Psalm 112 Commentary
Psalm 112 opens with a paradox. How can you delight in what you fear? Interesting! What a way to describe the Christian walk!
They fear the LORD yet they find great delight in His commands. Consequently, they are blessed.
Then the psalm proceeds to show us what it means to be blessed.
The saint’s social status changes. They are no longer poor. Even in darkness, light dawns for them. They will never be shaken. They will have no fear of bad news.
The saint may want to look at the outcome of their own walk and see contradictions. “Am I truly blessed?” one may ask. You easily ask this question when you see that wealth and riches are not in your house – as expected from this psalm.
But there are other questions that this psalm poses to the saint.
They are gracious, compassionate, and righteous. They conduct their affairs in justice. They are upright. Good comes to those who are generous and lend freely. They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor. How does the saint measure up under these qualities? Probably the key to blessedness lies under this pile of qualities.
Back to the paradox of verse 1. The saint may also ask if they find great joy or delight in the commands of the LORD. Delight in the commands of the LORD is a measure of one’s spirituality. Importantly, it determines one level of blessedness. Zero fear of the LORD might translate into zero blessedness and consequently zero joy in the commands of the LORD.
There we have it! The Christian walk isn’t about a regime of repressive and impossible rules and laws. On the contrary, it is a joyful journey into blessedness.
On the other side are the wicked. They will see and be vexed, gnash their teeth, and waste away. Let every man be reminded of this fact. We however don’t have to remind anyone that the longings of the wicked will come to nothing. They experience it daily. Vanity seekers know it well. It is all emptiness. And when saints have taken to this path, they too find the same emptiness.
The last verse provokes the thoughts of value in what we think is wealth and good living. “Write your own script and live it.” And we have trouble for the saint. The result is the same emptiness that the wicked experience. Rather, let the LORD write the script for you; then act it. Therein is a great joy. Then you know you are at a good level.
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