Monday, December 11
Be a Blessing to Others
Psalm 112:1-10
1 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who delights greatly in His commandments.
2 His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches will be in his house, And his righteousness endures forever.
4 Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
5 A good man deals graciously and lends; He will guide his affairs with discretion.
6 Surely he will never be shaken; The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.
7 He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
8 His heart is established; He will not be afraid, Until he sees his desire upon his enemies.
9 He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted with honor.
10 The wicked will see it and be grieved; He will gnash his teeth and melt away; The desire of the wicked shall perish.
It goes without saying, that a “blessed person” will be a blessing to others and especially to his or her family. Psalm 112 is a great encouragement to seek to praise the LORD and put Him first in our lives. The very first words of this chapter remind us that no matter what our circumstances might be we should still rejoice in the LORD and praise Him! In other words, we should take our eyes off the problems and feelings we might have and look up and focus on the person of Jehovah and His promises.
Remember Jehovah is the covenant name of God to the people of Israel. It is also His personal name that only can be experienced when you enter into a relationship with Him. The name Jehovah says to His people, “I AM THAT I AM”! Jesus is the Great I AM! Basically, what Jesus is saying, is that “I Am whatever you need”! You fill in the blank. Do you need peace? I AM your peace. Do you need hope? I AM your hope! Whatever you need, I am ready to meet that need in your life!
Jesus put it this way in Matthew 6:33: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you”. Another way of saying this in the Old Testament was: “Fear the LORD”! In Psalm 112, the psalmist wrote about fear of bad news (v. 7) and fear of the enemy (v. 8), but the first and most important fear is the fear of the Lord. This verse takes us back to 111:10, for if we fear God, we need fear nothing else. Solomon came to the same conclusion: "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
Of itself, fear is not an evil thing. We teach children to fear danger when they cross the street, use sharp objects, or are approached by strangers, but those are rational fears that energize us and protect us. The psalmist is writing about fears that can paralyze us and make life miserable. To overcome these fears, we cultivate a right relationship with the Lord: we fear Him, learn His will from His Word, and obey what He commands. Learning His will and doing it is not a burdensome thing, because we delight in His Word (Psalms 1:2; 119:16, 35, 47-48, 70, 97, 143). Fear and delight can live together in the same heart because they are tied together by love (1 John 4:16-19). Because we love the Lord, His commands are not burdensome to us (1 John 5:3).
The person described in this psalm praises the Lord in worship, stands in awe of the Lord, delights in fellowship with the Lord, and seeks to obey the Lord. This kind of life brings blessings to the entire family (Psalms 34:8-14; 37:25; 127:3-5; 128:3). If our life doesn't make an impact at home, among people we know and love, it is not going to make much of a difference out in the marketplace where people blaspheme the name of the Lord. This person also is a blessing to "the generation of the upright" (v. 2), the people of God who frequent the sanctuary. The Scriptures know nothing of an isolated believer who ignores other believers. We all need each other, and our united worship and witness can accomplish more than anything we can do by ourselves.
The “fear of LORD” in reality and practice means that we have a constant awareness of Jehovah’s Presence in our life. Wherever we are and whatever we are doing, we know that He, Jehovah is there with us!
God bless!