Sermon Tone Analysis
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This morning, we will read and reflect on Psalm 112.
I didn't pick this psalm randomly, but I don't want to say any more until we've worked our way through it.
Except, I'll admit that this is going to be a stretch for you, and maybe require you to fundamentally rethink what God wants to do for you.
In a good way.
Consider yourself warned :)
Verse 1:
(1) Praise Yah!
Blessed is the man who fears/reveres Yahweh.
In his commandments he has delighted very much.
The psalmist begins by praising Yahweh.
"Hallelu Yah!"
There are lots, and lots, of reasons to praise God.
Here, why does the psalmist call worshippers to praise Yahweh?
Why should we praise God?
We continue reading, expecting a partial answer to this.
But the second line throws us for a loop.
We find ourselves transitioning from a call to worship, to talking about how people are blessed when they fear, or revere, Yahweh.
And then the follow up line, parallel to the first, talks how the ones who fear Yahweh, delight in Yahweh's commands.
So when we read these together, we are supposed to understand that part of what it means, or looks like, to revere Yahweh, is to delight in his commands.
When God tells us to do something, we know that this is for our benefit.
We know that it's a good thing to obey God, and please Him.
It's not a burden to obey.
It's a privilege.
And what this should tell us is that OT language about "fearing" God needs to be understood in a particular way.
If we are living rightly toward God, "fearing" God doesn't mean living in terror of what God will do to us.
God is not a harsh taskmaster, difficult to please, or unreasonable, or short-tempered.
"Fearing" God, in this context, means something more like "revering" God.
We walk, as a people, with a constant awareness of who God is, and what He wants.
We are aware that He is with us, that his Holy Spirit dwells in and among us.
And everything that we say, and do, and see, we do with an awareness that we are a holy people serving a Holy God.
But what does this have to do with praising Yahweh?
The answer is found in the idea of blessing.
"Blessed is the man who fears/reveres Yahweh."
Yahweh showers blessings on people who revere Him, and who delight in God's commands.
That's why we praise God, in this psalm.
We know how good God is to his people.
The psalmist then describes what these blessings include, starting in verse 2. And he's going to keep talking about God's blessings for the entire psalm.
Let me just read it as a whole (slowly), to try to overwhelm you with God's blessings, and then we will unpack it:
(2) Strong/Warriors in the land, his seed shall be.
The generation of the upright shall be blessed.
(3) Wealth and riches [are] in his house,
while his righteousness endures forever.
(4) It rises in the darkness, light, for the upright,
the gracious, and compassionate, and righteous [one].
(5) It is well with the man who deals graciously and is lending,
he contains his ways with exercising of authority.
(6) because, for forever he shall not be shaken/moved,
remembered forever, the righteous shall be.
(7) Of evil reports he shall not fear,
Firm, his heart is,
trusting in Yahweh.
(8) Established, his heart is,
he shall not be afraid until he looks [in triumph] upon his enemies.
(9) He has freely given to the poor,
his righteousness stands forever.
His horn/power shall be exalted in honor/glory.
(10) The wicked one shall see,
and (then) he shall be angry.
His teeth shall gnash,
and (then) they shall melt away.
The desires of the wicked shall perish.
God showers blessings on the ones who revere Him.
He gives his people strength, descendants, wealth, light, and victory over their enemies.
And it's for this reason that we find ourselves singing, "Praise Yah!"
Are you bothered yet?
A little worried?
Or do you find yourself rejoicing?
Let's go through the psalm, verse by verse, and think about each of these things.
(2) Strong/Warriors in the land, his seed shall be.
The generation of the upright shall be blessed.
The first specific blessings the psalmist describes, have to do with your children.
If you're a parent, one of your main concerns in life is making sure your children become responsible, prosperous adults.
And you can define "prosperous" however you want; I'm not trying to be difficult here.
But you watch your children growing up, and you have expectations, and hopes, for how they will turn out.
You want your kids to become strong, capable, fully functioning members of society.
You want to be able to die, when the time comes, and not worry about them-- to know that you've raised a generation of warriors.
The psalmist says, the children of God-fearers shall be strong in the land.
They shall be blessed.
So the promises we are about to read are not just for you; the blessings are for your children as well.
Verse 3:
(3) Wealth and riches [are] in his house,
while his righteousness endures forever.
If you're reading off my translation, you'll notice that the second line here begins with "while."
The word order, in Hebrew, is designed to tie these two ideas together.
And we have to tie these two ideas together, or we will, literally, mess up everything here.
The first line talks about money, right?
The ones who revere Yahweh are rich.
They have wealth in their house.
They have food.
They have savings.
They aren't broke.
They have plenty.
The second line, connected to the first, talks about his "righteousness."
I've said a million times, and I'll say it a million more, that "righteousness" in the Bible usually has to do with rightly relating to God and to people.
You have an obligation to live in a certain way toward God and people.
And when you fulfill this obligation, you are righteous.
How do these two ideas go together?
What does having riches have to do with acting rightly toward God and people?
The psalmist will answer this, if we keep reading.
But seriously.
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