a prayer from the good and upright

Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,

and to those who are upright in their hearts!

Psalm 125:4

This is a prayer in keeping with the covenant, asking God to remember the blessing that should come to His people as they worship the Lord and obey His law. It was part of a song that was sung by Israelites as they journeyed to Jerusalem and ascended the Temple Mount on holy days and feasts. So being mindful of the covenant with this prayer in song would become something of a family tradition in each generation.

This prayer for God to be faithful to His Word is readily answered. God will do this. He never lies. He always is beyond faithful to His promises. So the reason for this prayer was more for the people that it was for God. The song pulled people into an awareness of their obligations to the Law. They were to do good so that God would do good to them. They were to be upright of heart to know the blessing of God.

Now God has given us what is greater than the Law... we have Jesus. And in the freedom of the gospel we have Christ’s righteousness applied to us so we may now please Him by doing good. He has made our hearts upright before the Lord. We remember Him in our prayers and seek to live in what He has saved us to do... created to do good works and to worship our Lord.