Righteousness in the Psalms

“The premium placed on righteousness rather than wickedness and the consequences of choosing one over the other is a clear sign that sin is taken very seriously in the Psalter. The discipline of God is regularly associated with the wicked and the blessing of God with the righteous. The Psalter expresses the theology that sin will be discouraged through punishment, and righteousness will be encouraged through blessing. Implicit in the pervasive appeals to these two categories is the call to penitence, that is, for those tempted to pursue sin to choose the way of the righteous with its benefits and to eschew the way of wickedness with its consequences.”—A Severe Mercy, pages 402-403