Rightousness - Psalm 36
 1 An oracle is within my heart
      concerning the sinfulness of the wicked:
      There is no fear of God
      before his eyes. 2 For in his own eyes he flatters himself
      too much to detect or hate his sin. 3 The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful;
      he has ceased to be wise and to do good. 4 Even on his bed he plots evil;
      he commits himself to a sinful course
      and does not reject what is wrong.
There is that part of us that knows wrong, and wants to do it. Righteousness does not come natural to us. It is why God must account our belief to us as righteousness… otherwise we’d have none to speak of; and why our obedience is our righteousness, the manifestation of the righteousness credited to us for our belief. God however is not like us…
 5 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens,
      your faithfulness to the skies. 6 Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
      your justice like the great deep.
      O LORD, you preserve both man and beast. 7 How priceless is your unfailing love!
      Both high and low among men
      find [b] refuge in the shadow of your wings.
God has love like no other… his righteousness, the same. While ours must be dolled out to us in portions, God’s righteousness is innate. As in other Psalms, paired up with righteousness, is justice. God is just. Consider that when God accounts righteousness to us, we too can be just in our actions, when otherwise we’d fall prey to the whims of the oracle within our heart.
 8 They feast on the abundance of your house;
      you give them drink from your river of delights. 9 For with you is the fountain of life;
      in your light we see light. 10 Continue your love to those who know you,
      your righteousness to the upright in heart.
 As we consume what is God’s, it becomes as ours. His love, his righteousness, his justice, can be as ours. How to consume God’s righteousness, for the benefit of those around us? Believe God and obey Him. As we saw when first started out on this word study, it keeps coming back to those simple rules… though simple does not mean easy, but then we only think of easy and hard when we’re acting on our own power. Feasting however is easy. Just feast on the abundance of God’s house! Consume His love… and you will love. Consume His righteousness… by believing, and then your obedient actions will be those of a righteous man.
 11 May the foot of the proud not come against me,
      nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. 12 See how the evildoers lie fallen—
      thrown down, not able to rise!
When we triumph in God, mere man cannot triumph against us. When we are thrown, Christ helps us get up… those without Him, those who do not believe God or obey Him, when they are thrown down, Christ won’t be there to help. But, remember that Christ loved the outcast and downtrodden… so even those who He does not help can still receive Him, if they believe His Word and obey. However, the Psalm speaks of those who will not do this; it speaks of those who would see our ruin and laugh, and so will end up in ruin at the end. How can God let anyone end up in ruin? Is it for His pleasure? No. It is because God is righteous, and in His righteousness He is just, and justice says there are consequences for our actions. But God is also merciful, and in His mercy He gives us a way into His love and into His righteousness, despite the oracle that often remains in our heart, even amidst our dismissal of it… and the way to God’s love and righteousness starts with belief. Many will never believe, and that is their choice… and I’ve made mine, to live in His love and righteousness.