PSALM 119:137-144 RUBY RIGHTEOUSNESS

RUBY RIGHTEOUSNESS

PSALM 119:137-144

צ (Tzadeh)

Psalm 119:137 Righteous⁶⁶⁶² art thou, O Lord, and upright are thy judgments.

The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

6662 tsaddiyq – just, lawful, righteous

American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster, 1828

Just; accordant to the divine law. Applied to persons, it denotes one who is holy in heart, and observant of the divine commands in practice; as a righteous man. Applied to things, it denotes consonant to the divine will or to justice; as a righteous act. It is used chiefly in theology, and applied to God, to his testimonies and to his saints.

Susie: God’s righteousness, of course, is a whole other level since He is perfect in all of His ways and completely just.

Susan: God’s righteousness is infinite, it’s depth unfathomable, immeasurable.

Susie: He is the only judge who can truly see all sides of an issue and be completely fair. Therefore, we can confidently place our trust in Him.

Psalm 119:138 Thy testimonies that thou hast commanded are righteous and very faithful.

Susie: Because God is completely righteous and holy, His testimonies, all of His words are righteous as well.

Susan: We can trust in the word of God because the Author and Authenticator of it is faithful and trustworthy.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

Psalm 119:139 My zeal hath consumed me, because mine enemies have forgotten thy words.

Susan: The psalmist sees that his enemies have rejected God and His word. They have gone the total opposite direction, willfully and intentionally.

Susie: He is stirred up to a righteous anger that almost emotionally consumes him.

Susan: All he wants to see is the righteous path of God, and seeing the total disdain his enemies have for the word and the ways of the Lord, makes him erupt internally in an emotional volcano.

Psalm 69:9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

Psalm 119:140 Thy word is very pure⁶⁸⁸⁴: therefore thy servant loveth it.

Susan: The word translated “pure” carries the connotation of being refined like fine silver or gold.

The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible:

6884 tsâraph – to fuse (metal), i.e. refine (lit. or fig.) – cast, (re-) fine (-er), founder, goldsmith, melt, pure, purge away, try.

Psalm 12:6 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

Susan: Seven is the number of completion or perfection. Therefore, the word of God is perfectly pure.

Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.

James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

Susie: Servants of the true God love truth because it sets them free. God’s word is true, and Jesus is The Truth.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Susan: God’s word is the soap of His love which He uses to cleanse us and lead us to the truth that the blood of Christ is the only thing that can wash away our sin.

Psalm 119:141 I am small⁶⁸¹⁰ and despised: yet do not I forget thy precepts.

Susan: The Hebrew word translated here as “small” can have the connotation of “young.” However, it can also mean “insignificant” which would make more sense in this context.

The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

6810 tsâiyr – from 6819: little; (in number) few: (in age) young, (in value) ignoble: — least, little (one), small (one), young (-er, -est).

Susan: Many times, I have felt that others saw me as small or insignificant because of my cerebral palsy. However, as I have clung to the truth of God’s word, He has shown me that He can work mightily though what others see as a broken vessel.

1 Corinthians 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

Susie: I was once called upon, with five minutes notice, to teach teenage girls in a correctional facility a lesson on Moses. I opened my Bible, saw Exodus 3:11, and titled the lesson “Nobody is a Nobody in God’s Hands.” The psalmist is calling himself a nobody, but is determined to seek God through His word anyway.

Exodus 3:11 (GNT) But Moses said to God, “I am nobody. How can I go to the king and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

Psalm 119:142 Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.

Susie: God’s character, His reputation will never be tarnished because He is holy, perfectly righteous.

Susan: God’s ways are THE standard, the eternal compass for our lives. Modeling our lives after the Divine Architect’s plan brings true success.

Susie: Patterning our lives according to the commands of God means that truth and integrity will prevail in all our relationships.

Psalm 119:143 Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights.

Susan: When in the midst of trials, the word of God is a welcome haven of hope. We have an everlasting hope that will never fail. We can depend upon the righteousness of God.

Through the Bible with J. Vernon McGee

“Righteous are thou, O Lord” – we can rest in the truth of that when we cannot see the reasons for our trials and troubles. We may be confident of this sure and certain fact that God is righteous, and His dealings with us are also righteous.

Susan: Even though I know this truth, it is sometimes difficult to get it from my head to my heart. It is a conscious choice to focus on the truth of God’s promises and the righteousness of His character in the middle of my problems.

Psalm 119:144 The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live.

Susie: As Susan said, it is difficult to feel the comfort of God’s righteousness even though I know it to be true. Perhaps the psalmist had the same problem because he repeatedly asks the Lord to instruct him and to help him understand.

Points to Ponder:

·     God is righteous

·     God’s word is righteous and dependable

·     The psalmist was zealous for the word

·     He loved the word because it was pure

·     Our own insignificance should drive us to dependence upon God’s word

·     God’s word brings comfort and confidence during times of trial

·     God’s righteousness and His word are eternal

Reflection Question: Do you treasure God’s word as the precious jewel that it is? Is His righteousness and that of His commandments like a valuable ruby to you? Have you realized that God’s righteousness guarantees that He will deal justly with you? However, if you have messed up, take heart! God’s justice is tempered by His mercy and grace.