Wisdom and Justice (Psalm 37:27-33)

²⁷ Turn from evil and do good;
then you will dwell in the land forever.
²⁸ For the Lord loves the just
and will not forsake his faithful ones.

Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed;
the offspring of the wicked will perish.
²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.

³⁰ The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
and their tongues speak what is just.
³¹ The law of their God is in their hearts;
their feet do not slip.

³² The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,
intent on putting them to death;
³³ but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

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 These verses read almost like they’re quoted from Proverbs, contrasting the wicked with the righteous.  But what jumped out at me is verse 30 and what it says about the speech of the righteous.  The righteous, David says, “utter wisdom” and speak “what is just.”

How is my speech?  Is it characterized by what is wise and just? From a biblical standpoint, “wisdom” does not merely mean cleverness or knowing how to handle difficult situations, and “just” means more than being fair.  Both words refer to being in conformity with God’s will in the world.

Wisdom is acting in accord with God’s law, seeking to follow and honor Him in all our ways.  The wise course of action, or the wise thing to say refers to being in conformity with God’s will as revealed in His word.  Justice refers to treating all people from God’s perspective, not merely in accord with human laws.  For instance, there are numerous verses calling for justice in how the poor and oppressed are treated by rulers.  The rules are called unjust not based on the legality of their actions but based on the compassion they put into practice.

So what does it mean to speak with wisdom and justice?  Simply that I am honoring God, His will, and His love for all people in what I speak.  Am I doing this?  Thinking about this verse led me to review some of my conversations from the past few days, and I must admit, led to come confession time before the Lord.

So my prayer today is that I would be led by the Holy Spirit today to speak with wisdom and justice, and so show love for God and others.

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