Proverbs 11:20

Such as are upright in their way are His delight.

The upright, God’s delight

I. Who are the upright? Those whom God makes upright, the workmanship of His own Spirit, His new creation. This does not deny that there is in a sense an uprightness in the natural man. As long as man is a responsible being he is answerable to God for the use of the means given him, and it is a certain truth that there is not a natural man in the world who acts up to the light that he has. Great numbers claim the character of being upright and sincere. So the apostle Paul thought of himself when in his unconverted state. Natural sincerity never comes to the testing of God’s holy light. It can deal with man, but there is never that in natural sincerity which comes before God. For the upright see the publican smiting on his breast; the prodigal returning home; the woman a sinner dropping tears of penitence on Jesus’s feet; Matthew, Zaccheus, Nicodemus. The weakest, the feeblest believer, is upright. He often, indeed, thinks himself otherwise. He will even regard himself as a self-deceiver. The upright man mourns over inbred corruptions. Sometimes he has seasons of doubt. He is brought into circumstances of trial. Amidst all, in the grace of the Holy Spirit, he holds fast his integrity.

II. The upright are God’s delight. It is not their way, but themselves, that are His delight. He loved them before all worlds; He loved them before they loved Him in eternity. But the characters of the upright are His delight. He delights in the fruits of His own Son’s mediation, in the workmanship of His own Spirit, and in the reflection of His own image. But especially He delights in their being upright. He looks to the humiliation of the upright, their broken hearts, their falling tears. So precious is this uprightness before God, that it seems as if He overlooked all faults where it is. What a word of encouragement this ought to be to those who are honestly seeking Him! If you are indeed upright God knows it, and “your inheritance shall be for ever.” (J. Harrington Evans.)