#DailyDevotion Is God’s Name & Life Emulated In Your Life?
Psalm 112 Praise the LORD!
Praise Yah! Allelu Yah! The psalmist calls us to praise the LORD. Saying allelujah isn’t praise. It is a call to praise. So the rest of the Psalm will tell us why and what we should praise the LORD.
How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who takes great delight in His commandments! 2His descendants will grow strong in the world and be blessed as an honest generation. 3There will be wealth and riches in his home. His righteousness goes on forever.
We should praise the LORD because He is true to His promises. The blessed man is blessed because He fears the LORD. It’s interesting the second LORD is Yahweh. To fear the LORD is to worship and serve Him. We see also how the blessed man fears the LORD in the second half of the verse—he takes delight in the LORD’s commandments. He doesn’t despise the LORD or hate Him because He has things He wants us to do and not do. In fearing the LORD, the promises from the covenant fall open before him. His descendants grow strong and are blessed in good things. He is blessed with wealth and riches. His righteousness, the good things he does in accordance with the will of God go before him and God rewards them forever.
4The Light will dawn in the darkness for the righteous; that is the Kind, Merciful, and Righteous One.”
Verse four doesn’t refer to the blessed man before but the LORD Himself, whom the blessed man emulates. God is Light. Jesus is Light. He shows Himself to the righteous and His light shines and dawns in the darkness for the one who fears the LORD, the righteous ones. The editor has capitalized Kind, Merciful and Righteous One because these are the name of the LORD our God revealed in Ex. 34:6. These names are the attributes and names of the LORD of who He is and what He does and what He is like. The devil would like to convince us that the LORD is mean and cruel. But the wrath of God is only revealed to those who scorn Him, His ways, His kindness, mercy and righteousness. In scorning these things there is nothing left but His wrath. His primary will and intention to His creations, His creatures, and His image and likeness is kindness, mercy and righteousness.
5It is good for a man to be generous and ready to lend and fair in doing his business. 6Such a man will never fail. A righteous man will always be remembered. 7He will not have to fear bad news. As he trusts the LORD, his courage doesn’t waver. 8His heart is steady, and he’s not afraid. Finally he will look in triumph on his enemies. 9He gives freely to the poor. His righteousness goes on forever. His head will be raised in honor. 10The wicked will see it and not like it; he will grind his teeth and vanish. The wicked will never get what he wants.
These verses give the response, the life of praise of the one who believes the LORD is Kind, Mercy and Righteousness. His life mirrors that of His LORD. He is generous to the poor. He is fair in his dealing. Because He trusts God works all things for good for those who love Him, he does not fear bad news. God, the LORD is on his side. He has no need of fear. His righteousness is the LORD’s and so he works out his own righteousness in response to it. The righteous man, who fears the LORD gives freely to the poor because he knows God will take care of him and tomorrow. Therefore the LORD lifts up such a man in honor. He has humbled himself and taken to emulate his Maker. Those who are wicked cannot abide by this. They grind their teeth as such people because they see the LORD bless them without them doing wicked things. The wicked don’t get what they want because they do not seek it out from the One who can give it to them.
O Kind, Merciful and Righteous LORD, continually give us faith in You through Jesus Christ, Your Son, so we may live out Your life and will in our lives. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.