The Way of the Righteous

The other night I began reading and my eyes were opened to so many things that I've never really seen before. The following is what I saw. I am going through Psalm 15-Psalm 19 but will not write out every Psalm, just the points that were highlighted during my study and my own comments will follow in red. This study was important to me because so often I hear people say "the Lord will fight for me" and I wonder why they think that, why I have thought that, even though I have refused to walk in God's ways and it is obvious to me that others are still walking in their own ways. These Psalms make it clear that it is not your wishy-washy, lukewarm "Christian" that God delivers, but those that walk upright and walk in HIS righteous ways that he delivers. We read the Psalms all the time, pray them, sing them, speak them over our friends and family, and we ignore all the ones about how perfect God's law is and the benefits of walking in it. Do we believe the word of God or not? If the word says the law is holy, perfect and just then why do we have such a difficult time embracing it?

Psalm 10:7~ For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright.

Psalm 15~
Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart;
He who does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord;
He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.

(Those who follow God's commandments, Torah, will dwell in His tabernacle)

Psalm 16~

2 O my soul, you have said to the Lord, "You are my Lord, My goodness is nothing apart from You"

7 I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; My heart also instructs me in the night seasons. 8 I have set the Lord always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At your right hand are pleasures forever more.

Either my goodness is nothing without God, or I can't even do good without God, either way, I need God to guide me in His ways, because it is His ways that are good, not my own.

God gives us counsel and He is the one who instructs our hearts, His ways are to be always before us. When He gave us His instructions (Torah) He said that in them was life, and without them was death. He will show us the path of life and it is not outside of His commandments.

Psalm 17~

1 Hear a just cause, O Lord, attend to my cry; Give ear to my prayer that is not from deceitful lips. 2 Let my vindication come from Your presence; Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright. 3 You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.

David is asking God to hear his JUST cause and to listen to his prayer, but David has purposed that he should not sin with his mouth. (This is huge for me, because my mouth is a missile launcher at times) He is asking God to intervene on his behalf, but David is without sin. He is walking upright. He trusts that because He is walking in God's righteous ways that God will stand firm on His promises that there are blessings for doing His commandments and it is indeed the path of life.

4 Concerning the works of men, BY the WORD of YOUR lips, I have kept myself from the paths of the destroyer. 5 Uphold my steps in YOUR paths, that my footsteps may not slip.

Again, David is being obedient to the Word of God and doing the works that God has commanded. By doing those works, he has kept himself from the path of destruction. (Torah is life, without it is death) He is asking God to keep him His path.

15 As for me, I will see your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

WOW! Nothing else will satisfy David than to awake in God's likeness. David sees God's face in righteousness! I love this. We can see God while we walk in His righteous ways. We come to know Him more fully, more completely when we study His ways. The Torah has opened my eyes to God's character more than anything ever has. I see His mercy and grace and love in the very thing that people say was done away with! How sad that we think this way. Yahshua came and showed us how to fully WALK out those ways and He upheld the Torah in everything He did. The character of God was displayed right before our eyes, yet we deny Yahshua's very words..."Do not think that I have come to destroy the Law". Don't even think it...

Psalm 18~

6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry came before Him, even to His ears.

19b- 24 He delivered me because he delighted in me. The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness; According to the cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me. For I have KEPT THE WAYS OF THE LORD, And have not wickedly departed from my God. For all His judgments were before me, and I did not put away His statutes from me. I was also blameless before Him, and I kept myself from my iniquity, Therefore the Lord has recompensed me according to my righteousness, According to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

David's cry was heard BECAUSE God delighted in him. Why did God delight in David? Because David kept the ways of God. David kept himself from his own sinful ways, which we all have, but by following Torah we are lead away from our sins. God answered him according to his (David's) righteousness. We can't depart from God's ways and expect Him to even hear us. "One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be an abomination." --Psalm 28:9

Psalm 19~

7-11 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned, and in keeping them there is great reward.

Praise God! The law is perfect and it converts the soul...the very thing that is missing in today's "churchianity". Everyone is making a decision for salvation but souls are not being converted. People still follow after their own lusts, their own ways, in some instances their sins are occuring just as much as they were before their supposed conversion. But here we see that the law converts the soul. It makes sense then that modern Christians are in the state they're in because they teach and are taught that the law was done away with. The commandments are pure! By them we are warned; we know the boundary lines. If we keep them, we will be justly rewarded for it! NOT CONDEMNED BECAUSE WE ARE LEGALISTIC!

God will fight for us, but why should he fight for us if we reject the way of righteousness? If we don't know what is righteous and holy, then how are we supposed to be holy just as He is holy? We say we are no longer sinners but yet we have NO idea what sin even is according to the word of God. Sin is not what Obama says..."doing something that doesn't line up with my own values" which is what most people would define sin as. Sin is the transgression of the law, of God's commandments. 1 John 3:4 "Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness." Lawlessness-without the law. Who's law? God's law.

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep HIS commandments 1 John 5:2.

If we truly love God, then why do we reject what He created for our own good? If we reject it, will He reject us?

"Many will say to me in that day 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!" ~Matthew 7:22-23