Psalm 112 – “Great Delight” for Those Who Fear God

There’s something warm we experience inside when all things are well: our relationships, our careers, our health, and ultimately, our selves. At the least expected time we get this feeling, for example, when all the work is finally completed and we can relax at long last. Then it seems that not only was all the work worth it, the muffled frustration (that we fortunately didn’t act on) which surfaced from time to time was strangely not justified. We can be still… we’re content about our role in things.

This is the feeling we get reading Psalm 112 and for the person it is written about: the righteous person. His or her goodness is based in godliness.[1] This person has at least the following qualities:

Courage – in verse 4, this person leads the leaders and speaks forth good words of faith in the midst of fear. The light within them always shines. They never foresee life as anything but light-filled. Even in the storm’s eye of terror their demeanour doesn’t change.

Compassion and Generosity – in verses 5 and 9, things are shared and justice is the claim over and above selfish needs. And there’s a freedom in the way things are given. There is no paradigmatic limit to the scope of giving. Again, the courage of faith is required for us to deal like this.

Endurance – at least four assertions of faithfulness and endurance show that those that take great delight in the fear of the LORD share in the goodness of his promised blessing. The Septuagint version places the Greek word for “endures,” menei, as ‘to be unchanged.’ In no less than three places (vss. 3, 6, 9) righteousness is linked as an unchangeable attribute of the person--it is who they are. Their righteous approach is a surety.

Security – future generations will be looked after and provided for (v. 2). Enemies cannot ultimately affect us (v. 8). A legacy of our good deeds will remain (v. 6).

Assurance – here we see both views; how it is for those who live aright and those who toss life to the wind. “Even in darkness the light dawns for the upright,”[2] in verse 4. The other side, in verse 10, sees nothing good come from their vexatious action. Their attempts at tripping up those who deal properly end in utter frustration. But not only that; their attempts at doing the wrong thing year in, year out, finally bring them their just desserts.

We have no need to fear anything at all so long as our fear is based solidly in the fear of God--which is a righteous fear of awed respect for the right path and the principles of righteousness, justice and fairness. Taken together with Psalm 111, this psalm is an encouraging poem of wisdom instruction for the hungry believer.

The sentiment of this psalm is perhaps best summarised by Proverbs: [Wisdom says] “but whoever listens to me[3] will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.” (1:33 NIV)

Copyright © 2008, S. J. Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

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ENDNOTES:
[1] James L. Mays, Psalms – Interpretation Bible Commentary (Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1994), p. 360.
[2] Today’s New International Version.
[3] Remember that fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge (wisdom) in 1:7.