Psalm 112: Be the Blessed Man
Notes
Transcript
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Read
Psalm 112:1–10 (ESV)
1 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!
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Introduction
Introduction
Psalm 112 is considered the twin to Psalm 111.
It is very similar in language and yet different in a big way.
Psalm 111 is speaking about the works of God.
Psalm 112 is speaking about the blessed state of the man who fears the Lord.
Psalm 111 closes with...
Psalm 111:10 (ESV)
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His [God’s] praise endures forever!
It beckons us to delight in the God of Psalm 111, who is the One and only God.
Psalm 112 is going to lay out for us the happiness that comes to the man who delights in the Lord.
It begins in the same manner of Psalm 111...
Praise the Lord!
Which in Hebrew is Hallelujah!
So let’s look at the state of the man who fears and delights in the Lord.
Psalm 112:1 (ESV)
1 Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
What Does It Mean To Be Blessed?
What Does It Mean To Be Blessed?
Before defining the word Blessed...
Let me remind you from last week...
This word fear has a positive meaning.
And, the english word fear doesn’t really explain well enough all that it means...
It carries the positive meaning of a worshipful adoration for God, His works, and His intentions towards His people.
This attitude towards God is the beginning of wisdom, the Bible tells us over and over.
Not only does a blessed man fear the Lord, adore God for His works and how His works bless His people...
But, a blessed man delights in God’s commands.
They don’t see God’s commands as restricting from joy and pleasure...
Rather, as pathway lights keeping them on the trail of joy and pleasure that does not end.
A person who adores God for His works and how His works bless His people...
A person who delights in God’s commands
Scripture as a whole teaches us, and in particular here in v.1, this kind of person is blessed.
The word happy is the best match in english for this Hebrew word, esher...
But, it falls short of the full expression of what this word means.
Being blessed means...
Joy
Contentment
Peace
Satisfaction
Fulfillment
Protection
Calmness
Assurance
Provision
Prosperity
All of these are taught as expressions of the blessedness enjoyed by the blessed person who adores God and delights in His commands.
This is one way in which the word Blessed is defined...
a state of bliss
So you could read v.1b-1c as...
In a state of bliss is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments.
Now as we move through this passage...
I want you to hear the characteristics of this blessed man’s life.
His Home Life
His Home Life
Psalm 112:2–3 (ESV)
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.
There is biblical truth and doctrine passed along in his house.
His children see the delight this person has in the commandments of God.
The children see the praise for the Lord in this person.
The praise is not just one hour per week.
It’s daily praise.
The family sees the blessed peace and hope in the Lord in his life.
v.3-4 is not speaking about being a millionaire...
It’s actually saying this person has enough.
And, it’s speaking about his contentment in what he has...
And, the way he uses what he has.
We’re told he uses his possessions in righteous ways...
Ways that honor the Lord.
His Life Among Neighbors
His Life Among Neighbors
Psalm 112:4–6 (ESV)
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.
There’s wisdom in this man’s words and deeds.
He’s not left to the momentary whims of the flesh for decisions...
The Word of God has informed/renewed his mind...
And, he goes to the Lord for wisdom.
v.5 says he conducts his life with the justice of God in mind.
He lends his goods…whatever God has given him...
He uses for himself and others with righteousness & justice being the lens by which he examines his life and what he should do.
He is generous because he understands that all he has...
It’s ultimately God’s...
And should be used for good.
v.4 says...
he is gracious —>
he gives to those who don’t deserve
he is merciful —>
he restrains from giving what people deserve
he forgives
he is righteous —>
he determines grace and mercy by using God’s wisdom to make righteous decisions.
Because of this, he is stable, not shaken.
v.6b says he is loved, appreciated, & is an example to be imitated.
His Conduct in Hard Times
His Conduct in Hard Times
Psalm 112:7–9 (ESV)
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.
He doesn’t walk through life fretting about what’s around the corner.
He knows, adores, and rests in the doctrine of God’s benevolence, omnipotence, and sovereignty.
He trusts the promise that Ezra loved, as well, in Ezra 8:22...
“The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and the power of his wrath is against all who forsake him.”
He rests in the truth that God works all thing for the good of His covenant people.
v.7-8 tells us that even in the most trying times he steadily trusts in the Lord.
He knows the enemy cannot triumph over him because the enemy cannot triumph over God.
He gives to those with less, even when is own cupboard may be lean.
He shares in bearing the burdens of others.
He uses his power to help others.
His life is remembers and honored.
What a life!
What a person!
You Need to Be this Person
You Need to Be this Person
But, in order to be this person in vv.2-9...
You must first be the person in v.1.
I’ve got bad news & good news.
The bad news is that really, in and of our self...
We are the person of...
Psalm 112:10 (ESV)
10 The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
the desire of the wicked will perish!
Outside of the work of Christ worked into our soul by the power of the Holy Spirit...
We are and remain the wicked person of v.10.
Outside of grace:
We pursue our own righteousness...
Desperately try to convince ourselves that we are good enough...
Waste time tearing other people’s perceived righteousness down, in order to boast in our own.
We gnash our teeth at real, true righteousness...
Just like the religious leaders that gnashed their teeth at Jesus...
And, plotted, sinisterly against Jesus to get rid of Him and His righteousness once and for all.
We all, outside of grace, seek to rid our world of God and His righteous standard.
That’s the Bad News.
But, there’s good news.
God has made a way for someone to represent us at His judgment seat.
And, that is the beauty of this Psalm, especially looking back at it from the NT.
What we see in this Psalm is the truly and ultimate blessed man is Jesus.
This Person is Ultimately Christ
This Person is Ultimately Christ
He is the only One who ever obeyed God perfectly.
He is the only One who has ever, fully, delighted in the commandments of God.
And, so, because of Christ...
Because of the new Covenant that He has obtained...
And offers freely...
Those who enter into this covenant with Christ...
Are Christ’s offspring.
Psalm 112:2 (ESV)
2 His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
This is why we are mighty, more than conquerors.
This is why we have blessings on us because the King has obtained and dispensed blessing upon the citizens of His kingdom.
Psalm 112:3 (ESV)
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
This is why there are wealth and riches...
Because Christ has made us joint heirs with Him...
And, so all that is His, is ours.
Psalm 112:4 (ESV)
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
We have light, because we have been made children of the light.
We have been given the mind of Christ...
So, the light of wisdom can shine into our circumstances...
And, cause us to be unmoved in the most difficult of circumstances.
Psalm 112:5–6 (ESV)
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.
We can be generous because we have all we need in Jesus.
We will live forever in glory because Christ has secured us in Him.
Psalm 112:7–9 (ESV)
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.
We have the victory over the most horrific of enemies, sin...
And, hence what can anyone do against us...
Since we’ve been ultimately delivered from all consequences of sin.
We can stand firm in Christ, and not be changed in our character...
Because of Christ and the work of the HS within us...
To transform us into the image of Christ.
What can man do to us, dear Christian?
Psalm 112:10 (ESV)
10 The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
the desire of the wicked will perish!
The way of the wicked will come to an end.
It will dissolve like snow on a sidewalk on a hot day.
They will not get their way.
The gates of hell will not prevail against the Kingdom of Christ.
As Christians, we should not read passages like this...
And pull up our bootstraps and tell our self or others...
I have to be like this man if I’m to have and hold the blessings of God in my life.
No, that is a false gospel.
Dear friend, if you are a Christian...
You have graciously been given the perfect record of Christ...
Who is the blessed man...
Who did...live this life perfectly...
And, who gives His perfect record to His people so they can come into and stay in covenant with Him, forevermore.
And, because we are in union with Christ...
We can pursue this kind of life...
But not to earn the blessings of God...
But, because we love God and delight in Him...
And all that has been accomplished by Christ on our behalf.
We pursue obedience, while resting in the finished obedience of JC.
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
If you find yourself bogged down in the pursuit of self-righteousness...
If you find yourself thinking that God’s commandments are restrictive rather than freeing...
If you find yourself trying to daily grind out perfect obedience in order for God to smile upon you...
Dear friend, take rest from your work...
Cry out to Jesus for mercy.
Take His yoke upon you...
Because the yoke of work in Christ has already been finished by Him.
If you find yourself in the put of despair...
Dear friend, fall into the arms of Jesus and you will find refuge, forevermore.
Be the blessed man, by being united to the truly Blessed man, JC.
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer