The Blessed One
112 Praise the LORD!
Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
2 His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
7 He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
the desire of the wicked will perish!
Every year time magazine does their person of the year. I read some of the history and criteria for this and found it interesting. The person of the year started in 1927 when Charles Lindberg flew nonstop from New York to Paris. Time realized he had a major impact on the world, and that he never even made the cover of the magazine that year, so they called him the person of the year. It was a bit of a stop gap but 87 years later they are still giving out the award.
They base their decision on who best represents the news of the year. They want the person to stand the test of time so it is ideally a person who is a snapshot of where the world is and also where the world is going. Someone who feels like a force in history.
The criterion is “the person or persons who most affected the news and our lives, for good or ill, and embodied what was important about the year.” A lot of news is bad news and a lot of people who make bad news are very powerful people. Famously, they named Hitler in 1938 and Stalin in 1939 and again in 1942 as person of the year.
Of the winners, presidents have been selected for the aware 23 times. 3 popes. Other winners include Ghandi in 1930, Water Chrysler in 1928. Apollo 8 astronauts in 1968. Mark Zuckerberg in 2010, and most recently in 2023 Taylor Swift, for her achievement in arts and the highest grossing tour of all time.
Today we are looking at a passage of a blessed person. One who embodies what is important to the faith. One who is a snapshot of what God calls a person to be in the world. As we celebrate fathers day, we are reminded that fatherhood is an important role, and a role that has a great effect on people. WE all want to be influential to those around us, whether father or husband, friend, and so we want God’s word to guide us in how we act and live.
The psalm we are looking at calls attention to the blessed person. The focus of this blessed person is not about their income, the followers, their title in the business, but rather it is about their walk with God and how they stand apart from others.
One who is blessed. Happy. Joyful state of mind. Good fortune. Typically we think if being blessed as financial, but there is so much more to it than that.
- Firm in the Lord
He fears God. First thing to mention. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Want to do the right thing make sure the thing of ultimate significance is the first thing you do.
Fear: profound respect for one, that borders on fear of the object (Lev 19:32); be in awe/awesome, dreadful. respect, revere, i.e., show high status and honor to one in authority even bordering on fear. DBL
Fears will drive you to do things you don't want to do. Fear of man is a snare. Fear of what other people think about you will cause you to be someone you are not.
Fearing the Lord brings stability and strength.
1 Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
Fearing the Lord connects to God’s commandments. If you fear getting a ticket then you will obey the speed limit. If you fear the IRS then you will pay your taxes. Fear leads to obedience, but it is clear that there is more to a walk with God than just obeying out of fear. The next line may surprise you.
Not in money
His trust is not in what others think.
His trust is not in being liked or popular.
His main goal in life is not being voted man of the year.
He greatly delights in God’s commands. It isn't that he serves God because he is scared to be punished, or that he feels he has to. He delights in it. Takes pleasure in that. He loves to do so. There is joy. An eagerness. When you know God, know his greatness and his grace, and that he gives you his commands not to punish you but to know what is good and right and just. And that in them you know him. There is life. You want to follow them. There is a key change.
Difference in kids taking out the trash and Roscoe going for a walk. Church. Reading the Bible.
6 For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
7 He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.
8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
His heart is firm and steady. Secure.
8 word is sustain, uphold, support, i.e., cause a state to continue, with a focus that whatever is necessary to remain in that state is given, including a maintaining power. Samson grasping the pillar and bracing himself on it. The Lord is a rock.
What would you do in that situation? Being attacked for nothing other than the color of your skin. People, even professing Christians, denying your dignity and creation in the image of God. He didn’t shrink back nor did he attack. Could have been intimidated. Could have resorted to destroying the opposition. He followed Jesus. How powerful it is when we see the spirit of God at work in people.
He was not worried about what others thought, was not driven by money, but rather wanted to honor God. He was a stalwart when many other were going a different direction.
If God is the source of our blessing, we dont need to fear what others may think or do. There is a firmness and stability in knowing him.
Key to being blessed, and finding a blessing others cannot take away is putting our hope fully and completely in God.
- He is Hopeful
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
He is steadfast but it isn't because he somehow has a forcefield preventing him from encountering hardship. Scripture is very clear we are going to have hardship. We will have hardship because we have chose to follow. Even in darkness. Note you will go through darkness.
Psalm 23 even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil. We will all walk through that valley at some point, but in Jesus we know the dark valley is but a short path to the peak of resurrection.
This psalm is very similar to psalm 1. Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. He is like a tree planted by streams of water. It is similar in referring to the person blessed by God. But it is different. Psalm 1 hints at this. His leaf does not wither. It implies a dry time and roots that support it in such time.
Psalm 112 comes after a lot of other things in the psalms.
-psalm 13. How long o Lord, how long will your hide your face and every day have sorry in my heart.
-Psalm 88 All day long they surround me like a flood;
they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.
The psalms were composed all through biblical history, but then they were compiled into this book after the destruction of the temple and the exile of the Israelites in 586bc. This psalm would be a reminder of the hope that people had. Even in the darkness of seeing your nation and people destroyed by another nation because you had rejected God. Its a reminder that even thought things are not well. We still have hope.
Romans 8:28. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Hope is such a powerful thing. It is not just wishful thinking. If Jesus has been resurrected then we truly have hope in all things. We trust that he is using the things of this life to prepare us for the life to come. We dont need to feel lost, aimless, purposeless, or consumed in darkness.
In 1952, young Florence Chadwick stepped into the waters of the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island, determined to swim to the shore of mainland California approximately 30 miles away. She’d already been the first woman to swim the English Channel both ways. But the weather was foggy and chilly; she could hardly see the boats accompanying her. Still, she swam for fifteen hours. And she begged to be taken out of the water along the way. her mother, in a boat alongside, told her she was close and that she could make it. Finally, physically and emotionally exhausted, she stopped swimming and was pulled out. It wasn’t until she was on the boat that she discovered the shore was less than half a mile away.
At a news conference the next day she said, “All I could see was the fog.…I think if I could have seen the shore, I would have made it.”
If you are in Christ then you need to know you are going to make it. It may be hard, and there may be times you cant see anything else. But we know even in darkness we have hope. Even in darkness light dawns for the upright.
Jesus Christ is the truly blessed man. Obeyed God perfectly, and yet he was betrayed, beaten, mocked and then crucified. The crucifixion is the darkest day in history, and yet God will use it to be the very means that hope and salvation go to the ens of the earth. You can have hope in all situations.
Be strong. Don't give up when things get hard. As a Father, you have to go through hard times. You have the pressure of providing and caring for a family. Being there to support others through hard times.
There is hope in the Lord. The Lord is our shield. And we can shield others through the pressure we feel. When things don't go well for me I can weigh others down with my disappointment. I cant believe how hard this is. I'm mad and I can make my kids feel it, i could embitter them with my frustration. Or I can trust the Lord. Let them know what I am dealing with but not dump the full weight of the problem on them.
He does the right thing regardless. When you feel squeezed by life you often want to squeeze others. When the car breaks down, the pipes break, the business is struggling and you feel that pressure and are upset angry, you often want to pass that to others. You are short and angry with your kids. If you have no hope you are more easily swayed. If I am not trusting in the Lord I am more easily swayed.
This is one of reasons I prioritize being in God’s word every day. I need it for that day. Even more, every day is a day to train for the next day. If I dont work out today I might feel it tomorrow. Same with the word.
Key.
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
- Generous
9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn is exalted in honor.
There is a generosity to this person. It seems only right too. How many people do we know that we say are truly blessed but all they care about is themselves. They are tight with their money and time. Greatest mentors are those who are generous with themselves, their time, their ideas, the possessions.
Some friends growing up that would hear them and their family talk so emotionally about petty things and small amounts of money that I felt bad to eat anything in their house. Truthfully felt bad to even be there. This blessed person is different. He gives generously and others see it and know it.
Quoted in 2 Cor 9:9. God provides abundantly for his people. They in turn provide abundantly for others. Their main goal in life is not the accumulation of wealth or to spend it on themselves. They give to others because they know God will care for them.
Think different about what God provides for you. He blessed you, can bless you again. What does it matter if you are a poor steward of the blessing he has given to you.
Make a budget for yourself. Give to the Lord first. Make sure you can pay your bills. Don't give into worldly fears that make you spend more than you have. Part of your budget is to think about how to be generous. Have people over. Help people out. Plan for it.
Do plan to bless your kids. Doesn’t mean you have to spend a lot of money. Remember, kids would rather have you than your money. Be generous to those you care about, those you want to build with, and yes, those who are simply at your mercy.
We can be generous because we know God is going to care and provide for us. This is baffling to many. Its contrary to the way of the world. It actually angers some people.
10 The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
the desire of the wicked will perish!
The wicked see him and are angry. Those who do not want to honor the Lord will not be happy when you honor the Lord. Don’t fool yourself. And don’t let that intimidate you. God is able to provide for you.
There is a way of thinking that is contrary to God. It rejects what God calls us to do, and therefore it rejects God.
- Justice.
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.
The moral arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice. Justice happens because of people who do the right thing at the right time. The one who knows the Lord who is holy and just should also conduct themselves with justice.
This person has grace. But he is not a pushover. He does the right thing. He is firm and not easily manipulated.
He is upright, righteous.
Allan.
Bruce.
I can remember hanging out with my pastor in college who explained the gospel to me so that I truly understand what Jesus did and surrendered my life to him. I was out his house for just a bit, his young child came running out and he asked him several times not to do that, after a couple times, he went over looked his child in the eyes, and said daddy said know, he slapped his hands with with a ruler, hugged the crying child and said he loved him. And there was never an angry moment. He was gracious in his dealings.
He is firm. He is not manipulated. He is gracious. He knows what he is required to do by law. He knows what people deserve. He goes beyond what law requires. He is gracious. He is an example.
But this person truly looks beyond us and finds fulfillment in Jesus Christ. He is the person of history. The true force that defines the world past and present. And he will define who your are, either for good or for bad. Greatest role as a father is to point my kids to him, my wife. I will let them down. I will disappoint. I want to try with all my heart, but I will disappoint. He is the one we put our hope in and seek to honor.
