Righteous are You, O Lord,
and upright are Your judgments.
You have commanded Your testimonies in righteousness
and exceeding faithfulness.
My zeal has consumed me,
because my adversaries have forgotten Your words.
Your word is very pure;
therefore Your servant loves it.
I am small and despised,
yet I do not forget Your precepts.
Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
and Your law is truth.
Trouble and anguish have come upon me,
yet Your commandments are my delight.
Your testimonies are righteous forever;
give me understanding that I may live.
Psalm 119:137-144 (NASB)
Righteousness. Psalm 119 – Tsadhe is all about righteousness. Have you ever had anyone say to you, “Well, you’re so righteous!” with a sneer on their face? It hurts because that person is angry with you for doing the right thing. But actually, we Christians should take it as a compliment because it shows our actions are in line with God’s will.
Dictionary.com defines righteous as 1) characterized by uprightness or morality, 2) morally right or justifiable, 3) acting in an upright, moral way, virtuous, and 4) (slang) absolutely genuine or wonderful. Being righteous sounds like a good thing if you ask me. If you live your life this way, then you will be respected and you will have integrity. So why does it upset people so much when we do the right thing? Simply, because they want to cut corners on a project, or want to do something that isn’t moral. Thus the saying, “The end justifies the means.” Not really.
The Psalmist purposefully wrote about righteousness in this tsadhe section of the Psalm because tsadhe means righteousness. “Each line in this 18th stanza begins with the 18th Hebrew letter, 
tsadhe. God is righteous, which makes his laws are righteous (vv. 137,138,142,144). This righteousness means that God is faithful to his own character and covenant, and his laws perfectly accomplish his purpose. The psalmist has stood for God’s truth and suffered for it, but his convictions are unmoved (vv. 139–142). He does not change his mind to gain influence or popularity (v. 141). Even when the truth gets him in trouble, he loves what God has revealed, so he asks for even deeper understanding because he knows it will lead to life (vv. 143–144)(Mohler, R, 2021).”
Isn’t it something that the truth can get us in trouble? That is, in trouble with the world, which, btw, if we think this through, has Satan roaming around in it. So of course, unbelievers don’t like it when those who are dedicated to God speak truth. But the truth is, just like the Psalmist says in his last line of this section, the more we understand God and His ways, the fuller our lives will be. Full, meaning, full of joy and peace and happiness. We don’t have to be anxious and worried.
Living a righteous life means just doing the right thing. It may not be easy, especially when you are pressured by others to “look the other way” and not stand up for truth. However, the more times you do what is right, the easier it becomes. Sometimes, this means speaking out against something that is culturally accepted, but is not right, by God’s laws.
When I taught high school in the 80’s, I was having lunch with the Health teacher, and I will never forget a comment she made. She said, “I used to tell the students that having sex before marriage was wrong. But now they argue so much, so I don’t say anything anymore.” By not saying anything, this teacher was making a statement – that is, it is alright to have premarital sex. Sometimes, not speaking the truth is a statement of agreement with those who are not doing the right thing.
When we try to live a righteous life, we will offend those who do not live by God’s laws. Many times, they don’t even realize how immoral and hurtful their words and actions can be. Living a righteous life makes us shine in a dark world. God shining through us will bring seekers to Him, as well as ridicule from those who don’t want to be moral. It’s sad, because, they have swallowed Satan’s lie that living an immoral life is cool and fun, when in reality, it will always cause problems. Either way, we need to be ready to share the Gospel with all, by doing so, we show the seekers the way to life everlasting.
We Believers also need to remember when others don’t like it when we do the right thing, what righteousness really looks like and how eventually, doing what is right will be the norm. See the truth that Isaiah has to say about righteousness:
I will rejoice greatly in the Lord, My soul will exult in my God; For He has clothed me with garments of salvation. He has wrapped me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes the things sown in it to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations. Isaiah 61:10 & 11
Isn’t this beautiful? It epitomizes the last definition from dictionary.com – absolutely genuine and wonderful. Righteousness.
Resources:
Mohler, R. 2021. NIV Grace and Truth Study Bible. Zondervan Publishers. Retrieved on September 1, 2021 from Biblegateway.com.
Picture Credit:
William Melody · github.com/xwmx. 2010-present. The Hebrew letter, Tsadhe, Retrieved on
September 1, 2021 from https://graphemica.com/%D7%A6/glyphs/times-new- roman-regular.
