A Description of a Godly Man

Last week I mentioned some similarities between Psalms 111 & 112. They appear to be a pair of Psalms that support one another.

Both are acrostics.

Both contain ten verses.

Psalm 111 is a description of God. Psalm 112 is a description of the godly man. If you look closely, you can see more similarities. Specifically, you can see that some of the terms used to describe God in Psalm 111 are used to describe the godly man in Psalm 112.

God is righteous (111:3) The godly man is righteous (112:3)

God is gracious & merciful (111:4) The godly man is gracious & merciful (112:4)

God is just (111:7) The godly man is just (112:5)

God remembers (111:5) The godly man is remembered (112:6)

God provides (111:5) The godly man provides (111:9)

We might even say that psalm 111:10 is an introduction to Psalm 112. Psalm 112 describes the man who practices the commands of God. To be godly is to be like God. The Christian is a reflection of God.

We are a dim reflection, but we are still a reflection. I’m going to share with you a description of a godly man from this text.

1. The godly man delights in the Word of God (1).

In Psalm 111 we are told the godly man delights in the works of God (111:2). Here we are told he delights in the Word of God.

Psalm 119:8 says:

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.

That is the prayer of a godly man. Let’s look at how this man is described in verse 1.

He is blessed. If you fear the Lord and delight in the Word of God you are blessed. Imagine a person who is sick. They have no appetite. Because they have no appetite, they do not eat. Because they do not eat, they are wasting away. They say, “I wish I had an appetite!” They would do whatever it took to regain their appetite. They look at people who hunger and desire food with some level of envy.

If you have an appetite for the Word of God you are blessed. You ought to praise God.

He fears the Lord. A healthy respect, a reverence. This attitude leads to the desire for the Word.

He greatly delights in the commandments. Spurgeon once said, “We have known hypocrites rejoice in the doctrines, but never in the commandments.”

The godly man learns to live. His motivation for study is character. He is not trying to become smarter. He is trying to become godlier.

Is the Word of God a delight to you?

The preached Word

The written Word

The memorized Word

The sung Word

2. The godly man’s home is blessed (2-3).

His children are blessed. It says his offspring will be mighty in the land. This is a general truth. It doesn’t mean that every godly person will have children that are a blessing to the world. Generally speaking, if we raise our children with integrity and for the Lord, we can expect God’s blessing.

It should be our goal to have children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, etc who love the Lord. The wealth & riches mentioned in verse 3 reflect God’s blessing and wise stewardship. The children of the righteous person do not foolishly squander what their father has provided for them.

“and his righteousness endures forever” The impact this man has had on his family extends to many generations. It should always be our intent to leave our children an eternal inheritance. Righteousness is more valuable than earthly riches.

No matter how poor you are you can leave your children a valuable inheritance. When we leave our children Christ, we have left them more than they could ever spend. We have ensured that they have:

Eternal life

An eternal home

An eternal inheritance

If you are a goldy man you’re not only concerned about yourself. You are concerned about your family. You want them to be:

Mighty in God

Upright

Blessed

Righteous

That doesn’t accidentally happen. It happens by the grace of God when we raise our families up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It happens because we delight in the Word of God.

3. The godly man is humbled because he is delivered from his troubles (4).

Light dawns in the darkness for the upright. The godly are not immune from suffering. Days get dark for even the godliest saints. The good news is, for the believer, the day always dawns.

There will always be a sunrise for the godly. Never forget that. In this world the sun will go down but it will always come up. God has promised that we will have tribulation in this world. He has also promised to be with us and ultimately to deliver us from all trouble.

Notice the second part of this verse. It says the godly man is gracious, merciful, and righteous. This describes how he treats people. The context suggests that because he has lived through darkness himself, he is merciful toward others that face the same sort of things.

We are gracious, merciful, and righteous toward people because we have needed people to be that way toward us.

We have received mercy, so we give it.

We have need grace, so we extend it.

The godly person is familiar with:

Trials

Hurt

Pain

God has delivered the godly from things. He has sent light into their darkness. Therefore, the godly are ready to be the light in someone else’s darkness.

Are we merciful towards those who find themselves in the pit?

Do the trials of others break our heart?

4. The godly man is generous (5).

The godly man is described as one who:

Is generous. If there is a need he does not hesitate. He freely gives.

Who lends. This describes a man in a position to help others financially. The Law forbade a person from charging interest to a person in genuine need (Exodus 22:5).

There are some who give or lend with the wrong motive:

To be seen of others

To have power over people

To get rich

That is not generosity. The godly man gives in a just manner. He does the right thing because it is the right thing.

Grace makes us givers. God has given to us, so we are ready to give to others.

5. The godly man is confident (6-8).

Verse 6 summarizes verses 6-8.

He will never be moved. He will continue to be who he is in the Lord. This is integrity. No matter what comes his way he is faithful to the Lord.

He will be remembered forever. Even when he dies people speak of his character. They remember that he was a consistent witness of the character of God.

We lose our testimony when we allow ourselves to be moved from our convictions. The key to leaving a lasting impression is endurance.

He is not afraid of bad news (7). This doesn’t mean he won’t get it. He will! He is not afraid. He does not trust in himself or his circumstances. He trusts the Lord. Notice the phrase “his heart is firm”. His heart is steadfastly set on God.

Can we be confident even when we get bad news? This is how we know if we trust God or not. For some a single phone call and they fall apart. A doctor’s visit can cause them to crumble. We are going to get a lot of bad news in this world. If we trust God, we will not be afraid when we get it.

His heart is steady (8). The context suggests some sort of battle. The Psalmist is thinking of an enemy. The godly man is threatened but he does not tremble. He does not waver in faith or devotion. Spurgeon said of this verse:

a holy heart gives a brave face.

“Until he looks on triumph on his adversaries” He knows his enemies will fail. His heart is steady until they do. He is not intimidated by them. This should encourage the Christian. We know how the story ends. We know every enemy will be put beneath Jesus’ feet. It is our responsibility to keep a steady heart as we battle our enemies until Jesus returns or we go to Him.

6. The godly man pities the poor (9).

Paul quotes this verse in 2 Corinthians 9:9. He was encouraging the Corinthian church to help the poor saints in Jerusalem. The godly man recognizes that God has distributed freely to him. He was a poor sinner. God has been good to Him. Imitating the character of God, the godly man gives to the poor. God rewards him by:

Causing his righteousness to endure forever. This probably refers to a godly offspring. God gives this man children who serve the Lord.

Exalts him. It says, “his horn is exalted in honor”. Horn means strength. God makes this man strong. He lifts him up. It is a wonderful promise that the Lord is going to exalt all who belong to Him. We are confident through Christ we will be exalted.

It is looked upon by many as a weakness when one helps the poor. Any stooping in this world devalues you in the eyes of some. This isn’t the case with God.

When we pity the poor, the Lord pities us.

When we bless the poor, the Lord blesses us.

v. 10 Here we see the contrast between the ungodly man and the godly man. Remember the godly man looked upon his adversaries in triumph (8). Now, in verse 10, his adversaries look upon him.

They see him exalted and are angry.

They see him exalted and grind their teeth.

They see him exalted and their strength melts away.

All their desire will perish. In other words, they get nothing they wanted. The Christian is promised that he/she will receive more than they could ever imagine. The lost person doesn’t receive a thing they want.

There is not a more bitter place than hell. It is filled with people with unmet expectations. They are envious. They are jealous. They are bitter. They think of all who are in heaven and are filled with rage. They took the deal of the devil and are left with nothing.

Where are you friend?

Are you the godly man?

Are you the wicked?

We are one or the other.