In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: The Lord is our Righteousness.
– Jeremiah 33:15
Oh, this is so good. It’s one of the places in the Old Testament, many places, where we see Jesus promised. In those days at that time, I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David. It’s talking about the line of David. One is going to come who will execute justice and righteousness in the land. This is how he’s described. A King who will bring about justice and righteousness, and Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell securely.
Jeremiah 33:15 teaches us Jesus is the Lord of salvation and security.
So he’ll execute justice and righteousness. He’ll bring salvation and security. And this is the name by which it will be called: The Lord is our Righteousness. In other words, the Lord will share his righteousness with us. All of this, through the Righteous Branch, the Messiah to come. This is one of those places in Scripture where we can obviously pray in many different directions, but I think we just need to pause and praise Jesus for who he is, to just pray with adoration and affection in our hearts. Oh God, we praise you for your Word and we praise you for your Son, Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, the one promised for centuries to come who has come. We praise you, Jesus, as the King promised from the line of David. We praise you for the justice and righteousness you alone can bring.
God, we look at a world filled with injustice and evil. We look at leaders who are unjust and evil. Lord, we look at wars and conflicts and suffering as a result. We need a leader, a Lord, a King who will execute justice and righteousness in the land. And Jesus, we praise you as the King we need. We praise you for the salvation you bring. We’re all evil sinners prone to rebellion against you. We praise you for saving us from our sins.
Jeremiah 33:15 teaches us Jesus is our Righteousness.
Jesus, we praise you. That’s what your name means, the one who will save us from our sins. And we praise you for the security you bring, the security we have in you, that our lives are hidden with you, that your Spirit dwells in us so we can rest with peace, confidence, comfort, hope that no matter what happens in this world, we are secure. And we praise you, Jesus, for sharing your righteousness with us. You are our righteousness.
God, help us to live in the righteousness of Jesus today. Help us to be holy as he is holy. Jesus, we praise you for making that possible, for righteousness and restoration to relationship with God for eternal life, eternal security, for salvation; and ultimately for a new heaven and a new earth where justice and righteousness will reign in the land. We praise you, Jesus, the Righteous Branch for making all of that possible. And we pray that you would help us to faithfully share this good news about who you are with people around us today.
Prayer for the Khmer People of Cambodia
God, we pray that you give us sensitivity to opportunities we have to share the gospel today and help us to take those opportunities today. And then God, we pray for the Khmer people of Cambodia, for millions of them who don’t know about your salvation and your security and your justice and righteousness and your love for them on the cross. God, we pray for the salvation of Khmer men and women and children that they would be reached with the good news of your kingdom. We pray all of this according to your Word in Jeremiah 33:15–16 in Jesus’ name, in the name of the one who fulfilled all the prophecies about him in the Old Testament. In Jesus’ name, we pray, amen.
David Platt serves as a Lead Pastor for McLean Bible Church. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Radical, an organization that helps people follow Jesus and make him known in their neighborhood and all nations.
David received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Some of his published works include Radical, Radical Together, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, and Don’t Hold Back.
He lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area with his wife and children.
