Series: Inspired Word of God
Psalm 37:31 ESV
Psalm 37:29-30 ESV
Psalm 37:27-31 MSG
Looking back over the whole of my life from childhood to teenager, to young adult, to adult, to senior adult I can honestly say at every stage I sort of thought I had all the basis covered…that is until I became a senior adult.
Finally, I wasn’t sure I knew anything.
As a child my ‘knowing something’ included the rules my parents had about what was okay to do and not to do.
Life was pretty simple.
If I forgot something I could go back to my parents and ask what I should do.
I remember my brother getting mad at me for asking (yet again) if a certain rule applied in this circumstance. The truth is that I wanted to make sure I had it right. I did not like getting in trouble and I thought having a better understanding of specific details cleared up any doubts I might have.
I did test the waters to see what works for me as a teenager, but I still did not step outside the boundaries of what my dad thought was acceptable.
He was still the driver and I was glad.
I married pretty young (because that’s what we did) and I had my children when I was twenty something. I delivered my youngest child the day after I turned thirty. I didn’t really plan it that way but that’s how it worked out.
As an adult Pastor’s wife there were times I was “called out” by a few women in the church and I didn’t like that. A few times I felt sad. Looking back their reasons didn’t make sense and I should have ignored them. The good news is that those incidents caused me to turn to scripture to look for answers.
Psalm 37:31 tells us, “The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.”
As a senior adult, I no longer ask others for their opinion (well, with the exception of my kids because they are all people of faith and they are remarkably intuitive).
I turn to scripture.
I pray.
I wait.
Psalm 37:29-30 says, “The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.”
Studying Hebrew in Sem. was really difficult but it turned out to be a great choice for me. It’s strange, but the Hebrew language has a rich quality about it. It’s alive and vibrant.
It’s really hard to explain but Hebrew words aren’t just words.
For example the Hebrew word for righteous is ‘sad-di-qim’. It’s pronounced tzadikim.
In addition to righteous it means just, right, lawful, and innocent. In Psalm 37:29 we get the idea the man is good. He wants to do the right thing. He follows the law of God. Love one another. Care for others.
This is the man who will inherit the land.
He is wise.
He seeks justice for others.
His innocence relates to what he does not know about deception and intentionally hurting others.
Psalm 37:27-31 in the Message says,
“Turn your back on evil, work for the good and don’t quit.God loves this kind of thing, never turns away from his friends.
Live this way and you’ve got it made, but bad eggs will be tossed out.The good get planted on good land and put down healthy roots.
Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone, rolls virtue around on his tongue.His heart pumps God’s Word like blood through his veins; his feet are as sure as a cat’s.”
I love the line that the righteous man chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone. He doesn’t give up on the bone. He keeps “at it” until it’s a done deal. When he gets tired or weary, he looks to God for help and strength. He remembers where his righteousness comes from, and he opens his hands to receive it.
Because of God in him, it pumps through his veins…forever. Our righteousness is from God. We are not the author and finisher. We are children of the most high God.
Spiritual Practice: tzadikim…
Righteousness. Turn to God and open your heart and your hands to receive.
In God, Deborah