FORMING A COMPANY OF THE RIGHTEOUS

FORMING A COMPANY OF THE RIGHTEOUS - Ezekiel Ajibade
One of the most striking and profound statements in the scriptures is that of Psalm 14:1, “The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." It is only a FOOL that will conclude with all the evidences available that there is no God. Now using that as an umbrella for foolishness, David went ahead to break down the phenomena by declaring that it is a corporate institution. Men formally or informally finds themselves in the group, the generation or company of FOOLS and the way they demonstrate their foolishness is described in verses 2-3; “The LORD looks down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek God. THEY HAVE ALL TURNED
ASIDE, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one.” Though Paul alluded to this in a generic sense where all men (in the Adamic descent) are declared legally sinners later in the New Testament, the fact remains that is a choice with a consequence and has always been so. Once you decide to live your life this way that is the group you belong to. There has always been a room to live righteously.

Now I love verse 5b-6 where the contrast is sharply painted. NKJV says, “For God is with the GENERATION of the righteous. You shame the counsel of the poor, But the LORD is his refuge.” NIV says, “God is present in the COMPANY of the righteous.” At every point of human history, God would always want to know which company a man belongs so as to know what his disposition to that man would be. God would want know how to categorize you – wicked or righteous. In Psalm 1:1-2, the scripture says “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in His law he meditates day and night.” In verse 4-5 it says, “The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.”

So, friends where do you belong? How would God categorize you? Which company are you? It is time to declare your identity before heaven and earth. And the next Psalm, Psalm 15 just gives us a practical aid. You want to dwell in God’s sanctuary and live on his holy hill, you want to be identified with him and the company of the righteous, then, walk uprightly, work righteousness, speak the truth in your heart, do not backbite with your tongue, nor do evil to your neighbor, nor take up a reproach against your friend. A vile person must be despised in your eyes and you must honor those who fear the LORD. You must swear to your own hurt and not change, never put out your money at usury, nor take a bribe against the innocent (2-5). When you do these, God indentifies you with the COMPANY OF THE RIGHTEOUS and his promise is you will NEVER BE MOVED. (5)