Righteousness and Resurrection

Psalm 71:19-20 shows the connection between the righteousness of God and the resurrection of the dead. The Psalmist praises God for His righteousness that reaches to the heavens, a righteousness manifested in the “great things” God has done (v 19). Verse 20 follows with a description of one of the great things that God has done and will do: He will deliver the Psalmist (or “us”) from troubles, and will “bring me [us] up again from the depths of the earth.” Raising the dead manifests the righteousness of God. These verses, then, provide additional background (with other Psalms and Isaiah) to Paul’s understanding of the “righteousness of God” as revealed in the gospel of Jesus’ resurrection.