the eternal, ever present, Supreme Being. But he
puts even more content to what he is saying: “the
God of truth” – the One behind all things who is unchanging
and faithful and who can be utterly relied upon.
He
is contrasting God with the people around him who are a) against him,
who b) slander him, c) conspire against him and d) plot to take his
life (v.13). David knows that God is exactly the opposite. God who
is utterly real and utterly dependable and who is unchanging, is a)
for him, b) only speaks good of him, c) purposes good for him and
d) plans constant blessing for him. That is the truth about God that
comes out again and again in Scripture. Do you and I know God like
this? Read back over those four things. Because God is love and because
He is utterly real and never changing you can be assured of those
four things. You can trust God, rely upon Him. Everyone else may pretend,
speak untruth and generally be unreal, but God never is. He is truth.