It is characteristic of Hebrew poetry to rhyme (so to speak) thoughts rather than sounds. This is called "Hebrew Parallelism." To oversimplify: it is the practice of repeating the thought of the first line in the second, the same thought in different words. This is very common in the Psalms.

Thus, one line of a poem will often comment on another: expanding or clarifying the meaning.

אַשְׁרֵי שֹׁמְרֵי מִשְׁפָּט עֹשֵׂה צְדָקָה בְכָל־עֵת

"How blessed are those who keep justice, Who practice righteousness at all times!" (NASB)

And, the parallelism is interesting: modifying and explaining Justice (מִשְׁפָּט) with the concept of Righteousness (צְדָקָה). Or vice versa.

It's an interjection, an exclamation: "How blessed are...!" I'm not being scolded right now. I'm being invited to consider the blessedness of a certain way of life.

אַשְׁרֵי שֹׁמְרֵי מִשְׁפָּט

"How blessed are those who keep justice...."

The Hebrew term מִשְׁפָּט is from the verb שָׁפַט meaning "judge" or "govern." The Jenni-Westerman Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament says; "The שָׁפַט  act transpires in a “triangular relationship”: two people or two groups of people whose interrelationship is not intact are restored to the state of שָׁלוֹם  through a third party’s שָׁפַט ...." Thus, the idea of order and peace (ֹשָׁלוֹם) lie behind it. Judgment restores peace. Further down the page Jenni-Westerman says: "The restoration of community order should be understood not only as a one-time act but also as a continuous activity, as a constant preservation of the שָׁלוֹם;  thus the meaning ‘to govern, rule’ results...." (G. Liedke, שָׁפַט Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament edited by Ernst Jenni with assistance from Claus Westermann © 1997 by Hendrickson Publishers Electronic text hypertexted and prepared by OakTree Software, Inc. Version 1.4).

Keeping justice means living in the realm of peace. And, the life of blessing is a life of justice: bringing reconciliation and peace to those who are estranged.

I think the English word "justice" is often a harsh word to me. It suggests condemnation. And, maybe it should. It suggests setting things right in this world regardless of the cost. And, maybe it should. The advocates of justice are harsh and impatient, always wanted to remake and remold the world according to their own personal vision of what is fair and balanced and equal. Yet, the more a person thinks about fairness and equality and equity the more complex and demanding and confusing the concept of justice becomes. What is real fairness? Can it ever be achieved?

But, what if there is more here? What if justice is also something more gracious? What if the goal of justice as creating peace, well-being and harmony. The person of faith seeks reconciliation, peace, harmony and fairness. In this way they "keep justice."

עֹשֵׂה צְדָקָה בְכָל־עֵת

[How blessed are those] Who practice righteousness at all times!"

Here I think we are talking about right relationships.

I think the concept of "righteousness" in the popular mind is the idea of "conforming to an absolute standard." In this respect, the Biblical concept (צְדָקָה) is a bit different. While the word certainly does refer to "moral rectitude" it often refers to right relationships. It is not abstract, individual righteousness. It is communal. it is achievable. The word is hopeful rather than hopeless.

And, the Psalms emphasizes that this righteousness is to be lived out "at all times."

Can I ever hope to live such a life unless I believe that it is possible for me? I need to stop making excuses for sin and determine to live a life of justice and righteousness — seeking always what is best for all. And, I must depend upon God's great unfailing generosity and love and grace to enable me to be the person I am called to be: to be bless-able.

Lord God,

I not only ask for Your blessing to rest on my life,

I ask to be made and kept to be

    a person whose way of life

You can bless. Amen.

— Craig L. Adams

Earlier posts in this series can be found listed as “Praying the Psalms” on either the Bible Studies page of the Prayer page. An introduction to this series can be found here: Praying the Psalms: An Introduction.