Psalm Chapter 112: You are blessed when you fear The Lord
Context
We are living in an historical time when the praise that is due to God is going to politicians and human leaders. The trust that we should be placing in God is going to human leaders, whom we know will fail us, instead of God who NEVER FAILS. But Psalm 112 is a wisdom psalm and an acrostic poem [see Psalm 111 for meaning] that reflects on the benefits bestowed on the person who fears the Lord and praises Him. Psalm 112 and Psalm 1 are very similar. The latter is another psalms begin with: blessed (’ašrê) and conclude with the verb tō’bēd (will come to nothing)” (Longman 2014, 388). Psalm 111 and its description of a godly person who is connected with the description of God in Psalm 112. It is to be noted that the godly person reflects the character of God.
Oh Praise Jehovah
1 Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.
It is a characteristic of a relationship with Christ to wallow in praise of Him. To experience pleasure in obeying God’s word and to take pleasure in obeying his commands. Psalm 111 detailed the greatness of the Lord and that we should praise Him because He is good. Psalm 112 tells of the blessings that His people receive when they praise Him. Those who love the Lord fear Him and delight in Him. Not only do we fear YHWH and delight in Him, but we also do not fear any other authority or person, and we do not worship them. We are living in a historical time when the praise that is due to God is going to politicians and human leaders. The trust that we should be placing in God is going to human leaders, whom we know will fail us, instead of God, who NEVER FAILS.
A wise person praises the Lord, and is prosperpous.
2 His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.3 Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.5 A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
This stanza starts by specifying the blessing that will come on those who fear YHWH. People who fear YHWH will be blessed with material things and with an influential and powerful family. Read about these blessings in Deuteronomy 28 that are promised to those who obey God. Sometimes God’s people are in the darkness of affliction and may feel that they are under divine desertions, without the joy of the spirit, and even in uncomfortable situations. Then the light of the Lord arises like the break of day: at that point, they received deliverance from afflictions, and enjoy prosperity. Jesus arises upon them with healing in his wings. The light that God’s children enjoy, while darkness is round about others, like the children of Israel in Egypt, will not be comprehended by nonbelievers. Or the suddenness of deliverance from adversity, temporal or spiritual. That is why scripture dictates weeping endures for a night, joy comes in the morning, and at evening time, it is light (Psalm 30:5). God is gracious and compassionate to His people. The Arabic version says, “the Lord God is merciful and bountiful,” and the Ethiopic version states, “merciful and compassionate is the Lord, and righteous is our King.” And because God is gracious, compassionate, and faithful to his promises, He causes light to arise and shine on those who dwell in darkness; (see Micah 7:8). We are righteous through Christ; therefore, we live soberly and righteously. The church today is not devoid of these qualities, and therefore we receive the same blessings.
A wise person’s destiny is secure
6 Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.
Verse 6 talks about the memory of deeds of the righteous lasting forever in the Book of Remembrance. See Proverbs 10:9. The righteous are those who have received righteousness through Jesus Christ our Lord, not through anything that they have done. Not through sharing scripture every day. Not through giving stuff to people every day. But through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. By living a life of obedience and righteousness before Him. Living a righteous life is hard to do in a world where profanity, lewd speech, and railing accusations are acceptable ways of venting frustrations. But, they who choose to walk on the straight path will inherit eternal life in Him. Man will live forever somewhere. We choose our place to spend eternity. Friends, Just because we call ourselves a Christian, it does not make us a Christian. Living a righteous lifestyle is proof of our hearts. If we receive Jesus as our Savior, we inherit eternal life in heaven with Jesus. If we are pretending that we have accepted Jesus Christ, then when the day of judgment comes, we will spend eternal life in hell.
7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.8 This person is not looking to the government, military might, or local authorities to prevent evil from happening to them. They are trusting the Lord.
His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour. Don’t remind them that we did good things for them because God told them to ask us for help.
“He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; ” In this day and age, we would say that this secton of this verse sounds like “socialism.” But that is what the Lord expects from us. Those who fear the Lord are benevolent with what they have in their possession. They live in the same manner as the wealthy woman of Proverbs. The righteous do not have to fear their foes because they will be vanquished, and they will live in triumph. Their horn is just a symbol image of power and dignity.
10 The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.
The righteous followers of Jesus will be more than ready to share their blessings with others. The willingness to share our blessings with the poor is what differentiates us from nonbelievers. Jesus told us that “inasmuch as ye have done it to the least of these, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40). We may not be able to do flashy things for the Lord; however, when we help the helpless, widows, children, the impoverished, we are doing it as if we are doing it for Jesus. Also, when we do good in Jesus’ name, we will be attacked. God will remain our protector and provider because we are His righteous children. Go out and live like Jesus!
You Are Not the Only One 
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