"Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times."
Psalm 106:3
“Blessed are they that keep judgment,”
Have you met a person who is seeking after happiness, but never seems to find it? This is the testimony of many a believer—BC—before Christ. The psalmist in our verse for today shows us the proper pipeline to being blessed by the Lord. And it all has to do with having the connection to the right source. It’s really not that complicated.
The people who are blessed are the people who are habitually “keeping judgment.” The Hebrew word translated here as “judgment” means, “justice, right, rectitude, (attributes of God or man).” These are folks who love justice and what is right, as God does. In any situation, they seek to go the “right” way. In any decision or misunderstanding with others, they want to come down on God’s side of the argument. They are people of judgment.
“And he that doeth righteousness”
These are, “All who yield obedience to just law – whether a nation or an individual,” (Barnes).
The “righteous man” is not righteous of his own accord. The only righteousness he claims is the imputed righteousness in Christ, his Savior. The righteous man is not perfect, as in sinless perfection. In fact, he does still sin, because he is a sinner, but a sinner saved by grace. The desire of his heart is to obey his God.
“The desire of the righteous is only good: but the expectation of the wicked is wrath,” (Proverbs 11:23).
“At all times.”
It is not about acting just and righteous when the preacher comes to visit, or when we are sitting in church. It’s not enough to be a man of judgment every now and then. No, the man with godly judgment lives “right” as a way of life. His desire and his life are consistently connected to the source of blessing. These believers want to live to please their Lord.
“Those are truly blessed, or happy, whose hearts are devoted to God, and who live in the habit of obedience,” (Clarke).
The opposite is also true. Those who live for themselves, forgetting about God and His claim on their lives are not happy, not in the Bible sense. They may have some transient fun and laughs on occasion, but nothing that is lasting. Always searching for the next fun thing, but it never eases the ache in their souls.
“Holiness is happiness,” (Spurgeon).
Do you have the blessing of God in your life?
1. Brown, Driver, Briggs. Brown-Driver-Briggs’ Hebrew Definitions, the electronic version in eSword.
2. Adam Clarke, Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, the electronic version in eSword.
3. C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, the electronic version in eSword.