An
upright person is a person who has plainness of heart; the upright man is not
plaited in folds; he is without collusion or double-dealing, "in whose
spirit is no deceit," Psalm 32:2.
The
upright man has no subterfuges, his tongue and his heart go together, as a
well-made dial goes with the sun; he is downright sincere.
2.
This word upright signifies a man approved. The upright man is one whom
God thinks highly of. Better have God's approbation, than the world's
acclamation. The plainer the diamond is—the richer; the more plain the heart
is—the more it shines in God's eyes.
In
the land of Israel there are many palm trees. The Scripture tells
us that the righteous will flourish like the palm tree (Psa. 92:12). One
outstanding characteristic of the palm is its straightness, and this may be one
thing to which the Psalmist has reference. Even at heights of 60 to 80
feet, the Israeli palm trees remain remarkably erect. There is certainly
a reference to the palm’s stature in Song of Songs 7:7, where the lover
compares his beloved’s stature to that of a palm tree. In Ezekiel’s
description of the Temple to come, there are numerous palm trees carved on the
pillars of the courts (Ez. 40:31). Again, this seems to speak of
uprightness, as well as fruitfulness.
The
idea of uprightness in scripture is principally conveyed by two Hebrew words, “yashar”and
“tam.” “Yashar”conveys the meaning of straightness, while “tam”
is more concerned with perfection or completion. Interestingly, these
words are used together as God speaks of the righteous man Job (Job 1:1). Today
in Israel, if a person asks directions of an Israeli, the Israeli will often
include the word “yashar” in his answer. It simply means “go
straight…etc.”
Let
us take a look at this biblical concept, which has virtually dropped out of our
usage. It just may be that upright men are pretty scarce in our society
today, as Micah 7:2 points out: “The godly have been swept from the
land; not one upright man remains. All men lie in wait to shed
blood; each hunts his brother with a net.”
GOD,
A MODEL OF UPRIGHTNESS
In
Isaiah 26:7, we read that one of God’s titles is “upright.” Isaiah says: “The
path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the
righteous smooth.” This concept concerning God is also seen in
Deuteronomy 32:4, we read of God: “ upright and just is he.”
God is upright, and we are told in scripture that he has pleasure in
uprightness (1 Chr. 29:17).
We
see that not only is God upright, but he has also created humanity in
uprightness. In Ecclesiastes 7:29, we learn that “God made mankind
upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes.” Because
of man’s crooked schemes he has become a twisted mess, and is far from the
Creator’s purposes. Although man has become twisted from his original
upright position, God has not given up on him. In Psalm 25:8 and in other
places we see that God still “instructs sinners in his ways.”
MARKS
OF AN UPRIGHT MAN
There
are many marks or characteristics of an upright person. We will describe
but a few of them. Godly fear is part of the upright person’s disposition: “He
whose walk is upright fears the LORD” (Pr. 14:2). We need to get current
ideas of “fear” out of our minds, because biblical fear is more akin to deep
respect, reverence, awe and obedience than to some sort of terror. Thus the
upright person has a great respect for God and for his commandments. The
upright has a secure walk or lifestyle (Pr. 10:9), because that one is guided
by integrity (Pr. 11:3), and avoids crooked paths (Phil. 2:15). Because
the upright have understanding (Pr. 15:21), they walk in the way of God’s
wisdom.
The
upright will not walk in evil paths. In Proverbs 16:17 we read that, “The
highway of the upright avoids evil; he who guards his way guards his
life.” The upright man also has the courage to speak the truth, even in his
inmost being. The Bible speaks of the one “ whose walk is
blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from
his heart” (Psa. 15:2). There is no hypocrisy in the upright.
That person lives a life of praise, and because of a righteous lifestyle that
praise is a beautiful thing as scripture says: “ it is fitting (beautiful)
for the upright to praise him.” (Psa. 33:1). Because of these and
many more things the upright person is approved of God and becomes a blessing
to other people (Pr. 11:11).
One
thing for sure about the upright person is that such a person will always be an
abomination to evil workers (Pr. 29:27). The upright is scorned by them (Job.
12:4). Also in Psalm 37:14 we read: “The wicked draw the
sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay
those whose ways are upright.”
REWARDS
OF THE UPRIGHT
There
are numerous rewards of upright living mentioned in scripture. First of
all, there is a special closeness of God to those who are upright. We are told
that God delights in them (Pr. 11:20) and watches them (Ps. 11:7). We see that “the
prayer of the upright pleases him” (Prov. 15:8). In Proverbs 3:32, we
see that God even confides in the upright.
God
also defends them and saves them as we see in Psalm 7:10: “My shield is
God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.” When everything
around them is gross darkness, there is light for the upright in heart (Ps.
112:4). They are kept because of their righteousness (Pr. 13:6). They find
strength in God’s way and in the end they are saved (Pr. 10:29; 28:18).
Although
they are not seeking it, the upright will find that which many children of this
world are seeking – prosperity. In Psalm 112:3 we read that “ Wealth
and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.”
The Bible assures us that God will not withhold any good thing from
those who walk in uprightness (Ps. 84:11). The upright shall enter into
peace and they shall possess the land (Pr. 2:21). This certainly is
a reference to the earth as a whole.
However,
it is also a specific reference to the special land of Israel. Whether in
the earth as a whole, or Israel specifically, one thing is certain, God’s
elect will inherit it, and the wicked will ultimately be torn out of the earth.
Then
the upright will dwell forever with God. Isaiah promises, “ this
is the man who will dwell on the heights…His bread will be supplied, and
water will not fail him.” His eyes “will see the king in his
beauty and view a land that stretches afar” (Isa. 33:16-17).
Yes, the upright will dwell with God and will delight themselves in abundance
of peace. As Psalm 37:18 says, “The days of the blameless are known to the
LORD, and their inheritance will endure forever.”