Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; His greatness no one can fathom. One generation commends Your works to another; they tell of Your mighty acts. They speak of the glorious splendor of Your majesty—and I will meditate on Your wonderful works. They tell of the power of Your awesome works—and I will proclaim Your great deeds. They celebrate Your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of Your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The Lord is good to all; He has compassion on all He has made. Psalm 145:3-9
“Righteousness is the natural and essential food of the soul, which can no more be satisfied by earthly treasures than the hunger of the body can be satisfied by air. If you should see a starving man standing with mouth open to the wind, inhaling draughts of air as if in hope of gratifying his hunger, you would think him lunatic. But it is no less foolish to imagine that the soul can be satisfied with worldly things which only inflate it without feeding it. What have spiritual gifts to do with carnal appetites, or carnal with spiritual? Praise the Lord, O my soul: who satisfieth thy mouth with good things. He bestows bounty immeasurable; He provokes thee to good, He preserves thee in goodness; He prevents, He sustains, He fills thee. He moves thee to longing, and it is He for whom thou longest.”
Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) in On Loving God (Grand Rapids: CCEL), p. 17.
The Psalmist celebrates the righteousness of God. The righteousness of God is not abstract moral perfection disconnected from everyday living.
Righteousness is living in right relationship with God and others. But we act, as Bernard says, as lunatic. We think worldly things can satisfy our souls.
So God graciously provokes, preserves, and prevents. He sustains, fills, and moves, hoping we will come to the place of realizing that only He can satisfy our souls.
I think a leading hindrance to generous living, giving, serving, and loving is the lunatic lure of the world. We say yes to so many things that don’t satisfy.
If that is you, fast from whatever worldly things seek to master you. Don’t take my word for it. It comes from apostle Paul in his letter to the church in the crazy city of Corinth.
“I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 1 Corinthians 6:12