JOY COMES TO THOSE WHO WALK IN THE LIGHT

Proclamation:

“Let those who love The Lord hate evil … Light shines on the righteous and joy on the upright in heart.  Rejoice in The Lord, you who are righteous, and praise His holy name.”  Psalm 97:10-12 (NIV)

Explanation:

The words of this psalm are thought to have been written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  It presents the same subject and argument as the preceding psalm, the coming of the kingdom of Christ.  This psalm provides descriptive imagery regarding the coming of The Lord.  It ends with a focus of the light of The Lord shining on the righteous.

Application:

Those of us who love The Lord cannot also love the things which The Lord hates.  We cannot serve two masters. (Matthew 6:24)  Believers love The Lord and must walk in the light and let His light shine through us for the world to see. (John 8:12, Matthew 5:16, and 1 John 1:7)  He will show us the way, guide our feet and a light unto our pathway, if we follow His word. (Psalm 119:105)  Blessings are in store for those of us who are upright in heart.  So, let us rejoice in The Lord and praise His holy and righteous name.  He is coming back.

The Righteous Live Long And Are Still Productive

"The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;  planted in the house of The LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.  They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, "The LORD is upright; He is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in Him."  Psalms 92:12-15 (NIV)

The unknown human author of this psalm states that the righteous will flourish under God's care.  He compares them to trees, palm trees and cedars of Lebanon, which live for a long time; as opposed to the wicked and the evil doers which he describes as short lived grass that will be destroyed. (Psalms 92:7)  The righteous believers will even still be productive in their old age and they will continue to praise The Lord.

No one wants to live to be a ripe old age if they are not going to be functional at that age.  The righteous believers who maintain a close relationship with The Lord will be blessed to enjoy long and productive lives. (Psalms 92:13)  Believers know that it is good to praise The Lord.  The righteous believers praise Him daily, in the morning and in the evening. (Psalms 92:1-2)  They are blessed in a special way for doing so. (Psalms 92:10)  So, to be blessed in a special way, to live long, to remain strong, to be productive, and to prosper, we should be like the righteous believers and praise The Lord every morning and every evening.  

We Need Knowledge Understanding And Wisdom

"Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning. The fear of The LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of The Holy One is understanding."  Proverbs 9:9-10 (NIV)

King Solomon states that if one instructs, corrects, or teaches a wise and righteous man, he will become wiser.  He also makes it clear that fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. (Psalms 111:10)

Only someone who values wisdom, knowledge, and understanding will appreciate and gain from instruction, correction, and teaching.  Wisdom is the application of knowledge and understanding through experience.  One can know facts and not understand their significance.  One can understand but not know how to apply the information.  Wisdom is a gift from God.  (Proverbs 2:6)  A reverence for God and the dislike of His wrath is provide the basis for wisdom.  The knowledge of The Word of God, by reading or hearing, with due diligence, praying and studying, can lead to understanding.  However, God only grants wisdom to those who apply The Word to their lives. 

God's Favor Sourrounds The Righteous

"But let all who take refuge in You be glad; let them ever sing for joy.  Spread Your protection over them, that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.  For surely, O LORD, You bless the righteous; You surround them with Your favor as with a shield."  Psalms 5:11-12 (NIV)

King David prayed that God would bless and protect the righteous and surround them with His favor.  Those who are true believers should rejoice because they are assured of the blessings and protection of The Lord.

Those of us who believe in The Lord Jesus Christ and obey The Word of God, are surrounded by the favor of God and it is like a hedge of protection around us.  God's favor is a special blessing for us.  We should thank God for our being blessed and favored.

God Hears And Answers The Righteous

"The heart of the righteous weighs its answers, but the mouth of the wicked gushes evil.  The Lord is far from the wicked but He hears the prayer of the righteous."  Proverbs 15:28-29 (NIV)

King Solomon, the wisest man ever, said that a righteous man thinks before he speaks, and then he said that The Lord hears the prayers only of the righteous.

It is always a good thing for us to consider what we are about to say, before we say it.  We should filter our thoughts, and not give utterance to all of them.  The Lord does not fellowship with the wicked.    However, The Lord is always near the righteous.  He hears and answers their prayers.  On our own, none of us are righteous. (Romans 3:10)  If we are righteous, it is because we are part of the "many" that were made righteous by His death on the cross. (Romans 5:19)  Just as righteousness was imputed to Abraham, it is also imputed to us, if we believe.   (Romans 4:24)  Because we believe, The Lord watches over us and hears our prayers. (1 Peter 3:12)  Because we believe, that makes our prayers powerful and effective. (James 5:16)

Being Obedient To God's Commands

"The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become ... The Lord was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and His heart was filled with pain.  So The Lord said, 'I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth; men and animals' ... But Noah found favor in the eyes of The Lord ... Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God ... So God said to Noah, 'I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth.  So make yourself an ark of cypress wood ... This is how you are to build it ... I am going to bring flood waters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens ... But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark; you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you.  You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you ... You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.'  Noah did everything just as God commanded him."  Genesis 6:5-8:21 (NIV)  The great flood followed this.

In this first book of Moses history is recorded regarding the events which led up to the great flood.  God told Noah, who was a righteous man, that He was going to destroy all of mankind and all of the  animals.  However, Noah and his family would be spared along with two of every kind of animal.  God told Noah to build an ark and He told him exactly how to build it.  Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Noah had never built an ark before, or anything like it, but he did what God had commanded him to do.  Because he was obedient, he and his family were spared when the great flood eliminated all of the rest of mankind.  We do not know what the future holds in store for us, but if we walk with and follow God, all things will work out for our benefit. (Romans 8:28)  We may also be blessed and spared from some very bad situation if we are obedient to God's commands. 

Blessed Saints Leave Behind Blessed Memories

"Blessings crown the head of the righteous ... The memory of the righteous will be a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot." Proverbs 10:6-7 (NIV)

A righteous preson will be remembered by man and by God after their death, and their memory will be a blessing to those left behind. To those who have experienced the death of a loved one who was a child of God, remembering their Christian life and the things that they taught you will be a blessing to you. They may be gone, but not forgotten, and they can still be a blessing to you even in death.

We should thank God for the blessing of having them in our lives and for the continued blessings that their memory affords us.

Want A Long Productive Prosperous Life?

"The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those that be planted in the house of The Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;" Psalms 92:12-14

The palm tree, in a barren land, is watered by deep roots. The cedars of Lebanon grow tall and are long-lived. Being planted in the courtyard of the temple is symbolic of thriving, in spite of the conditions, and prosperity for those who maintain a close relationship with The Lord. He will provide a permanent security and long lasting prosperity, even into old age.

The righteous shall have a fruitful and prosperous long life.