Return Unto Righteousness

“The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity. Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law; That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked. For the LORD will not cast off his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. But judgment shall return unto righteousness: and all the upright in heart shall follow it.” Psalm 94:11-15

The word chastenest (to chastise) means to correct, instruct, punish, reform, reprove, or teach. It can be used to refer both to physical punishment and to oral instruction. We often think of this kind of correction in a negative sense, but the psalmist is telling us that it is a blessing to experience the chastening hand of God. He says that it will give us rest from adversity. The Lord corrects us in order to make us better. He doesn’t do it in anger; He does it because He loves us. Hebrews 12:6 says, “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” Verse 15 in the passage above says that “judgment shall return unto righteousness; and all the upright in heart shall follow it.” In other words, the result of God’s chastening (or judgment) is that it will return or restore us to righteousness. God chastens every one of His children; but the ones who are upright in heart are the ones who will benefit the most because they will follow His instruction. How do you respond to God’s correction? Does it make you better, or bitter? God wants it to return us to righteousness.