October 24, 2023

“Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer. ps 4:1 nkjv   David calls Yahweh, “ O God of my righteousness,” and so should we. We have no righteousness of our own; in fact, the Prophet Isaiah says that “our” righteousness is as filthy rags before Yahweh:

“But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.” isa 64:6 nkjv    Isaiah also says, “I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.” isa 61:10 nkjv

The “garments of salvation,” being a believer's clothing, obtained only from Yahweh, is the work of the Messiah Yeshua. The word “salvation,” is the Strong’s Hebrew word h3468, eysa, used 32 times as [deliverance, salvation rescue, safety welfare]; it is taken from the Strong’s Hebrew word h3467, yasa, and is used 149 times as [save], and 15 times as [saviour]. Likewise, the “robe of righteousness,” is from Yeshua to all believers, as Jeremiah writes in jer 23:6 “...Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Thankfully, as the redeemed, we have remarkable standing before Yahweh, but only by the grace and faithfulness of Yeshua’s work on our behalf at Calvary.

Considering the above, lets look at what David goes on to say in Psalms 4:2-5 nkjv:

“How long, O you sons of men, Will you turn my glory to shame? How long will you love worthlessness And seek falsehood? Selah 3 But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The Lord will hear when I call to Him. 4 Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah 5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And put your trust in the Lord.”

Notice it is Yahweh who “sets apart FOR HIMSELF him who is godly.” Now it is considerably important to understand that “godliness” and “righteousness” are sourced two separate ways… Godliness is the result of one’s obedience and faithfulness to Yahweh’s expectations of them; it is a purposed effort [act] of our doings; whereas, it is Yahweh Himself that has made us righteous. The “worthless sons of men,” who turn Yahweh’s glory to shame and seek falsehood, have separated themselves from Yahweh by their own doings… as opposed to a “set apart” one who can expect Yahweh to “hear when they call,” and etc. as noted above. I might ask: What do think the sacrifice of righteousness is?

I suggest that the sacrifice of righteousness would probably include, but not be limited to, separating oneself from all forms of sin, self-indulgence, carelessness, selfish pursuits, and undisciplined pleasures, there are more examples. Notice that these things are normally appetites of our flesh; disciplining our flesh is normally “costly,” in that our flesh rebels against it. David, when making a burnt sacrifice in 1 Chronicles 21:24 said, “I will not offer a sacrifice to the LORD that costs me nothing.” Fasting could be a good example of a sacrifice of righteousness. Putting our trust in the LORD, as noted, oftentimes requires us to bridle our tongues and attitudes and patiently wait for Yahweh’s solution to come… most of us detest patience that presses our flesh and our self interest. Its pertinent that Yeshua said “by your patience possess ye your souls.” luk 21:19 nkjv    It is notable that Yeshua said this when explaining the persecutions believers would face at the end of the age. Perhaps this will be the most challenging sacrifice of righteousness we will ever offer.

David finishes this Psalm as follows:

“There are many who say, “Who will show us any good?” Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us. 7 You have put gladness in my heart, More than in the season that their grain and wine increased. 8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep; For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” ps 4:6-8 nkjv

Somehow, I believe the message and understanding we need to learn from these Scriptures is for strengthening our “set apartness;” a reminder of things that are important to our growing in faithfulness so that harder challenges do not hinder or frustrate our perspective of who we are, and that we truly can lie down in peace, and sleep; because we truly know Yahweh alone makes us dwell in safety.

Shalom, John