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11272016thedelightsoftheblessedpsa112donruhl

The Delights of the Blessed 

The delights the blessed receive because of the delights he does

Psalm 112

Don Ruhl • Savage Street, Grants Pass, Oregon • Psalm 112, In the year of our Lord, 2016

Scripture Reader and Reading: Paul Hannan – Second Corinthians 9.8–10

Song Leader and Song Suggestions: Phil Joseph – Blessings

Persuasion: 

  1. Psalm 112.1a | Praise the Lord for His Blessings

    a Praise the LORD!

    1. It seems to be that the Bible writers,
      1. especially in the Book of Psalms,
      2. looked for ways to praise the Lord constantly!
    2. The psalmist of Psalm 112 did this very thing.
    3. We should do this very thing, for
      1. the Lord created us for His glory, and
      2. we have not fulfilled our purpose
        1. until we have praised our Creator,
        2. as it is written,

          5 [He] predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved (Eph 1.5–6).
    4. Now let’s find out what moved the poet of Psalm 112 to write.
  2. Psalm 112.1bc | The Blessed Man

    b Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
    c Who delights greatly in His commandments.

    1. Perhaps the psalmist had read the Book of Ecclesiastes and
      1. agreed with Solomon’s conclusion,
      2. that man’s central purpose has to do with God.
        1. Solomon searched for man’s purpose and fulfillment
        2. in just about everything you can imagine, but
          1. he discovered that everything leads to vanity.
          2. What then did the king conclude?

            13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
            Fear God and keep His commandments,
            For this is man’s all.
            14 For God will bring every work into judgment,
            Including every secret thing,
            Whether good or evil.
            (Ecc 12.13–14)
      3. Solomon gave two reasons for fearing God and doing His commands:
        1. It is our all, our whole duty.
        2. God will bring everything we do to the Judgment.
          1. Therefore, we want to give an account for His will,
          2. not for rebelling against His will.
    2. The psalmist declared that you are blessed
      1. for fearing the Lord and
      2. for delighting greatly in His commandments.
        1. The idea is that
        2. if you fulfill the purpose of your life,
          1. the Lord will see to it
          2. that He fills your life with delights.
  3. Psalm 112.2–4a | The Blessed Man’s Blessings

    2 His descendants will be mighty on earth;
    The generation of the upright will be blessed.
    3 Wealth and riches will be in his house,
    And his righteousness endures forever.
    4a Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness;

    1. So what blessings and delights
      1. fill the life of him
      2. who fears the Lord and obeys Him?
    2. Verse 2 appears as a parallelism.

      His descendants | will be mighty on the Earth
      The generation of the upright | will be blessed

      1. Saying it twice with synonyms,
      2. the psalmist stated that the blessed man’s family
        1. is blessed by becoming mighty on the Earth.
    3. The psalmist declared four blessings:
      1. First, his life affects his family.
      2. Second, wealth and riches are in his house.
      3. Third, his righteousness endures forever.
      4. Fourth, light enters the darkness in his life.
    4. You want this man for your neighbor.
      1. You want your family to know his family.
      2. You want to be this man!
        1. You want your parents to be like this man.
        2. You want your children to imitate him.
  4. Psalm 112.4b–5 | The Blessed Man’s Behavior

    4b He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
    5 A good man deals graciously and lends;
    He will guide his affairs with discretion.

    1. He is a giver, not a taker.
    2. Do you have people in your life
      1. that when you see them,
      2. you know that they have come to take from you.
        1. They only see you for what they can get out of you.
        2. If they have no needs at the present,
          1. you do not see them or hear from them.
          2. They are takers and not givers.
    3. On the other hand, you have people in your life
      1. that when you see them,
      2. you know that they give to you, and if
        1. they do ask of you,
        2. you will gladly do it.
          1. Graciousness, unlimited compassion, and righteousness
          2. characterize these people, and
            1. if everyone had their qualities,
            2. no problems would exist between people in this world.
    4. That last line of verse 5 shows how he is a giver.
      1. He uses discretion to guide the affairs of his life.
      2. That puts him in a position
        1. to deal graciously and lend,
        2. making him a giver.
          1. Fearing the Lord and delighting greatly to do His commands
          2. enables this person to be a giver and not a taker.
  5. Psalm 112.6–8 | The Blessed Man’s Stability

    6 Surely he will never be shaken;
    The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.
    7 He will not be afraid of evil tidings;
    His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
    8 His heart is established;
    He will not be afraid,
    Until he sees his desire upon his enemies.

    1. The psalmist showed the blessings of the blessed man,
      1. then showed his behavior,
      2. which comes from
        1. his fear of the Lord and
        2. his great delight in doing the Lord’s commandments,
          1. then the psalmist goes back to the blessed man’s blessings again.
          2. However, the blessings listed here are all parts of one blessing.
    2. The blessing is his stability.
      1. The psalmist used seven lines
      2. with the middle one showing the source of the blessed man’s stability.
    3. Things do not shake this man.
      1. People remember him and his righteousness.
      2. He hears evil tidings, but they do not put him in fear.
    4. How does he do that?
      1. The middle line of these seven lines says how he does it.
      2. His heart is steadfast,
        1. not shaken,
        2. people remember his righteous ways, and
        3. evil tidings do not trouble him, because
          1. his heart is steadfast, Why?
          2. He trusts in the Lord,
            1. which is the same as fearing the Lord, and
            2. he delights greatly in the Lord’s commandments.
    5. Having the Lord as the foundation of his life,
      1. the blessed man’s heart is established;
      2. he does not fear his enemies, for
        1. he knows he will see his desire upon his enemies.
        2. The man who fears the Lord and obeys His commandments
          1. has a firm foundation
          2. that no one and no thing can destroy.
    6. Please think on these things as our nation goes through political turmoil.
  6. Psalm 112.9 | The Blessed Man’s Generosity

    9 He has dispersed abroad,
    He has given to the poor;
    His righteousness endures forever;
    His horn will be exalted with honor.

    1. The psalmist returned to the theme of the nature of the blessed man.
      1. He is a giver, not a taker.
      2. Since the Lord has blessed him materially,
        1. the blessed man disperses abroad,
        2. he finds the poor to whom he wants to give.
          1. The Lord, whom he fears and trusts, has commanded
          2. benevolence to the poor, and
            1. with that, as the psalmist has already said,
            2. the blessed man’s righteousness endures, because
              1. his life is consistent.
              2. Therefore, God and man exalt him with honor.
    2. He can do these things, because
      1. he knows the Lord
        1. fills his needs and
        2. enables him to give.
      2. Freely he receives, freely he gives.
    3. The truth of this psalm has so much power and relevance for Christians
      1. that Paul quoted verse 9 in Second Corinthians 9.
      2. As Paul motivated the Corinthian Church to give financially, he said,

        8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.
      3. To make his point, he then said, [Quoting OT as authority]

        9 As it is written:

        “He has dispersed abroad,
        He has given to the poor;
        His righteousness endures forever.”

      4. That being true, he assured us,

        10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness… (2Co 9.8–10).
    4. This again shows how the first two-thirds of the Bible still speaks to us.
  7. Psalm 112.10 | The Wicked Man Melts Away

    10 The wicked will see it and be grieved;
    He will gnash his teeth and melt away;
    The desire of the wicked shall perish.

    1. The wicked see how the blessed live.
    2. The wicked believe
      1. that they have the way to make the life they want, but
      2. it fails, and they see the blessed prosper.
    3. When they see the blessed prosper and themselves melt away,
      1. it will grieve them greatly, and
      2. they will gnash their teeth, for
        1. they will see that their desire has perished, and
        2. that the blessed man had lived the right way after all.

Exhortation: 

  1. I want to take you back to the third line of verse 1. 
    1. The blessed man is the one who fears the Lord, and
      1. now get this,
      2. delights greatly in the Lord’s commandments.
    2. Not just does the Lord’s commandments.
      1. Not just delights in doing the Lord’s commandments.
      2. He delights greatly in the Lord’s commandments.
  2. Does that describe you? 
    1. Do you find that it does not picture you with at least some commandments?
    2. We may delight to follow the commands that speak of loving our friends, but
      1. what about the ones that speak of loving our enemies, or
      2. of submitting to difficult people, or
      3. some other thing the Lord requires of you?
  3. This is when we might need some help from our brethren. 
    1. We are not here just to smile and say, Hi, at our worship services.
    2. Right now people surround you,
      1. who love you and
      2. want the best for you.
        1. When you need help they will gladly pitch in.
        2. If you would like for us to approach the throne of God for you,
          1. just ask, and
          2. we will go into action.