Psalm 119:137 Righteous are you, O LORD, and upright are your judgments.… The soul takes refuge in the sense of the eternity of righteousness, both against all transitory forgetfulness and denial of it, and against all contempt and persecution of those who love it. The Law is 'right forevermore;' its righteousness must shine out in the end. "The initial letter with which every, verse (of this section) commences is the Hebrew tz, and the key-word is "purity." The expression, "Righteous art thou, O Jehovah," we should express by saying, "Ideal, or standard, or absolute Righteousness art thou." I. RIGHTEOUSNESS IS CONCEIVABLE. Man is able to create in his mind the idea of absolute right - the moral straight line. But this suggests a philosophical difficulty. Is that an innate idea, or is it dependent on acquired knowledge? Can man know right without knowing wrong? Can man conceive perfect right without a revealed standard? Man has the mental power of conceiving completion. No matter what he deals with, he can think of it in a perfect state. And this power can be applied to moral things; he can conceive complete rightness. But the fact must be noted, that man cannot think without using the materials provided by God's revelation in nature and in his own nature. Man knows nothing of himself, of the world, or of God, save through revelations made to him, which are the necessary materials of his thinking. God helps him to conceive righteousness. II. RIGHTEOUSNESS IS CONCEIVED AS PERSONAL. A philosopher may conceive such a perfection of morals as he can call "righteousness," but his conception is absolutely ineffective to him. It lies wholly outside the man himself. The idea must be associated with a person, and the person must be kin to the person having the idea, or it can be no power. Absolute perfection in morals, or righteousness, associated with a person kin with man, is God. "Righteous art thou, O Jehovah." III. A RIGHTEOUS PERSON CAN BECOME THE SOUL'S REST. Because righteousness then ceases to be an abstract thing. It becomes relative. The person may have a personal interest in making us what he is. "The Eternal, who makes for righteousness." - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: TZADDI. Righteous art thou, O LORD, and upright are thy judgments. |
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