Psalm 112 Devotional
by Pastor Lawrence

This is clearly a type of wisdom psalm similar to Psalm 1 wherein the author compares the blessed man to that of the wicked man, commending the fear of the Lord to his hearers as well as the joy of living under God’s righteous commandments. Although it begins with a brief note of praise, exhorting the congregation to “praise the Lord,” the meditation found in this psalm is not directly about the Lord but instead it is about his true subjects who thrive under his reign. Just as in the previous psalm, each line in the original language begins with the letters of the Hebrew Alphabet in alphabetical order in order to aid the believer in memorizing such a passage.

As would be expected, the first description given for the blessed man is that he fears the Lord, which signifies that not only does he worship the Lord with reverence and awe but that his life is God-centered in every way. And it is God oriented primarily due to the fact that this man greatly delights in God’s commands. He is so in love with God that he savors every precept, every proverb, and every proof of God’s power, wisdom and love through his Word and works.

And the consequences of this holy fear and divine delight are seen in numerous ways in the man’s life. First it can be seen by all those around him. In v.2, not only are his children direct beneficiaries of his spiritual influence but so too are all his contemporaries including his relatives, his neighbors and even the strangers that he meets. In some way or another, God’s blessing upon him turns into a blessing for others as well. Oftentimes the Lord blesses such a man materially as well as spiritually as can be seen in v.3 in order that he might be a blessing to others in their need. The blessed man also knows much about wisdom and discerning the times for according to v.4 he can see the dawn in the darkness and light even in the bleakest of winters. All around, his character and integrity are clearly seen through his righteousness and generosity, his grace and mercy as described in vv.4-5. We can also see something of his strength and courage in the face of adversity in vv.8-9 and his endurance in v.6.

But all of these characteristics and all of these blessings come from his close relationship with and trust in God, for we see in v.7 that he is not afraid and his heart is not moved in difficult time because he trusts in the Lord. In v.8 he can triumph over his enemies because again his heart is steady trusting in God. As a result, he will never be moved (v.6) which signifies that he will never be moved from his trust in God. Even when his foot slips, even when the earth shakes beneath his feet, he will stand his ground upon God’s Word, for he knows that the Lord will remember him in time of need and hear his prayers for deliverance.

Not so the wicked. In v.10 we see that he is covetous and angry because of the blessed man. He is bitter and disappointed in life because instead of delighting himself in God’s commands, he has desired a life of vanity in which he is constantly chasing the wind but to no avail. And although the author doesn’t elaborate on his many characteristics we can surmise what the evil man might look like based upon his many fears and anger. He cannot love his neighbor in time of need and cannot trust the Lord in difficult circumstances being paralyzed by the prospect of bad news since he has never really savored the good news of the gospel in Christ.

Wisdom psalms such as these are designed so that the hearer might ask himself how he stands with God and how much does he delight himself in God’s Word. Of course, none of us deserves to be blessed by God based on our ability to do all of these things. Only Christ alone is the truly blessed man, the man of wisdom that embodies the perfect character and love that is described here. Nevertheless, for all who look to him by faith, they can taste more and more of these blessings through their union with Christ, through the sweet fellowship of his spirit and through the means of grace found in his Word and in prayer. As believers in the Lord Jesus, psalms such as these do not merely condemn us for falling short of its perfections but they draw us into a deeper fellowship with Christ causing us to long more for and mediate upon God’s Word that steadies our hearts and gives us the courage to cling to Christ to endure whatever trials that we might face today.