righteousness – Page 6 – The Core of the Bible

How to endure all in the most bitter of circumstances

No matter how dire, unforgiving or treacherous the situation, God’s love never fails.

Matthew 5:10-12 – Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

As I was reading through Psalms, I came across Psalm 44 and it seemed as if I was reading it for the first time. I understood that the psalmist was feeling dismay over the situation of Israel being scattered among the nations. This would normally be a context of asking for forgiveness for their unfaithfulness, and a plea for restoration.

Psalm 44:9-16 – But you have rejected and humiliated us; you do not march out with our armies. You make us retreat from the foe, and those who hate us have taken plunder for themselves. You hand us over to be eaten like sheep and scatter us among the nations. You sell your people for nothing; you make no profit from selling them. You make us an object of reproach to our neighbors, a source of mockery and ridicule to those around us. You make us a joke among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples. My disgrace is before me all day long, and shame has covered my face, because of the taunts of the scorner and reviler, because of the enemy and avenger.

This would be understandable in the context of Israel’s national sin and constant turning to idols. God had forewarned them that if they did not keep to his commands and his covenant, that they would be sent throughout the nations and there suffer at the hands of foreign gods and other cultures. The psalmist may lament their condition, but it would be as a result of their own sin.

However, I was struck by the larger context of the psalm. In verses to follow, the psalmist recounts how they had not forsaken God, and yet were still suffering at the hands of their enemies.

Psalm 44:17-22 – All this has happened to us, but we have not forgotten you or betrayed your covenant. Our hearts have not turned back; our steps have not strayed from your path. But you have crushed us in a haunt of jackals and have covered us with deepest darkness. If we had forgotten the name of our God and spread out our hands to a foreign god, wouldn’t God have found this out, since he knows the secrets of the heart? Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.

Then I recognized that last line as having been applied by the apostle Paul to their situation in the first century:

Romans 8:35-36 – Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered.

Paul was taking the entire context of this psalm and applying it to the condition of the believers in the mid-first century. They had not forsaken God; they had not betrayed God by worshiping other gods; they had not strayed from the path of righteousness, and yet they were still being hunted down as sheep to be slaughtered. They went without food, without clothes, and were in constant danger for their lives, and yet they were living lives of integrity and faithfulness!

Psalm 44:23-26 – Wake up, LORD! Why are you sleeping? Get up! Don’t reject us forever! Why do you hide and forget our affliction and oppression? For we have sunk down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. Rise up! Help us! Redeem us because of your faithful love.

This was the cry of that faithful generation. They longed for God to deliver them from their brutal affliction and the oppression they faced in the company of their own people who had turned against them because of their belief in Messiah. They were savagely treated and violently persecuted; yet, they maintained their hope in the faithful love of God!

Why would they do that? How could they do that? Paul provides an answer in the following verse:

Romans 8:37 – No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Paul knew that no matter what happened to them physically, they could endure because of love; God’s faithful, covenantal love for them which was expressed through the Messiah.

Romans 8:38-39 – For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Messiah Yeshua our Lord.

That was all Paul needed: the love of God. That was the motivator that allowed them to continue to maintain their integrity in the face of the most intense hatred and persecution that God’s people have ever seen.

Even today, God’s redemptive love in calling his people to himself is so strong that nothing in creation can overcome it. It is a rock-solid destiny for all time.

1 Corinthians 13:6-8 – Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

This is where it plays out in real time. No matter how dire, unforgiving or treacherous the situation, God’s love never fails. When Paul says that “love never fails,” the word he used literally means that love never falls down because the strain is too great. This is the type of love that always endures. Always.

And Yeshua’s admonition is that the blessing of God and kingdom of God belong to those who are enabled to endure all because of, and for the sake of, this type of never-failing love.

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Are you holy?

God’s kingdom grows only through those who speak and do what is right no matter the cost.

Holiness is life that is set apart; it is unique and separate from those around it. But not just unique and set apart. Many people today feel that they are special and unique due to some unusual trend they participate in, or some obscure passion they pursue that is far removed from the normal life experience of others. It may be that they are special and unique in that respect, but that does not make what they do “holy.”

Holiness is a life that is set apart for the purpose of God; it is a life that is yielded to his will in such a way that it is uncharacteristic in its divergence from normal societal trends and habits. According to Yeshua in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:3-12), the life that is unique in the right way, the holy way, has certain characteristics.

It is a life that is humble, not vaunting itself over others. It is a life spent in deep introspection, grieving over personal and societal unrighteousness while remaining desperate for righteousness and doing what’s right according to God’s will. A holy person is merciful towards others, always acting out of a pure heart, one that does not have ulterior motives or hidden agendas. As much as can be possible with them, they seek peace with all others.

What is the reward for all of this noble aspiration? Is it to be praised and loved by others for being so thoughtful and caring, always watching for and acting in the best of spiritual intentions for all others? Sadly, no. According to Yeshua, most of the time, in this life God’s holy ones will be insulted, ridiculed, and in fear for their lives for being diligent in these things. However, he does provide reassurance of a great reward in heaven.

This is the life of those who are holy. This is the type of individual God is calling us to be: someone who speaks and does what is right no matter the cost, because this is how God’s kingdom expands and grows. If we do not do these things, and instead choose to remain safe and secure in our bubbles of contentment and like-mindedness with our brothers and sisters, we will not be impacting the world for God and for his Messiah.

A holy person is not just holy for the sake of being different from the rest of the world. No, a holy person is different for the sake of being an example to the rest of the world, to show the world what it means to be truly obedient to the God of the universe in ways that make a difference in the lives around them; in their homes, in their work, and in their communities.

Becoming salt (a preservative of all that is right and good) and light (declaring the truth in dark places) is the life of a true believer of the Messiah and the God of the Bible.

Are you holy?

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Faith in God is a righteous act

Righteousness is not a complicated theological ideal.

We hear much in Christian circles today speaking of righteousness as a state which one has achieved or been placed into through the completed work of Messiah. There is a distinction between the state of the righteous and the state of the unrighteous. This righteous state, they say, is available only through faith in Messiah.

…righteousness is the God-given quality imputed to man upon believing in Christ.
Christianity.com, “What is Righteousness?”

Righteousness is the state of moral perfection required by God to enter heaven…believers receive righteousness from Christ. This doctrine is called imputation. Christ’s perfect righteousness is applied to imperfect humans.
learnreligions.com, “Righteousness”

While partially true, this lofty theological ideal does not convey the essential root of Paul’s argument in Romans 4, as he speaks about the righteousness of Abraham.

Romans 4:3-5 – For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness…

To Paul, faith in God is in itself an act of righteousness. Abraham simply believed God, and this was counted by God as a righteous act. This was controversial to the Jewish ear because they understood righteousness was demonstrated only by being obedient to the law; and technically they were not mistaken.

Deuteronomy 6:25 – “Righteousness will be ours if we are careful to follow every one of these commands before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us.’

If someone dutifully followed the law, according to Moses, God considered them righteous. They were then doing righteous things because they were following God’s instruction. By doing righteous things, they demonstrate that they are righteous. This is not an incorrect understanding.

However, where the religious leaders of Yeshua’s day went off the rails was by becoming proud in their hearts; they considered themselves so obedient to the letter of the law that they were better than others who did not follow the law as closely as they thought they were doing. However, Yeshua knew their hearts were not right, even though they were technically doing “right” things. This is what led to the hypocrisy that Yeshua denounces.

Matthew 23:23 – “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness. These things should have been done without neglecting the others.

What Paul was trying to convey was that believing God (and by extension, his servant, Messiah Yeshua) was in and of itself an act of righteousness equal to or better than all of the deeds of the law combined. Faith in God was the sum and goal of the law; to generate a heartfelt and sincere trust in God in all things. To Paul, this belief that what God was saying (through Messiah) was true constituted an act of righteousness that was “apart” from the law of Moses (that is, it was not a command in itself), but it was still evidenced within the Tanakh, or the Law and the Prophets, the Old Testament.

Romans 3:21 – But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets.

There was no law in the Torah of Moses that said simply “believe God.” Instead, the Israelites were commanded to have no other gods before him, to make no images, not to defame his reputation; all of these base commandments are predicated on a belief in God; faith in God must be assumed for these laws to make any sense.

Abraham exhibited faith by simply believing what God said; it had nothing to do what he did or did not do according to some instruction; he merely believed that God was trustworthy. Paul’s argument is that Abraham’s simple expression of faith in God was the supreme act of righteousness. This act of righteousness had nothing to do with any law, it was a genuine and unadorned, honest response of the heart toward God.

This is the response that God desires of all people everywhere; not to grudgingly follow some list of commands to get to heaven, but to honestly from the heart desire to follow him in all things.

Yeshua courts us to believe in him, as he represented the one true God in all things.

John 14:1 – “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

This godly faith in Messiah, Paul says, is demonstrated by all who believe.

Romans 3:22 – The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe…

Righteousness is not a complicated theological ideal. It is simply believing God from the heart demonstrated by believing his Messiah.

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Personal and private righteous actions for the sake of others

This is the authentic way that people receive the real help they need.

Matthew 6:1-2 – Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

While this passage is typically employed in the service of condemning negative acts of hypocrisy, there is an interesting aspect that highlights the positive aspect of the believers life: practicing private righteousness.

Yeshua here equates giving to those in need as an act of righteousness. When believers are compassionate to others, they are exhibiting their righteousness. To exhibit righteousness is not wrong, in fact, we are supposed to be the “lights of the world” and the “salt of the earth.” However, if we are doing acts of righteousness only for the sake of being seen by others to show them how superior we are for being so righteous, then this steps over into the realm of hypocrisy. This is the main point that Yeshua is attempting to convey.

But I believe the term “practicing or doing righteousness” still carries a lot of beneficial cargo for the believer today. Just because it’s wrong to be an exhibitionist with our righteous acts does not mean we should not still do them. This is why Yeshua says if there is a chance they can be seen by others as hypocritical, to do them outside the purview of others; to do them in secret.

Matthew 6:3-4 – But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

We should attempt to help others and be compassionate in ways that don’t draw attention to ourselves, but that only give glory to God. The reassurance that Yeshua provides is that God still sees those genuine acts of charity, even if no one else does, and he honors the generous heart.

Proverbs 19:17 – Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed.

While there have been many fine organizations and efforts over the years to assist the less fortunate, our ultimate goal should not be to join some charity organization as a means of adding to our “resume of righteousness.” We should find ways to simply give with a willing heart whenever a need arises, and when we are able to do so. This is the authentic way that people receive the real help they need. It is personal because it comes from the heart; it is sacrificial because it takes personal time, effort, and resources; and it is genuine because it is done solely for the benefit of another.

This is the type of righteous compassion that Yeshua encourages and which God blesses. Whenever we exhibit love to others simply for the sake of loving them, we honor God and bring glory to his name.

Living as a new person

His Spirit can renew our hearts for him.

1 Samuel 10:6, 9 – …and the Spirit of Yahweh will come mightily on you, and you shall prophesy with them, and shall be turned into another man … When he turned his back to leave Samuel, God gave him another heart. And all these signs came to pass that day.

The Spirit of God has the ability to transform believers. Saul, as the first king of Israel, was mightily anointed by God for the task, so much so, that he effectively became another person. The text says that God when the Spirit of God came upon him, God “gave him another heart.”

God’s desired goal with individuals is that when they encounter him in a personal way, they are effectively changed from the inside out.

God had told Ezekiel that the whole nation of Israel was going to be able to receive his influence in their lives. This was to provide them the strength and wisdom to obey his commands.

Ezekiel 36:25-27 – I will also sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will cleanse you from all your impurities and all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.

This was God’s plan for them all along: to become a new people, set apart from all others, and to be obedient examples to the rest of the world. They were to be a nation following his torah, his instruction for all to see. This obedience would not be one of rote compulsion, but one of freedom and joy from the heart.

Jeremiah 31:33 – Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days – the LORD’s declaration. I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

The only way this could effectively be accomplished was by transforming the individual’s heart to understand and to desire to follow God.

Hebrews 10:22 – let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water.

Just as God had promised Israel that he would cleanse them from all of their impurities and their idols, he promised that believers in Messiah could draw near to him as they received cleansing for their rebellious deeds of conscience and body.

John 3:3, 5 – Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” … Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

To live as a believer in God and his Messiah is to live as a new person with lives of integrity and righteousness. This is the goal that God has for every individual who comes to him in sincerity and truth, and he can make it so.

Many people come to congregations seeking to change their own lives, as if somehow they can learn enough or do the right “church things” they can mold and shape themselves into who they think God wants them to be. However, all of these passages speak to the changing of the heart to be an act of God, not a twelve-step plan to becoming a better person.

2 Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Messiah, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

It doesn’t take a program of study to experience God’s presence in our lives, but it does take a sincere approach that lays down all personal objectives and known transgressions against a holy and righteous God. A true seeker must be willing to die to self, for the call of the true believer is the call of the martyr.

Just like Saul of long ago, God is still willing to transform. Once we have surrendered all to God, then he can mold and shape us into whom he desires us to be for him.

Becoming a lighthouse of integrity on the foundation of God’s wisdom

For thousands of years, the wisdom of God has successfully guided the righteous.

Proverbs 4:18-19 – The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday. But the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they don’t know what makes them stumble.

When we as believers are operating from a place of integrity, the way through situational obscurity can become clear. When we are obligated to do what’s right, there are limited actions, if not a singular course of action, available to us.

But how do we know what’s right? If we keep to the context of this proverbial wisdom, we find that wisdom is the key. Throughout the various chapters of Proverbs, we see they are based on a father who is imparting wisdom to a young child.

Proverbs 4:10-13 – Listen, my son. Accept my words, and you will live many years. I am teaching you the way of wisdom; I am guiding you on straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hindered; when you run, you will not stumble. Hold on to instruction; don’t let go. Guard it, for it is your life.

The key to “not stumbling” through life is to have a repository of wisdom from which to draw insight and understanding. We all must have some sort of foundational knowledge that serves to uphold our decision making processes. In ancient times, this was the common practice for parents to pass on to their children.

Proverbs 4:3-6 – When I was a son with my father, tender and precious to my mother, he taught me and said: “Your heart must hold on to my words. Keep my commands and live. “Get wisdom, get understanding; don’t forget or turn away from the words from my mouth. “Don’t abandon wisdom, and she will watch over you; love her, and she will guard you.

In today’s information-overloaded life, parents struggle to not only find their own way but to successfully impart any type of personal wisdom to their children. There are so many sources of opinion that are available on any topic these days that newer generations are being involuntarily raised by the collective angst of a worldwide mentorship. Rather than having an historically based heritage of proven familial insights, they are basing decisions by the shallow opinion of a hollow, aggregate new orthodoxy.

As believing parents, we need to caution our children that “the way of the wicked is like the darkest gloom; they don’t know what makes them stumble.” Even to declare today that anything, or anyone, could be wicked is in itself a transgression against this neo-orthodoxy of popular opinion. However, a biblical worldview does not hesitate to name wickedness and foolishness, along with righteousness and the source of all true wisdom.

Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.
Proverbs 2:3-9 – furthermore, if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of Yahweh and discover the knowledge of God. For Yahweh gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up success for the upright; He is a shield for those who live with integrity so that he may guard the paths of justice and protect the way of his faithful followers. Then you will understand righteousness, justice, and integrity – every good path.

The “good path” of integrity springs from a heart formed with true wisdom. The Bible teaches that wisdom comes from Yahweh. For thousands of years, the wisdom of God has successfully guided the righteous, and been faithfully passed to their children to provide them the right way amidst the chaos of their respective generations.

An ancient Hebraic proverb states: “Those who fear the Lord will form true judgments, and they will kindle righteous deeds like a light.” Our proverb today is filled with a similar sentiment: “The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.” Yeshua also taught that righteous deeds of integrity can shine amidst a world of darkness that does not know God, and that the doing of those good and righteous deeds can provide a beacon of hope for others.

Matthew 5:14-16 – You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket, but rather on a lampstand, and it gives light for all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

Shining in the perfection of integrity

The individual who is perfect acts with integrity in all things.

Matthew 5:48 – Be therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Integrity is a word in English which is associated with doing what’s right instinctively and from the heart. It implies that, when faced with moral dilemma, an individual will choose the correct path in God’s eyes.

What is wonderful about the original languages of the Bible is how rich they are in meaning. Like facets of a gem glint and sparkle in the sunlight as it is rotated before the discerning eye, the ancient words and language have folds and layers of various shades of meaning.

In Hebrew, a word that is many times translated into English as integrity is the word tom (pronounced tome). At its root, it carries the meaning of completion, or a full measure. Something that is tom cannot be added to because it is an act in its simplest and purest form. Taken in this sense, integrity is then the most pure and simple action that can be accomplished in any given situation. It cannot be improved upon.

Another layer to this Hebrew term is that it describes the inherent nature of the ancient high priest’s ephod, a type of ceremonial breastplate, that was used to divine God’s direction for his people.

Exodus 28:30 – “Place the Urim and Thummim in the breastpiece for decisions, so that they will also be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before the LORD. Aaron will continually carry the means of decisions for the Israelites over his heart before the LORD.

In some translations, these strange Hebrew words are translated as “lights and perfections.” While not fully understood by scholars, it is thought that whatever the Urim and Thummim actually were, they may have lit up in certain fashions to indicate God’s direction when questions were posed of him. What is interesting to me is the word Thummim is the plural of tom, which is our word for integrity. The idea of integrity and doing what’s right is bound up in the imagery of this ancient form of seeking God’s guidance.

In the passage from Matthew above, Yeshua indicates that we should be “perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect.” The word for perfect here is the Greek word teleios, which means “having reached its end, complete, perfect.” I find that this admonition of Yeshua is simply carrying over this idea of integrity and doing what’s right according to God’s will into the eternal kingdom of God.

The apostle Paul corroborates this when he writes to the believers in Ephesus:

Ephesians 4:11-13 – And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, equipping the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.

While this modern version provides a clear meaning of the passage, the KJV highlights an aspect of this maturity that can be obscured through some translations.

Ephesians 4:13 – Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

The “perfect man” is the telios man, the individual who is complete, who has reached the end or the goal of all God is wanting to accomplish within all individuals. The individual who is perfect acts with integrity in all things. Like the ancient breastplate of the high priest, the perfect individual shines with the “lights and perfections” of God’s will, and others can see and know the truth of God through observing their actions.

When we reach this level of maturity, then will be fulfilled within us the desire of God within his people.

Matthew 5:16 – Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

The God of compassion has children of compassion

Those who claim to be a child of God should act like their Father.

Genesis 6:5-8 – Then Yahweh saw that the wickedness of mankind was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of their hearts was only evil continually. So Yahweh was sorry that He had made mankind on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. Then Yahweh said, “I will wipe out mankind whom I have created from the face of the land; mankind, and animals as well, and crawling things, and the birds of the sky. For I am sorry that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of Yahweh.

As bad as we may think that our societies are today, the generation of Noah’s day was far more corrupt. God had observed that all people had become wayward from the purity and simplicity of the original intent of his Creation. God had created man in his image to rule and reign as righteous representatives over his Creation. Yet, instead, people had chosen to use their gifts and abilities in the service of wickedness and evil.

In his justice and righteousness, God determines the elimination of wicked humans is necessary in order to stop the rampant disobedience and chaos from continuing as it had. However, in his compassion for obedience and righteousness, Noah finds favor in God’s eyes. God enacts a plan that allows his human representatives to continue on the earth, albeit through the family of one righteous and obedient man, Noah.

Throughout the Bible, we find God’s wrath and justice is constantly contrasted with his mercy, grace, and compassion. In fact, this is the very description God provides of himself as he reveals himself to Moses:

Exodus 33:18-19 – Then Moses said, “Please, let me see your glory.” He said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim the name ‘Yahweh’ before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

Compassion is tied up within the very name or character of God. His presence and revelation of himself is in itself an act of grace and compassion that we may know him more, and learn of his righteous expectations for all mankind. For those of us considering ourselves as a child of God, then we should likewise have grace, mercy, and compassion embedded within every fiber of our being. This should be our demonstration to others that we are truly his children.

The integrity of praising the Creator of all

A realization of the truthfulness of God’s word and his works all throughout his Creation should provide all the motivation needed for us to lift our praises to him.

Psalm 33:1 – Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous ones; praise from the upright is beautiful.

According to the Psalmist, those who are righteous are expected to be praisers of God. We have reviewed before how the righteous ones of God are people of integrity; the tzaddikim, those who are just or righteous in conduct and character. Rejoicing by those of integrity is appropriate and beautiful.

True to form, it is evident that God’s people are a praising people. Worship music is not only a primary aspect of services around the world, but it is also a huge industry in and of itself.

Unfortunately, I have seen musical tastes divide congregations and create tensions and hard feelings among members who have differing views on what would be considered appropriate worship styles. Some people prefer traditional, hymn-like worship, others prefer contemporary music styles along the lines of pop culture. The Bible, though, makes no distinction between these styles.

Psalm 33:2-3 – Praise the LORD with the lyre; make music to him with a ten-stringed harp. Sing a new song to him; play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.

However, regardless of the abuses and contentions about the role and place of music in congregations today, it is definitely scriptural for God’s people to praise him. A realization of the truthfulness of God’s word and his works all throughout his Creation should provide all the motivation needed for us to lift our praises to him.

Psalm 33: 4, 6, 8-9 – For the word of the LORD is right, and all his work is trustworthy. … The heavens were made by the word of the LORD, and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth. … Let the whole earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spoke, and it came into being; he commanded, and it came into existence.

I typically will listen to instrumental music while I write, and, as if to validate this point further, even as I am writing, the hymn below has begun to play. This is a perfect indicator of this very principle put forward by the Psalmist. How amazing is the working of God in continuity and encouragement!

This is my Father’s world,
and to my listening ears
all nature sings, and round me rings
the music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
his hand the wonders wrought.
This is my Father’s world,
the birds their carols raise,
the morning light, the lily white,
declare their maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world:
he shines in all that’s fair;
in the rustling grass I hear him pass;
he speaks to me everywhere.
This is my Father’s world.
O let me ne’er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let the earth be glad!
This is my Father’s World, by Maltbie D. Babcock

“Though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.” People of integrity everywhere should be encouraged by this message of hope and positivity based on the eternal and all-powerful nature of our God. I hope in some way it also blesses your life today.

The privilege and responsibility of helping the helpless

Exhibiting compassion is the earmark of the children of God.

To say that God is compassionate is an understatement. All throughout the Bible, God is listed as the merciful one, a God of mercy and compassion.

Jonathan Gill in his Bible exposition states that this type language is not only rich within the pages of scripture, but it’s also all through the Jewish writings:

nothing is more common in Zohar, and the Talmud than to express the Divine Being by no other name, than “the Merciful”; “the Merciful said” so, and so; that is, God: and so the Arabians generally begin their books and chapters with these words, “in the name of God, exceeding merciful”, or “the merciful commiserator”…

The Hebrew word for merciful is defined with some of the following expanded ideas: “to stroke or lovingly caress, or to be secure as within a womb.” Based on these concepts, we can come to understand that to be merciful is to care and protect for another as if that person was their very own helpless child. This refines the definition to the point of a needle: to truly express compassion is to lovingly help those who are helpless.

Almost every biblical reference in a search of the word merciful comes up as a description of God, with only few exceptions.

Proverbs 11:17: “The merciful man does good to his own soul, but he who is cruel troubles his own flesh.”

This proverb speaks of how God rewards the merciful, because in expressing mercy and compassion, a person is reflexively doing what’s best for their own soul, since God will reward them for their faithfulness in caring for those unable to help themselves.

All of Psalm 112 is an ode to the righteous person, the one who fears God and keep his commandments. According to this psalm, this quality of mercy is a predominant aspect of righteous living.

Psalm 112:4-6: “Light dawns in the darkness for the upright, gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is well with the man who deals graciously and lends. He will maintain his cause in judgment. For he will never be shaken. The righteous will be remembered forever.”

As we recognize God’s most dominant quality of mercy and compassion, we should be filled with the same quality as we seek to emulate him. As we are made in his image, we share his qualities, and our responsibility is to reflect those qualities around us in this life.

This is the message that Yeshua encourages us, rather commands us, to be engaged with if we are to be considered children of God.

Luke 6:36: “Therefore be merciful, even as your Father is also merciful.”