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.
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