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“The Power of Joy and Thanksgiving” No. 17 by Rev. Toru Asai
Praise the Lord.
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who finds great delight in his commands (Ps 112:12).
Psalm 112 sings about the “the man … who finds great delight in his commands.” It describes what he is like, and the promises given to him. To delight in God’s commands is different from to delight in his works. When God delivers us from our problems and meets our needs, we naturally rejoice and delight in his works, and come to praise him. This is, in fact, the first step that all believers should take in knowing him as a gracious and compassionate God. Psalm 111 sings exactly about that.
Praise the Lord.
I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.
Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate (Ps 111:1-4).
It is quite noticeable that these two psalms, 111 and 112, were written as a pair: the first one sings about God who causes us to delight in his works, and the second one about those who delight in his commands. The similarities in the structure (both are acrostics) and in some of the words and expressions used tie these two psalms together and lead the eyes of the reader to ponder and compare between them so that the differences in the subjects—God and the man—comes to shed even more light on the truth. Ps 112 continues:
His children will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man (vv. 2-4).
Because of this man who delights in the Lord’s commands, “his children” and “generation” are blessed, and “wealth and riches are in his house.” In Hebrew, “house (beit)” can mean a whole clan or nation. In other words, the multiplication and the transferring of God’s blessings take place for the other people because of this one man who finds great delight in God’s word. Note that the expression, “his righteousness endures forever,” here, speaking of this man’s righteousness, is already used in the previous psalm speaking of God. This man has the same kind of righteousness that God has!
Then, the psalmist goes on to describe further about this righteousness in the following verses more specifically:
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely,
who conducts his affairs with justice (v. 5).
He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor,
his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor (v. 9).
The word “justice (mishpat)” denotes actions in which he takes care of the poor—orphans and widows. This is the most important character of the one who finds great delight in God’s word. Paul quotes v. 9 of this psalm in his second letter to Corinthians teaching them about giving:
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:
"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever (2 Cor 9:7-9)."
Only those who have the heart of a giver understand the heart of God. And those who have the heart of God love and find great delight in his word. His righteousness stands firm forever. They do not fear bad news because their house is built on the rock.
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By Davar Kingdom of GodPraise the Lord.
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who finds great delight in his commands (Ps 112:12).
Psalm 112 sings about the “the man … who finds great delight in his commands.” It describes what he is like, and the promises given to him. To delight in God’s commands is different from to delight in his works. When God delivers us from our problems and meets our needs, we naturally rejoice and delight in his works, and come to praise him. This is, in fact, the first step that all believers should take in knowing him as a gracious and compassionate God. Psalm 111 sings exactly about that.
Praise the Lord.
I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.
Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate (Ps 111:1-4).
It is quite noticeable that these two psalms, 111 and 112, were written as a pair: the first one sings about God who causes us to delight in his works, and the second one about those who delight in his commands. The similarities in the structure (both are acrostics) and in some of the words and expressions used tie these two psalms together and lead the eyes of the reader to ponder and compare between them so that the differences in the subjects—God and the man—comes to shed even more light on the truth. Ps 112 continues:
His children will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.
Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man (vv. 2-4).
Because of this man who delights in the Lord’s commands, “his children” and “generation” are blessed, and “wealth and riches are in his house.” In Hebrew, “house (beit)” can mean a whole clan or nation. In other words, the multiplication and the transferring of God’s blessings take place for the other people because of this one man who finds great delight in God’s word. Note that the expression, “his righteousness endures forever,” here, speaking of this man’s righteousness, is already used in the previous psalm speaking of God. This man has the same kind of righteousness that God has!
Then, the psalmist goes on to describe further about this righteousness in the following verses more specifically:
Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely,
who conducts his affairs with justice (v. 5).
He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor,
his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be lifted high in honor (v. 9).
The word “justice (mishpat)” denotes actions in which he takes care of the poor—orphans and widows. This is the most important character of the one who finds great delight in God’s word. Paul quotes v. 9 of this psalm in his second letter to Corinthians teaching them about giving:
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:
"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever (2 Cor 9:7-9)."
Only those who have the heart of a giver understand the heart of God. And those who have the heart of God love and find great delight in his word. His righteousness stands firm forever. They do not fear bad news because their house is built on the rock.