Psalm 112 is an acrostic poem that uses the Hebrew alphabet to express the greatness and blessedness of those with the right attitude about God and His commandments. Verses 1-3 say, “Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who delights greatly in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.”
“Praise the Lord!” means hallelujah in Hebrew. The Psalmist focuses on how great a man can be when He is faithful to God. He stresses the importance of fearing God and the blessings that follow, which is echoed in other Psalms. Those who fear God have a strong desire and love for studying God’s commands.
The writer gives some general examples of how God blesses those who fear Him. He says they will be mighty on the earth, which happened to the children of Israel as long as they feared God. They were successful and managed to be in a position of power, but their kingdom was divided and destroyed when they stopped fearing God. However, when they remained faithful and were delighted in the Word of God, they had riches and were considered righteous.
The Psalmist is not guaranteeing that you will be monetarily rich, but he does promise that you will be blessed. For some, it might be material wealth, but more importantly, every Christian is rich spiritually. History shows that nations that fear God usually prosper, but when they push God out of their lives, they typically end up falling. Again, Israel is a great example of this.
America was built on Christian principles, and our country has been prosperous. However, if we keep pushing God out of our lives and stop delighting in His Word, we will most likely fall.
Verse 4 says, “Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.” The ESV makes this verse easier to understand: “Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.” The Bible often refers to the righteous as being in the light, and everything else is in the dark. So, those who are upright and follow the way of God are never in the dark. Christians are to be a light for God by being a reflection of Jesus (Matt. 5:14-16). As the Psalmist said, we are to be gracious, full of compassion, and righteous because we are supposed to become like God as much as we can. So, if He is gracious, we must be gracious. If He is full of compassion, we must be full of compassion. If He is righteous, we must be righteous.
Next, the Psalmist gives us examples of how we can have these characteristics of God in verses 5-6: “A good man deals graciously and lends; he will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he will never be shaken; the righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.” Lending to those in need is not new, but Jesus holds Christians to a higher standard (Luke 6:33-36). The Psalmist also says that a good man will guide his affairs with discretion, which means that when he lends he will use sound judgment and not lend to everyone that asks. We should also use discretion to whom we lend. As the Psalmist said in verse 6, the righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. One example of this would be the faithful people recorded in the Bible. More importantly, God will remember us because our names are written in the book of life.
Verses 7-8 say, “He will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is established; he will not be afraid, until he sees his desire upon his enemies.” Whenever we respect God and live our lives for Him, we will not fear those who are evil because we know they can only destroy our physical bodies. They cannot touch our souls. Since we have that assurance from God, our hearts will be steadfast as we put our trust in God. So, when we have faith in God and delight in His commandments, our hearts will be established. Nothing will shake our faith or cause us to be afraid.
Finally, the Psalmist says in verses 9-10: “He has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be exalted with honor. The wicked will see it and be grieved; he will gnash his teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked shall perish.” Those that love God and follow His example are going to be gracious givers, and they will help those they can. Giving to the needy is just one of many works we can do to glorify God in heaven. When we mimic our Father in heaven, our righteousness will endure forever, and we will be exalted with honor.
However, when the wicked see the righteous prosper, they don’t like it. It grieves them, but there is nothing they can do about it. All they can do is gnash their teeth and melt away, and their desires will perish. On the Day of Judgment, there will be a separation of the righteous who delight in the commandments of God and of the wicked. The righteous will live forever in heaven, and the wicked will live in eternal torment where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
In conclusion, greatly delighting in God’s commandments means we take great pleasure in God’s Word and live by it. When we walk in the light by keeping His commands, we show our love and commitment to Him (John 14:15). Why wouldn’t we? His beautiful Word is the truth that sets us free and reveals the hope of heaven.
Carolina Messenger 