Psalm 112

Romans 15:5-6 “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

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Psalm 112

Rev. Johnson V

27th November 2011

Our God is faithful and His Word is the truth, and it is useful for teachings us, admonishing us and even giving us a glimpse of the joy that is in store for us. As we continue our series on Psalms, we come across this acrostic poem, Psalm 112, the lines of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In this psalm, the Psalmist is primarily concerned with documenting the blessings that come to those who fear the Lord, who delight in His commands.

Psalm 112 starts with a commandment – “Praise the Lord”. Many of us don’t like discipline, but it helps us grow. When we were young there were many rules – in school, at home. Those rules helped us develop and mature into adults. In the same way, if we obey all that God told us through His Word, we will grow and mature in our spiritual lives as well. We must learn to praise Him. The Hebrew word for praise is ‘Hallelu’, which when translated means ‘to make God look good; to make God look bigger in our lives; to make Him shine’. Our praises should make Him look good; make Him shine. How do we do that? It is not enough to chant praises, like the heathen do, without meaning (see Mathew 6:7). Our praises must be real, from our heart, in spirit and in truth. God delights in praises from our heart, not just our lips. And we must strive to be the best at whatever we do. After we are washed by His grace, our lives are not our own to live the way we want. We live for something bigger than ourselves. We must do our best to lift His Name in the midst of our circumstances, our families, our friends and everyone around us. And our God is faithful in blessing us double fold for our efforts. We can never out-give Him.

We are called to praise the ‘Lord’, not praise or lift up our problem or the devil. If we spend our time thinking and contemplating our Heavenly Father, we will become more like Him. Our problem is really much smaller than He is, but so often we get caught up in small matters that distract us. Alexander the Great, from a young age, was taught to think about his every action by answering 3 questions – Who am I? Where am I going in life? What am I doing about it? If we can set our standards as high, we will find that we spend less time on the unimportant, no matter how much it clamors for our attention.

The chapter goes on to record the characteristics of a ‘blessed’ man.

He fears, or is in awe, of God. He respects our Creator. Unlike what we normally call fear, this fear comes from deep respect for God. We are not meant to be afraid. Fear is a natural emotion but we must not dwell there. Believe in the power of God and you will not fear the things that were not meant to be feared.
He delights in the Lord or enjoys being with Him. God blesses this type of person, not only because he or she does good but also because he/she loves doing good. Our Father gives us His power and strength in order to live the way He wants us to.

Here are 6 financial results to being a blessed person

Verse 3 – we will be fruitful, our work especially will be fruitful.
Verse 3 – wealth and richness will be ours.
Verse 3 – our righteousness and good works will endure and will remain.
Verse 4 – even in the middle of trouble, there will be a shaft of His light that illuminates everything.
Verse 4 - Grace, compassion and righteousness will be our character.
We will move out of anxiety/confusion and into conviction. We will be anchored in the God of the universe. We all need to grow and develop. Just like our physical growth, our spiritual growth will also take time. We must not expect sudden change. Rather than get frustrated, we must remember that God is not done with us, He is still working on us.

5 results in your personal life

Verse 6 – We will be unmoved and never be shaken.
Verse 6 - God will have everlasting memory of us.
Verse 7 - We will be fearless of bad news, we will know that God is in charge. If we act with integrity, our Maker will stand by us.
Verse 7 – Our hearts will be fixed and secured in God.
Verse 9 – Our horns will be exalted with honour. When ‘horned’ animals fight, they fight until one gives up. Invariably though, even the victor would have suffered some injury and will bleed. But when God exalts our horns with honour, we will not suffer any loss in any way. God’s dignity will be uplifted and those faithful to God will be honoured. The horn is a symbol of power and dignity. Praise God for His faithfulness!