Psalm 112

Introduction

Today’s psalm, like the one we studied last week, is an acrostic poem so that, if you disregard the opening ‘Praise the Lord’, the remaining twenty-two lines begin with each successive letter in the Hebrew alphabet. As I said when we were studying the acrostic poems in the book of Lamentations recently, the writer may have used the acrostic form of verse to help memorisation. However, he may also have used this form of verse as a way of indicating that he had written everything he needed to write. As we might say, he’s said everything he needs to say from A to Z.

And it follows on from last week’s psalm, because the last verse of last week’s psalm said that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So, if you want to be wise, the place to begin is to fear the Lord. That is to say, the way to find wisdom is to treat the Lord with awe and adoration and reverence and to worship him and him alone.

That’s how last week’s psalm ended. And this week’s psalm begins by telling us that the man who fears the Lord is blessed. So, those who fear the Lord not only find wisdom, but they also receive God’s blessing. Fearing God — worshipping him alone — leads to wisdom and blessing.

And so, there’s that connection between this week’s psalm and last week’s psalm. And there’s another connection between the two psalms. One was about the works of God; the other is about the works of God’s people.

So, Psalm 111 was about God’s works: ‘Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures for ever.’ It was all about the works of God or the things he has done for his people. And Psalm 112 is about the works of God’s people and the things they do for others. For instance, the psalmist tells us that God’s people are generous and they lend freely and they conduct their affairs with justice.

As we’ll see, the psalmist also ascribes to God’s people some of the qualities or characteristics which we normally associate with God. For instance, the psalmist describes God’s people as being righteous and upright and gracious and compassionate. God’s people become like this more and more, because God works in his people by his Spirit to renew us in his image so that we become more and more like him. God delivers us from our sin and guilt by his Son; and he renews us in his image by his Spirit.

John Calvin introduces his commentary on this psalm by saying that the majority of people think that they will prosper by acting wickedly; and they try to become rich by cheating and exploiting. However, Calvin says, the psalmist enumerates God’s blessings on those who worship him in purity so that we may be assured that pious and upright living is always rewarded.

Calvin also says that most people assume that an upright and moral life must be sheer misery and that happiness is to be found in getting rich by fair means or foul. However, the psalmist declares that those who fear the Lord and who delight in his commands will be richly blessed. They will be happy and content and full.

And so, let’s turn to the psalm now.

Verse 1

The psalm begins with ‘Hallelujah’ or ‘Praise the Lord’. And then the writer announces: ‘Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands.’

A god-fearer is someone who worships God. It is someone who reveres the Lord and who is in awe of him and who worships him and him alone. But a god-fearer is also someone who is careful to walk in his ways and to do his will. And so, the psalmist goes on to say that the man who fears the Lord finds great delight in God’s commands. Keeping God’s law is not a burden for God’s people, but a delight. And it’s a delight for them because they love the Lord and they want to do his will. If workers hate their boss, then they will resent having to obey him. But if workers love their boss, then they are glad to obey him. And whoever loves the Lord will delight in keeping his commands.

And the psalmist says that the man who fears the Lord is blessed. So, instead of being under God’s wrath and curse, he experiences God’s blessing in his life. God promises his people blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. And so, the way to be happy — the way to find contentment and to receive good things from the Lord and not evil — is by fearing the Lord and by delighting in his commands. It’s by doing his will. Or, as Calvin says, it’s by living an upright and moral life.

And in the verses which follow the psalmist not only describes the upright and moral things which God’s people do, but he also describes the blessings they receive from the Lord.

Verses 2 and 3

He says about them in verse 2 that their children will be mighty in the land.

By mentioning the land, the psalmist reminds us that he’s thinking in Old Testament categories about the Promised Land of Canaan and how God promised the Israelites blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. And so, God’s obedient people could expect their children to become mighty in Canaan. The psalmist probably means they would become powerful and prosperous. And so, he goes on to say in verse 3 that wealth and riches are in the house of the man who fears God.

The point of verse 2 is that God will bless his obedient people by filling their homes and their lives with good things to enjoy. This is not to say that we should expect God to make us rich, but we can expect him to provide us with all that we need. Moreover, as we’ll see in a moment, the Lord is generous to us so that we can be generous to others.

The psalmist then goes on to say in verse 3 that the righteousness of the man who fears God will endure for ever. God himself is righteous in all his ways. Everything he does is right and good. And the man who fears the Lord will also do what is right. And he’s able to do what’s right, because God helps him. God works in the lives of his people by his Spirit to make us more and more willing and able to do what is right in God’s sight. And so, with God’s help, our righteousness endures. It persists. It is ongoing in our lives, because he helps us to do what’s right.

And do you see the wonder of God’s kindness to us? He’s the one who enables us to do what is right in his sight. And when we do what is right in his sight, he blesses us by filling our lives with good things.

Verse 4

Verse 4 is about God’s blessing on his people in the midst of adversity.

So, the psalmist refers to darkness. God’s people will experience dark days and days of sorrow and sadness and trouble. God does not promise his people a trouble-free life. However, because of God’s blessing on his people, the darkness is not overwhelming. It is not final and for ever, because the light will return. Days of joy and happiness will come again.

And on whom does light dawn? It dawns on the upright and on the gracious and compassionate and righteous man. These are qualities or characteristics which we normally associate with God. However, by renewing his people in his image, the Lord enables us to become more and more like him. So, by nature, or by birth, we are not upright or gracious or compassionate or righteous. But God’s Spirit produces his fruit in our lives and he makes us like God. He works in us what he requires from us; and then he graciously and freely rewards us by saving us from days of darkness.

Verse 5

In verse 5 the psalmist says that good will come to him who is generous and lends freely. So, it is God’s will for his people to be generous with what he has given us. He does not want us to be tight-fisted and mean. He wants us to be kind and good. And this is because he wants us to become like him; and he is good to all. And just as he is good to all, so he wants us to be good to all and to be generous and kind.

And it is God’s will for us to lend freely. In other words, he wants us to lend to others without expecting anything in return. And yet remarkably, to encourage our generosity, the Lord promises to do good to us in return for the good we do to others. He says that good will come to those who are generous and who lend freely. And so, he will reward our generosity.

The psalmist also says that the Lord will bless those who conduct their affairs with justice. How often do we hear stories in the news about rich and powerful people who abuse the people who work for them? Or they take advantage of those who are weaker than they are. It happens all the time. But the Lord’s will for his people is for us to conduct our affairs with justice so that we will do what is right and we will treat people fairly and with generosity and kindness. And God, who is infinitely and eternally and unchangeable just, helps his people to be just.

Verses 6 to 8

In verses 6 to 8 the psalmist goes back to telling us about God’s blessing on his people in the midst of adversity.

And so, he refers in verse 7 to bad news and he refers in verse 8 to enemies. Bad news will come and enemies exist. But when bad news comes to God’s people, they will not be shaken by it. That is to say, they will not be shaken to the core of their being so that they give up their faith. And they will not be afraid because of bad news. Instead their hearts will remain steadfast and they will continue to trust in the Lord. And in the end, he says, they will look in triumph on their foes. Their enemies will not overcome them.

And where did they get the ability to stand firm? Where did they get this steadfastness? How were they able to face bad news without being afraid? How were they able to triumph over their enemies? Their help comes from the Lord, doesn’t it? This is one of the ways the Lord blesses us. He rewards our faithful obedience by helping us whenever we’re going through difficult days. He sustains us and our strength comes from him.

Verse 9

In verse 9 the psalmist returns to the theme of generosity. The man who fears the Lord scatters his gifts to the poor. The Apostle Paul quotes this verse in 2 Corinthians 9 where he wanted to encourage his readers to be generous. And Paul was making the point that just as the Lord provides the farmer with seed to sow, so he provides us with money to give away. And so, it’s God’s will for us to give generously to others.

The psalmist once again says that the righteousness of the man who fears God endures for ever. This is so because, with God’s help, we will continue to do what is right in his sight. However, it’s possible that the psalmist also means that doing right and being generous will have long-term effects which we cannot foresee. The effect of our righteousness on the world will endure.

And then he adds that the horn of the man who fears God will be lifted up. In the Old Testament, a horn symbolises strength and authority. So, he means God’s people will be lifted up. They will be exalted. The Lord is once again encouraging our obedience by promising us rewards which we do not deserve, but which he freely gives to his faithful and obedient people.

Verse 10

So, God’s people — those who fear him by worshipping him and by being careful to walk his ways — can expect good things from the Lord.

On the other hand, he says about the wicked that they will see and be vexed. That is to say, they will be angry when they see how God blesses his people. They will gnash their teeth in anger.

However, they will also waste away. They will not last. And their longings will come to nothing. The Hebrew word translated ‘longings’ is connected to the word for coveting. So, the wicked covet things for themselves. They want more and more and more stuff for themselves. But those who fear the Lord will give and give and give and give. They will be generous with what they have. And just as God is good to all, so he enables his people to do good to all.

Conclusion

Another commentator (Reardon) says that the message of this psalm is christological before it is moral. That is to say, the psalm is first and foremost about the Lord Jesus Christ. When he was on the earth as one of us, he was the one who truly feared the Lord and who delighted to keep his commands. He was truly upright and gracious and compassionate and righteous. He was generous to all and gave freely without expecting anything in return. Think of how he fed the 5,000 for free. He also conducted himself with justice at all times. And he was not afraid of bad news and he wasn’t shaken by it. Instead his heart was steadfast and he continued to trust in his Heavenly Father even when he was nailed to the cross. And in the end, light dawned for him and he looked in triumph on his enemies when God the Father raised him from the dead and exalted him to heaven.

He is the man who truly feared the Lord and he is now blessed forevermore as one of us at God the Father’s right hand in heaven. And he gives his believing people his Spirit to renew us in God’s image so that, with his help, we will fear the Lord more and more and become upright and gracious and compassionate and righteous and just and generous. And while we walk in his ways, he blesses us by filling our lives with good things to enjoy. And he gives us the hope of everlasting blessedness in the new and better world to come where we will see the glory of God in the face of Christ and we’ll shout Hallelujah, praise the Lord, for ever and for ever.