Sunday, 20 February 2011

God and righteousness

For the LORD is righteous, He loves righteousness; His countenance beholds the upright. - Psalm 11v7

This is a powerful little verse that makes it abundantly clear how God feels about righteousness. It really encapsulates the importance. It leaves no doubt in our minds about the central position of a righteous God, of righteousness in and of itself, and of practicing righteousness.

Spurgeon worded it this way in ‘The Treasury of David’ in the section ‘Notes for the village preacher – ‘The Lord possesses righteousness as a personal attribute, loves it in the abstract, and blesses those who practise it.’

Righteousness is a pretty simple word. The older English word for it was ‘right-wise-ness.’ It is simply all about being right.

It is obvious in scripture that righteousness is a godly virtue. No man can achieve it apart from Him. Because God is righteous as a part of His nature He will always love righteousness. Because He loves righteousness He pays special attention to those who practice His righteousness.

Our righteous character is impossible apart from a personal relationship from the Righteous One. It does not come naturally. It is a gift which is a part of our salvation.

Since the righteous God loves righteousness and He watches out for the righteous, doesn’t it just make sense for us to practice it?

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