and– a conjunctive word that joins two thoughts into one thought.
thy faithfulness– once again we see that this Mighty and Omnipotent LORD possesses something, but this time it is faithfulness. What is faithfulness? Let us simply look at it, and break it into its parts. Faith, full, ness. Faith is spiritual coinage. When you receive a gold coin, you trust that the gold is genuine, and will function as currency to procure and purchase items. Faith, comes from the latin word fides, which means “trust, belief, pledge.†So combine this concept of faith being a trusty, reliable, and confident pledge with the second part of the word: full. Full means that the capacity of the container is completely and entirely supplied, and lacks nothing; this would also imply perfection. If a container ought to house 374 marshmallows, and every single fluffy white candy is there, then that container is perfectly full. Thus, if something is faithful, it means that it is filled as full as it can be with faith, which again is a trust or pledge. Finally, “ness.†No, it isn’t some loch ness monster! It is a suffix denoting action, quality, or state, attached to an adjective to form an abstract noun. The adjective here is faithful, which we’ve defined, and so adding “ness†turns it from being a describing word into a noun, and nouns are actual things (whether concrete, or abstract). Faithfulness, then, is something that can be handled, had and possessed and it is an object which is completely, entirely and perfectly filled with faith. And, ahem, Who does this faithfulness belong to? An infinite God. Meaning, His capacity to house, secure, and maintain faith and trust in Himself is endless. He has no shadow of doubt, vacillation, ambivalence, unbelief, uncertainty, etc. He possesses an endless capacity to be full of faith. He cannot be made to doubt, for all the capacity He has for being faithful, is fully filled with faithfulness.
reacheth– the phrase “reacheth unto the clouds†is one Hebrew word. It shows us the great extent of the Sovereign Lord’s faithfulness. It reaches, meaning it has border.
unto– a preposition which tells us that the extent of this faithfulness extends from one point to another. We can assume that point one is the speaker, and then he will go on to tell us just how far reaching this faithfulness is.
the clouds– the hebrew word here is a lofty and poetic word for storms, skies and clouds. Job uses it in this way: Job 35:5 KJV – Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou. These clouds are higher than the reach of humanity. His capacity for being a safe place to deposit faith reaches without extent into the firmament of heaven; for truly, these words are inspired by God. Though these words were divinely inspired long before astronomy was more fully understood, where does the atmosphere actually end, and how far does this vast celestial firmament extend? Even scientists cannot find the boundary, as it were, of the clouds!
Thy righteousness– David continues onward, into another stanza of praise, and in this he commences with another attribute which God Almighty enjoys in the fullness of His person. We find that the mighty LORD is the owner, if you will, of righteousness. He is that which is perfect, good, just, equitable, correct, as it ought to be, fair, ideal, exemplary, faultless, flawless, best, unparalleled, unrivaled, unequaled, and matchlessly right. And this rightness, as it were, is a defining attribute which the Great I AM contains, without measure, within the infinitude of His eternal being!
is– once more, a state of being, so the Righteousness of God resides in a state of being…
like– a word of comparison, which tells us that the writer is going to draw a parallel between this boundless perfection and rightness of God and something else. What could be deserving of such a comparison?
the great mountains– This is what David ventures to compare God’s flawless perfection unto: “the great mountains.†Meaning, he had a very specific mountain range in mind. However, let us consider mountains in and of themselves. As we gaze upward at the grand and immovable quality of this pillars of stones and fortresses of earth, we cannot help but be compelled to a hushed awe. As soon as one beholds the mighty Rockies, Alps or Himalayas for the first time, the breath is quickly stolen away. Mountains are, in a sense, perfect and as they ought to be. They, essentially, remain changeless century after century. But, David is thinking of “the great mountains,†and surely he is painting a picture of the “mighty mountains of God,†i.e. the towering heights of Zion. He modifies the word mountain with the basic Hebrew word, “el,†which is used for God, god-like, or great. David says that God’s flawless rightness is comparable to the thundering heights of Jerusalem’s mountains. What is revealed upon the heights of Zion? A temple, set apart for sacrifice. A holy place, set apart for communion with God. A lonely garden called Gethsemane, upon Mount Olives, set apart for the drinking of a cup of wrath. A bloody hill with the notorious monicker of Golgotha, set apart for the full and final sacrifice! Yes, God’s righteousness is not just LIKE these great mountains of Sinai, Hebron, Horeb, Golgotha, Zion, Olives, Tabor, etc., but upon these mountains will be glorious display of God’s righteous, eternal, and glorious redemptive purpose!
