God’s advice is good for us.

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

The insights we have gleaned regarding the value of Yahowah’s Towrah – Teaching from the Mizmowr – Psalms have been as rewarding as were those we enjoyed in the Mashal – Proverbs. So since our efforts have been consistently rewarded, let’s consider another.

In the next Psalm, we find that rather than introducing the Torah directly, the Torah is affirmed in the end. And as always, we find that God’s advice is good for us.

“As a result of (min – from) Yahowah (efei – hwhy), the steps (mits’ad – the stride and progress) of each individual (geber – of each unique person) are prepared and firmly established (kuwn – are secure, stable, upright, and steadfast). And (wa) His Way (derek) is a pleasurable experience (chaphets – is desirable, delightful, and pleasing).” (Mizmowr / Song / Psalm 37:23)

It is fun to walk with God. His way is pleasant, even pleasurable. When our voyage of discovery ceases to be enjoyable, we are headed in the wrong direction.

Geber, rendered “each individual” in this passage, is so seldom used in Scripture, we are compelled to consider why it was selected. And my sense is that it was deployed to emphasize the fact that our relationship with Yahowah is one on one, individual, and unique. We engage God personally and privately. This is the antithesis of a religious experience.

Also relevant, Yahowah will tell us at the conclusion of this discussion that He uses His Towrah to guide and direct our steps, to prepare us so that we are firmly established. To walk in the Towrah is to walk to God. It is the means to a relationship with Him and it provides the path to salvation. Those who follow its instructions find that they lead to heaven – a most pleasurable experience.

While we are in our mortal bodies we will stumble at times, and fail to live up to the standard established in the Torah, the good news is that Yah is always there ready and willing to pick us up. “Indeed though (ky) he falls (napal), he is not cast down (lo’ tuwl – we will not be forced away or removed from the fellowship). Indeed (ky) Yahowah (efei – hwhy) is sustaining and upholding him in His hand (samak yad – is supporting him in His hand).” (Mizmowr / Song / Psalm 37:24)

The moral of this message is that, contrary to what Paul alleges, we do not have to do everything the Towrah instructs perfectly and without exception to be saved. God’s Torah teaches us that Yahowah not only has a plan to pick us up, He is personally engaged in the process. We all stumble, and recognizing this, to help us with this, is why the Towrah was written.

The psalmist who has experienced life from both sides now, but still has not witnessed a single occurrence of Yah forsaking anyone He has promised to accept. “I was young (hayah na’ar – I was a child) and now (gam) I am old (zaqen – of advanced years) and yet (wa) I have not seen (lo’ ra’ah – I have not witnessed) the upright and righteous (tsadaq – the person who is in accord with the standard) abandoned or rejected (‘azab – disassociated or forsaken), nor seen (wa) his offspring (zera’ – descendants) searching for (baqash – trying to find) bread (lechem – a meal).” (Mizmowr / Song / Psalm 37:25) Just as God is loving and merciful, He is also trustworthy and reliable.

What follows is one of the clearest depictions of our Heavenly Father’s love for His children we have yet encountered. It is a perfect affirmation of the Covenant.

“Every day (kol yowm – all day long) He is merciful and compassionate (chanan – He is generous and kind, demonstrating favor), accompanying and associating with (lawah – relating to, providing for) His children (zera’ – His seed and offspring), kneeling down in love to bless them (la barakah – diminishing Himself to help them prosper).” (Mizmowr / Song / Psalm 37:26) This is indeed a perfectly written definition of the purpose and result of the “beryth – Family-Oriented Covenant Relationship.” It pictures our Heavenly Father kneeling down to relate to and associate with His children because He loves them and wants to enrich their lives.

This Psalm is written in such a way that it could well read: “Every day He is generous and kind, relating to and providing for His children, for they are a blessing.” And such is the case with an ideal father and family.

The following statement mirrors Yahowah’s request of Abram, where God asked the first beneficiary of the Covenant to walk away from Babylon and all Babel represents. “Please choose to turn away and remove yourself (suwr – I encourage you to decide of your own volition to turn around, change direction, reject, strip away, leave, and distance yourself (qal imperative)) from (min) that which is evil, bad, wrong, immoral, unjust, troubling, and harmful (ra’ – that which is not in accord with the standard, that which is improper and undesirable).” (Mizmowr / Song / Psalm 37:27)

Suwr is an especially revealing concept. It speaks of us “changing direction and walking away” from something, which in this case is ra’, that which is evil, bad, harmful, and wrong. Before we can engage in a relationship with Yahowah we must first “suwr –change direction and turn away” from religion. We must “suwr – reject and then strip away” the myriad of troubling and harmful myths which permeate our culture.

In this passage, suwr was written in the qal imperative, which is the expression of a literal exhortation in the volitional mood. God is thereby encouraging us to exercise our freewill to choose to walk away from religion.

So once we leave religion, we are prepared to walk to God. “And then (wa) I encourage you to consider acting upon and actively engaging with (‘asah – please choose to respond to celebrate, to profit from, and endeavor to associate with (qal imperative)) that which is good, beneficial, moral, agreeable, generous, pleasing, beautiful, and festive (towb – that which is in accord with the standard, is valuable, prosperous, ethical, just, worthy, and worthwhile) and as a result (wa) live (sakan – settle down and dwell) forever (la ‘owlam – into eternity).” (Mizmowr / Song / Psalm 37:27)

In the preceding statement, Yahowah is encouraging us to consider the evidence and then render an informed decision. He wants us to walk away from that which is harmful and immoral and associate with that which is good and beneficial. To do this we have to be judgmental, which means that we have to be able to judge between that which is good or bad, right or wrong, true or false, beneficial or counterproductive, using the proper standard—which is the Torah. “For indeed (ky – truthfully and reliably), Yahowah (efei – hwhy) loves (‘ahab – adores and desires) good judgment, the process of evaluating evidence so as to render a just and fair verdict which resolves disputes (mishpat).” (Mizmowr / Song / Psalm 37:28)

This is the antithesis of the human mantra of Political Correctness, where being judgmental is considered a sin. And it is a handy rebuttal to those who quote the passage in the Christian “New Testament,” wrongly inferring that it says “Judge not lest you be judged,” when it actually says: “Do not separate or you will be separated,” with “krino – separation” being from God.

“And (wa) He will not abandon (lo’ ‘azab –  He will not forsake or desert, He will not reject or separate from) those who steadfastly seek His protection (chacyd – those who trust and rely on Him for shelter and salvation). Throughout eternity (la ‘owlam – forever) they shall be watched over and cared for (shamar – they shall remain within His field of vision, properly attended to, kept secure, revered, and respected).” (Mizmowr / Song / Psalm 37:28)

Chacyd is a derivative of chacah, which speaks of “trusting and relying” upon God. It is from checed, which conveys the reason we trust Yahowah: He is “merciful, kind, and good, and He treats people favorably.”

Shamar is most often used by Yah to encourage us to “focus upon, carefully observe, closely examine, and thoughtfully consider” His Towrah – Teaching. But here, God is the one engaged in shamar and we are the object of His focus and consideration. So in this context we must account for shamar’s ancillary connotations: “to care for, to watch over, to attend to, to keep someone within one’s field of vision, to focus upon them, and thus to revere, and to respect, even to choose them” And when it pertains to our soul, our eternal fate, these are things we all want God to do.

There is however, a different fate awaiting those who do not seek Yah’s protection, who place their trust in less reliable individuals and institutions. “But (wa) the offspring (zera’ – seed and descendants) of the wicked (rasa’ – of those who violate the standard, who are evil) will be cut off (karat – severed and disassociated from the covenant, banished and disassociated, uprooted and die).” (Mizmowr / Song / Psalm 37:28)

Karat is the word God has chosen to convey the fact that He “karat beryth – cut His covenant by way of separation and disassociation,” in essence separating those who would form a relationship with Him from the rest of humanity. This is what it means to be “qodesh – set-apart” unto God. So now here, Yahowah is presenting the other side of this division line, speaking of those who are cut off from Him. He is telling us that all those who disassociate themselves from the Covenant will either die, ceasing to exist, or they will be eternally separated from Him. As will be their children, which means that evil begets evil. The child of a fundamentalist Muslim will become “rasa’ – wicked.” The child of a believing Christian will “rasa’ – violate the same standard” their parents demeaned and ignored. Religion poisons mankind’s “zera’ – seed.”

In this case, karat was scribed in the niphal stem, telling us that the subject, which is “the offspring of the wicked,” will by a simple passive response receive the action of the verb, which is to be cut off. This means that these parents aren’t actively engaged trying to separate their children from God, but instead that it is their unwillingness to engage with God that has led to the children’s fate. They have not observed the Torah or shared it with their descendants. Also, in the perfect conjugation, we learn that the disassociation from God is not partial, but instead complete.

There are many passages in Scripture which demonstrate that the “‘erets – land” is the “‘amar ‘erets – Promised Land” and that it serves as a metaphor for heaven. In fact, ‘amar, which is rendered “promised” in conjunction with the land, actually means “that which is being communicated.” And one of the many verses which communicate this promise is Psalm 37:29: “The upright and vindicated (tsadyq – the righteous and just, those who are in accord with the standard, who are innocent and guiltless) shall inherit (yaras – become an heir to) the land (‘erets – the realm), and they shall live (wa sakan – and they shall dwell and remain) forever (la ‘ad – eternally) upon her (‘al – with and near her (speaking of the ‘erets which is a feminine noun)).” (Mizmowr / Song / Psalm 37:29) If the “‘erets – land” represented anything other than heaven, this promise would not be possible.

The “‘erets – land” represents God’s home, which is what we inherit when we accept the terms and conditions of His Familial Covenant Relationship. But you will notice, to be an heir, you have to be upright, which means that those who bow down in religious services will be excluded. And you have to be vindicated, for which there is only one way: Matsah.

I would be remiss if I didn’t share the primary meaning of ‘al, the last word in this promise. While its secondary connotations describes “motion toward an object or person,” and coming to exist “near them, before them, and alongside of them,” it more accurately represents the title of God, “the Most High.” As such, “The upright and vindicated shall inherit the land and they shall live before, near, and alongside Almighty God.” And in this case, the third person feminine singular suffix, “Her,” would refer to our Spiritual Mother, the Set-Apart Spirit.

God not only wants us to boldly proclaim His Word, He wants us to equip all who would listen with the wisdom to understand what He has to say. “The mouth (peh) of the upright and vindicated (tsadyq – the righteous and just, those who are in accord with the standard, who are innocent and guiltless) passionately and boldly proclaims (hagah – growls and roars out the message they have meditated upon which publicly heralds) wisdom, providing the capacity to understand (hakamah – providing others with the information, instructions, and insights required to make wise decisions), and their tongue (lason – the organ of the mouth used for communicating) speaks the Word (dabar – communicates the Word) of judgment (mishpat – of the process of evaluating evidence so as to render a just and fair verdict which resolves disputes).” (Mizmowr / Song / Psalm 37:30)

In this passage, hagah, translated “passionately and boldly proclaim,” was scribed in the qal stem, affirming that this message is genuine and reliable. And in the imperfect conjugation we discover that the upright and vindicated habitually and consistently roar out the Word of God to all who will listen because they know that a person’s response to it will have unfolding and ongoing consequences throughout time.

The way we come to understand is by exercising good judgment. We must observe and evaluate the evidence which is available to us and then by being discerning and discriminating choose between that which is right or wrong, good or bad, beneficial or harmful, fair or unreasonable, vindicating or incriminating, truthful or unreliable. God wants us to exercise good judgment, so that we come to understand His Word, and as a result of processing His instructions wisely, we come to trust and rely upon Him.

And this brings us to the crescendo of this passage, to the high note Yahowah wants us to roar out with all of the passion we can muster. “The Towrah (Towrah – the signed, written, and enduring, towrah – way of treating people, bestowing the means to explore, to seek, to find, and to choose the source from which instruction, teaching, guidance, and direction flow, that provides answers that facilitate restoration and return, even the proper response and reply to that which is good, pleasing, joyful, beneficial, favorable, healing, and right, and that which promotes being loved, becoming acceptable, so as to endure, purifying and cleansing and thereby providing an opportunity to change) of his God (‘elohym) is in his heart (ba leb – speaking of their source of life, and the seat of love, volition, feelings, attitude, and character) so his steps (‘ashur – his walk through life and stand in life) will never waver (ma’ad – wobble or turn).” (Mizmowr / Song / Psalm 37:31)

Yahowah has come full circle, explaining the opening line of this portion of the Mizmowr: “From Yahowah the steps, the stride and progress, of each individual are prepared and firmly established, are secure, stable, and steadfast, and His Way (derek) is a pleasurable experience and is pleasing.” (Mizmowr / Song / Psalm 37:23)

There is only one way to assure that your walk through this life never wavers, and that is to observe Yahowah’s Towrah, revering and respecting it sufficiently to take its guidance and direction to heart. It is the path to paradise

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