THE LORD WATCHES OVER THE RIGHTEOUS
Psalm 1:6 For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
What does it mean to be righteous? If you look to the perspective of the world you see it as something that is morally right, and acceptable that brings freedom from guilt. If this is correct then even genocide and acts of terrorism could be considered righteous acts if done with a clear conscious or patriotism. But is it righteous in God’s eyes? Would I be safe in saying that God watches over people if they are righteous in their own minds? I don’t think so, nor would the majority of people in the world? Not only can words be misleading, but so can definitions.
Well, what would the person be like that God is watching over that he calls righteous? At it’s very basic I would think that it would be a person that would do what was right in God’s sight. This would certainly mean the person would need to be without sin. And it would mean more than just not doing things that were bad, but also doing things that were good. Who among us could be seen righteous in this standard. The answer is no one! The only person that has ever lived a perfectly righteous holy life was Jesus. Romans 3:20-24 says, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. So from this we see that there is certainly a double standard if not more for who are considered righteous. This is why the Bible alone must be the standard for knowing what to believe. God has set the standard or the mark to which everything else is to be judged. With this in mind righteousness is more than a action, but a state of being. In God’s thinking we can not be kind of righteous. We are either righteous or not. And according to what we just read a moment ago, everyone has sinned. No one is counted righteous in their own merit. All we have to do is sin one time and we are no longer righteous. So for God to consider a person righteous it must be imparted rather than achieved. This can only come by the removal of what disqualifies a person from righteousness and that is sin committed by that person. And this would have to come from someone that had never sinned. And to be able to do it for all of humanity, it would have to come from a person that was infinitely righteous. This could only be fulfilled by God. So anyone could be considered righteous as long as they had their sins removed in the mind or accountability of God. So in God’s thinking even though every person has come short of being righteous, they can become righteous in his removing their sinfulness and crediting Jesus’ righteous act of atonement for them.
Now you may think that explanation was much too long, but in it there is also the reason by the Lord will not watch over the wicked. Only by a person receiving Jesus as their Lord and Savior can a person receive the benefits of God’s blessings.
If you are a Christian you can be assured that God continually is watching over you in order to protect and provide what you need. Even while you are asleep the Lord is watching over you. Even though we need sleep, the Bible says, “God neither slumbers nor sleeps.” (Psalm 121:1-5) Because you belong to Jesus God see’s you as righteous, even though you and I still fall short of living a righteous holy life. It’s all because of Jesus! Aren’t you glad that you are a Christian? If you are not, simply just ask Jesus right now to forgive you of your sins and to come into your heart and he will. He wants to!
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your constant watch care over us. You are so good to us, and thank you Lord Jesus for making us righteous and holy. You are such a wonderful Savior.
