Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.

Psalm 112:4

Psalm 112 encourages the upright life and speaks of the benefits of being aligned to God’s word. “Happy is the person who fears the Lord taking great delight in his commands” (Psalm 112:1). Happiness, however, does not equate to easiness. In verse 4, the upright life is marked by three deep-seated characteristics–graciousness, compassion, and righteousness–but they are all worked out in a context of darkness.

Words like grace, compassion, and righteousness have little currency in a world marked by hostility to truth and the pursuit of self-interest. Yet, the darkness born from the neglect of these qualities is the very context in which the upright are called to live them out. To be “upright” is to be very much at odds with the world around us.

But even in this, light dawns. Interestingly, the psalm doesn’t merely talk about showing graciousness, compassion, and righteousness. It says the upright are these things. The upright have these things written into the core of their being. All they do, say and think filters through these fundamental qualities. This can only happen because their identity is thoroughly governed by the faithfulness of God.

God equips those living in the darkness with the courage to stand firm by equipping them with his promises. He is true and faithful. When we humbly surrender ourselves to the trustworthiness of God’s word, we can be confident that safety and blessing will flow and carry over to the generations to come. However, it’s important to recognise that even though these benefits are natural consequences of living in line with God’s ways, they are not the driving motivation for living rightly. The driving motivation lies simply in the fact that God’s ways are good, and the individual who seeks to live an upright life does so an expression of their confidence in God’s enduring trustworthiness. His promises are sure, his ways are perfect, and there is no greater joy than knowing this and living in light of it.

Scripture’s constant testimony (and trajectory) is that God always moves from darkness to light. Genesis 1 sets the pattern in the repeated phrase, “There was evening, and there was morning”, a movement from darkness to light. Isaiah 9 prophesies, “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” (Isa 9:2) This, of course, is fulfilled wonderfully in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Cor 4:6)

Even in the darkness of death, God shone the light of life into this world by raising Jesus from the dead. Death was unable to hold him because of his utter obedience and uprightness before God. As such, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name above all names. And in this light we are invited by our heavenly father to be obedient to him, and to shine like stars in this dark world, by holding firm to the word of life. Here is the upright life: trusting Jesus and being more like him in his grace, compassion, and righteousness.