16. I will go in the strength of the Lord God. Our translators give us a
good sense, but not the sense in this place, which is: “I will come with the mighty deeds of the Lord Jehovah.” He would enter into those deeds by admiring study, and then, wherever
he went, he would continue to rehearse them. He would ever be a welcome guest
who can tell us of the mighty acts of the Lord, and help us to put our trust in
him. The Authorized Version may be used by us as a resolve in all our exertions
and endeavors. In our own strength we must fail; but when we hear the voice
which says, “Go in this thy might,” we may
advance without fear. Though hell itself were in the way, the believer would
pursue the path of duty. I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only. Human righteousness is not fit to be mentioned—filthy rags are best
hidden; neither is there any righteousness under heaven, or in heaven,
comparable to the divine. As God himself fills all space, and is therefore the
only God, leaving room for no other, so God’s righteousness, in Christ Jesus,
fills the believer’s soul, and he counts all other things but dross and dung (Philippians 3:8–9). What would be the use of speaking upon any other
righteousness to someone dying? And all are dying. People may cry up natural
human innocence, the dignity of the race, the purity of philosophers, the
loveliness of untutored savages, the power of sacraments, and the infallibility
of pontiffs; this is the true believer’s immovable resolve: “I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.”
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