“Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O Lord, the God of truth.”

                 Living in a postmodern world definitely has its drawbacks.  Things were a lot tidier when modernism was in vogue.  Oh, not that things were perfect back then; far from it.  But at least people understood how to think and reason at least a little.  Today?  You gotta be kidding!  But don’t misunderstand me.  A few people still do think and reason.  They really do.  They just don’t call it that.  No wonder why so many young people struggle today.  So much gray matter unused and going to waste.

Take our focus, God of truth.  It’s really a stretch these days to find a person who believes in an objective personal God who is distinct from our universe, let alone meeting one who believes that he is the God of truth.  Try standing on a sidewalk and take a poll of twenty people’s opinions about God, and you’ll probably get at least ten different notions about God.  Try explaining this objective God of truth to them, and they’ll probably offer the postmodern refrain, “Oh, that may be what you believe, but that’s not what I believe”.  Try to share the gospel with them, and you’ll hear, “That may be true for you, but that’s not true for me”.  And in the next breath they’ll complain about all the insecurity and injustice in the world.  Excuse me?  Such disconnects show the complete paucity of both reason and a knowledge of God’s Word.

We find “God of truth” in several texts, but it’s what surrounds the phrase that gives us a glimpse of the importance of this feature in God’s character.  Beginning with Psalm 31:5, David prays that the God of truth would redeem him.  He begins the verse by praying, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”  You might recognize that as the last prayer Jesus prayed on the cross (Luke 23:46).  The point of this should be clear: a divine savior and every day human beings don’t commit their spirits to a God who is not truthful.  At least it’s clear to those who still understand that, as Professor Richard Weaver said, “Ideas have consequences”.  A person of truth is a person who can be trusted.  David says so: “I trust the Lord” (v. 6) and “I trust in you, O Lord” (v. 14).  Writers throughout both testaments repeatedly declared their trust in God.  What wife trusts her alcoholic husband?  The only thing she can trust him for is that he’ll be drunk again sooner or later.  But there’s no personal loss or gain in that kind of trust.  It’s just recognizing a pattern.  The trust that David and Jesus had in the God of truth was the outcomes of their lives.  In both cases, God delivered.  In David’s case, God “showed his wonderful love to me when I was in a besieged city” (v. 21).  Much of the psalm is a prayer of trust, full of requests for protection and deliverance.  Wives of alcoholics don’t trust their husbands for such things.  With Jesus, God drew him up to paradise after his successful passion on the cross (Luke 23:43).  David and the Son of David had their trust rewarded because God is the God of truth.

Another reference, at least in the New King James Bible, is Deuteronomy 32:4, “He is the Rock, his work is perfect; for all his ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is he”.  Notice what comes as a result of his truthfulness: just ways and no injustice.  People on earth face injustice because of other people who are not truthful and true, and thus, not trustworthy.  God, however, is different.  But how do we know he’s different?  He’s up there; we’re down here.  How do we know?

The NIV translates God of truth as “the faithful God”.  In other words, God displays his truthful character by his actions, which are faithful and in line with his words.  Many psalms give testimony of this fact.  No greater manifestation of his character can be seen than in the cross.  Talk about faithful!  With all the sins of the world piled on his back, with all the demonic activities screaming in his face, with all the devil’s personal vilification directed at him, and the abandonment of his Father, Jesus hung tough and true, more than a man’s Man, the ultimate spiritual warrior.  Fulfilling God’s will and obtaining our salvation, he guaranteed that justice would come to everyone and that all of the wrongs of this world would be righted.

Even if postmodernism’s “your truth, my truth” were (pardon the pun) true, it’s only half-true.  Imagine saying that to God.  He will reply, “Yes, that’s my truth.  You’re absolutely correct.  So why is that not true for you?”  Face to face with the God of truth, stupidity breaks open like Pandora’s box. Words fail; shock sets in; fear overwhelms.  Either he’s your God or he’s not; either you trust him or you don’t.  Half true is not true enough.  Injustice is the offspring of half-truth.  Is God’s truth living and growing in you?