Belief and Righteousness
Based on Genesis 15:1-18, this poem can be sung to the tune
“The God of Abraham Praise” (a traditional Hebrew melody)
Belief and righteousness are hallmarks of a man
Who walks with God, choosing to follow God’s command.
For Abram, trusting God brought great uncertainty.
He knew not where but knew that God was leading him.
The Lord Almighty’s Word was Abram’s rock of faith,
Not what he saw or thought directed all his way.
He rested in the Lord, who said “Don’t be afraid,
For I will guard you and will make you very great.”
The life of faith in God, belief and righteousness,
Still has its times of doubt when faith is put to test.
“How can descendants come from childless wife and man?
Without an heir, how can God work his promised plan?”
The God of Abram left no ambiguity
About the future or of Abram’s progeny.
“You see the stars above that light the sky at night?
Then know that I will give you great posterity.”
In ceremony dark, to form his covenant,
God chose a sacrifice of cow, goat, ram and birds.
In smoking pot and flame, God’s presence manifest,
He said, “I will fulfill My Word, you need but rest.”
“Rest on My sovereign grace, rest on my power to save,
Rest on the promises I made to make you great.
Should you have cause to doubt, remember this display
Where I have made a solemn oath to you today.”
Belief and righteousness, the forming of a man,
A man of faithful character, a man who stands
Upon the Word of God, who trusts and will obey,
Is formed in crucibles of trial and delay.
The life of faith is not a life of mounting up
With wings but is a life of taking steps of trust.
When faith is tried and proved, when one has stood the test,
Belief and righteousness show clearly God has blessed.
Poet’s Note: the last stanza uses ideas adapted from Oswald Chambers
Rusty Rabon lives in Cayce, SC. Since 1981, he has been involved in Christian ministry through local churches, Christian radio, community service, and writing. He currently writes a column titled “Call to Worship” for The Fellowship of Ailbe (ailbe.org) which is published three times per week.
“Belief and Righteousnss,” as title and refrain, unify your poem, Rusty, and give it an emphatic quality that well serves hymn singing, with periodically renewed allusion to your theme of faith in the midst of trials. Thanks for providing the recording in which you show how the rather unusual hymn tune flows. Since it supplies your meter, that’s important to understand. Its name as tune is “Leoni,” and it’s used for another excellent hymn, “The Perfect Law of God,” words by John Dunn, paraphrasing the latter half of Psalm 19. In your text, I especially like “the stars above that light the sky at night,” referring to God’s own selection of a reminder image for His promise of posterity, which is hard for Abraham to believe from the moment it is made–as you point out in your first stanza. The sands may be the daytime image (not treated here), but what an impressive choice for the night! And as you are also careful to mention, part of Abraham’s darkness is the divine delay, during which he needs to trust. Well done.