The Bible Study Hour

Guest (Male): Welcome to the Bible Study Hour, a radio and internet ministry of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. James Boice. For more information, please contact us by calling toll-free 1-800-488-1888. And now the Alliance is pleased to present the Bible Study Hour, preparing you to think and act biblically.

Dr. James Boice: We're studying Psalm 112, and I want to begin by saying that the last verse of Psalm 111 is the theme for the psalm we're studying now. Or to put it another way, Psalm 112 picks up where Psalm 111 left off.

Psalm 111 ended with that classic description of true godly wisdom, found several places in the wisdom literature, in Job, Proverbs, and in other places. I'm sure you know it. It goes like this: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding; to him belongs eternal praise."

Now, that's what Psalm 112 unfolds. It describes the character of the person who fears the Lord and honestly obeys his precepts. And in doing this, it makes the point that the person who truly loves and worships God will be like him. Anyone will be like the God he or she worships.

Now, this is also the point of having these two psalms printed together in the Psalter, as they are. In the last study, I pointed out that the two are a matched pair, and they're matched in every way. They're the same length. They fall into identical stanzas. They even have identical or similar phrases occurring at the same places in each. And both are acrostic poems. As a matter of fact, they're precise acrostics. That is, they have 22 lines, each of which begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

One of the great commentators on the Psalms is a man named Stewart Perowne, and he summarizes the comparison of the two like this: "The same significant phrases occur in both, and occur in such a way as to mark the mutual relation of the two poems. In the 111th, the mighty deeds, the glory, the righteousness of Jehovah are celebrated in the assembly of the upright. In the 112th, the righteousness, the goodness, the blessedness of the upright themselves are described and enlarged upon. The one sets forth God, his work and his attributes; the other tells us what are the work and character of those who fear and honor God."

It's like the relationship between the sun and the moon. The sun shines by its own glorious light. The moon doesn't, but still it shines, and the way it shines is by reflecting the light that comes to it from the sun. So also with God and the godly person. If you are devoutly looking to God as you live your life, something of the glory of God will be seen in you and will be reflected from you to other people. If nothing of God is reflected in you, it's proof that you do not know him. It's because you are not truly a Christian.

Now we turn to the psalm. It begins with a great beatitude. A beatitude is a blessing which is also usually a promise. That is, it's a promise of blessing to a person who lives in a certain way. Most of us know how this operates because of the Beatitudes that Jesus used to begin the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said that the meek will inherit the earth. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled. The pure in heart will see God. Just giving a few examples. Now, that's what Psalm 112 does. The first verse says, "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands."

The specific blessings of the godly man or woman are described in the main part of the psalm, which is what follows. But this first verse has to be understood and appropriated by itself before we get to the blessings because it defines who the godly person is. His godliness consists of three things, according to this verse. Number one, he fears God. Most Christians know that when the Bible tells us to fear God, it's not telling us to shake in terror before him. That's not what the biblical words mean. The fear the Bible is talking about is best described as a profound reverence. That is, we're to revere God or stand in awe of him.

On the other hand, let me say, we should not dismiss the idea of fear too easily. For there is that about God which is terrifying. God is holy. He is majestic, forceful, and he is frighteningly opposed to everything that is unholy or that would diminish his glory. This tells us that we cannot take God lightly. It says that God cannot be inconsequential to us or weightless in our thinking or acting.

The person who is blessed, according to this psalm, is then, first of all, the person who takes God seriously. Indeed, he or she takes him with full seriousness as the starting point of everything, the critical factor in every calculation, and the end to which everything is moving and to whom we are all accountable.

Number two, the godly person obeys God. This is his second characteristic. And it follows easily from the first one because if the great majestic God of the Bible really is the most important thing for us in every situation, it's clear that we're going to be obeying God in every situation. That's the meaning of the word commands. The text doesn't say that the godly person finds delight in God, though it could have. Minneapolis pastor and writer John Piper has written several books about the godly person's delight in God, and it's a very important emphasis, but this text says that the godly man or woman delights in God's commands.

And that's the third thing, delight. The godly person doesn't merely do what God says, though that's necessary and of great importance. We have to do it. It says that he or she delights in God's commands, and obviously also in doing them. Here there's an echo of the previous psalm. Psalm 111, verse 2 spoke of delight in God's works. Here in Psalm 112, verse 1, we're told that God's people also delight in his words. Derek Kidner, a good contemporary commentator, says rightly that to do this, I have to do that again, I'm reading it wrong. Derek Kidner, a good contemporary commentator, says rightly that to this man, God's word is as fascinating as are his works to the naturalist.

We need to examine ourselves by this probing definition of the godly person, and we need to do it before we go any further. We all want to be blessed by God and should. We want to be in his good graces and be prospered by him, and God wants us to be blessed too. He delights in blessing his people. But there are conditions to blessing, and here they are. Number one, that we fear or reverence God, that we take him seriously. Number two, that we obey him. And number three, that we delight in his commandments. Putting these thoughts together with the earlier psalm, we understand that we will do these things if we truly and deeply appreciate the greatness of God in his works and to us personally.

Now, we come to the middle portion of the psalm, verses 2 through 9. And this describes the specific blessings of the person who fears and joyfully obeys God. And yet, it does this in a remarkable way, combining two ideas. What do you think of when you think of God's blessings? Do you think of outward things such as wealth, health, security, or a good reputation, or do you think of inward things such as traits of godly character?

Well, either one is right, and in fact, both of them are blessings. And what is unusual and unique about this particular section of the psalm is that here the two ideas are developed side by side. On the one hand, the outward visible blessings of the godly, and on the other hand, their inner godly character. Now, let me suggest what they are. Number one, there is blessing on the children of the upright, verse 2.

This says that they will be mighty in the land. Mighty means being of recognized stature or standing, rather than being physically strong. And the character trait that is linked with this outward visible blessing is uprightness, a trait that's also mentioned again later in verse 4. Now, there's a link between these blessings, obviously. For what the verse is saying is that the man who lives an upright life will see that character passed on to his children. And they in turn will be regarded as people of high moral standing. Now, let me say that this is a general observation, of course. It applies in most cases, but it does not promise that the children of the godly will always turn out to be model citizens or suggest that disobedience in children is always their parents' fault. There are always exceptions to the rule, and this is speaking generally.

Secondly, this section talks about riches with righteousness, verse 3. In other words, it's linking wealth and righteousness. Now, we don't normally think of wealth being a promised blessing from God. And it's true that not all who live godly lives will be prospered financially. There are many righteous persons among the poor. On the other hand, riches are said to be a gift to those who love wisdom. Many texts in Proverbs say that. And lest we dismiss this as being only an Old Testament idea, which we tend to do, we should remember that Jesus said nearly the same thing in Mark 10, verses 29 and 30. He said, "I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and fields."

"And with them persecutions. And in the age to come, eternal life." So he's mentioning physical blessings. But notice he also balanced this with verse 31, "But many who are first will be last, and the last first." As if to say that it's only a general principle, and it doesn't hold true in every case.

The second line of verse 3 is reproduced exactly from the second line of verse 3 in the previous psalm. In that psalm, it referred to the righteousness of God. Here, it's the righteousness of the godly man. This must have been an extremely important idea for the psalmist because the same line, the exact same words, occurred again in verse 9. What this means is that the writer probably had a different emphasis than we do when we think about these ideas today. We look at verse 3, and we say, "Well, if I am righteous, the chances are that I'll do well in life. Honesty does pay. God will probably bless me."

The psalmist's point is probably something like this. It still links the two ideas, but it does it this way: "If I fear God and obey his commands, I will grow in righteousness, just as God is righteous. And, oh yes, incidentally, I will probably do well in business too." You see how it works? Wealth is a blessing, but it's no proof of godliness. There are many wealthy people who are scoundrels. And if we must choose between the two, from the godly man's point of view, it's far more important to be godly than rich. We're told in the New Testament that godliness with contentment is great gain. First Timothy 6:6.

Well, number three, in verse 4, the psalmist combines light with compassion. It's another place where this psalm picks up on an idea from the one that went before, and in precisely the same place. It said in the previous psalm, Psalm 111, that the Lord is gracious and compassionate, verse 4. That's an important revelation drawn from God's disclosure of his character to Moses on Mount Sinai, that's what that comes from. But now, here, the same terms are applied to the righteous person.

There's some difficulty in determining who is the source of light mentioned in this verse. Some have taken it as belonging to the godly man, so that he becomes a light for other people, encouraging them. It's probably better to see it as God or God's light. Delitzsch, another commentator, says, "God himself is the light which arises in darkness for those who are sincere in their dealings with him."

Number four. The psalmist combines good with generosity and justice, verse 5. Now, good's a very broad term. It means merely good things. So the verse is saying that good things come to the person who is generous with other people and willing to lend to those who are in need, and, number three, just in his or her affairs. Now, these are characteristics that are affirmed of God in Psalm 111. God shows his generosity when he provides food for those who fear him, verse 5, and the lands of other nations for them to dwell in, verse 6. And his justice is seen in both his works and his precepts. Because these things are in God, they'll also be seen in the godly person.

Number five. The psalm combines stability with faith, verses 6 through 8. There are several temptations that are apt to come upon a rich man: greed, always wanting more, abuse of the power that wealth brings, indulgent vacillations, and also fear that the power and wealth might be lost. The latter half of this section, beginning with verse 5, shows how the godly man overcomes these temptations. Remember it's talked about him being blessed with riches, as well as other things, and so he has the temptations. And it deals with him in this way: instead of being greedy, he becomes generous, verses 5 and 9. Instead of abusing the power wealth brings, he becomes just, verse 5. Instead of indulgent vacillations, he is steady and steadfast in his way of life, verse 6. Instead of fear that his power and wealth might be lost, he is fearless because he trusts God, verses 7 and 8.

Now, those verses 6 through 8 emphasize the godly person's steady trust in God, even when he or she receives bad news or deals with enemies. The very mention of bad news is an indication of how the earlier promises should be taken because we're not to think that the godly person never has any trouble. He does have enemies. He does get bad news from time to time, but he's not shaken by these things because his trust is in God and not in his material possessions. It's very hard not to think of Job at this point. You know the story of Job. He had an enemy who is also our great enemy, that is Satan.

Satan slandered Job to God, claiming that the only reason Job loved and served God was because God had made him a rich man. Now, this was not true. So God allowed Satan to take away Job's rich store of livestock and even his family to prove it was a lie. In one day, Job lost 500 yoke of oxen and 500 donkeys to the Sabeans, 7,000 sheep to lightning, 3,000 camels to the Chaldeans. The servants who were caring for the livestock were all killed, and to top it all off, all of Job's children, seven sons and three daughters, were killed in one evening when a tornado struck the house they were in and were where they were feasting, and it collapsed on them.

Here was both an enemy and bad news. Bad news of the worst imaginable kind. Yet Job was a model of steadfast trust in God. When he was told of these disasters, he tore his robe and shaved his head, two ancient signs of mourning, but then, stunningly, he fell to his knees to worship God, saying, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be praised." The chapter ends by saying, "In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing."

It takes strong character and steadfast faith in God to do that, but it is exactly this character and trust that the person who fears God and obeys him and delights in his commands acquires. The psalm says of him, "He will have no fear of bad news. His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure. He will have no fear, and in the end, he will look in triumph on his foes."

Well, the last verse of this section, verse 9, gives us a sixth comparison: honor with compassion. This returns to three of the psalms' earlier themes: the godly man's generosity, his righteousness, and his well-deserved might or power or reputation. It's interesting that the Apostle Paul quotes this verse in 2 Corinthians 9:9 to encourage generosity in Christians. Let me read that passage. "Remember this," Paul wrote, "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 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,"

And here's where he quotes from our psalm, "He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." Now, he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. The reference to God supplying bread for food shows that Paul also saw the connection between Psalms 111, verse 5 and Psalm 112, verse 5, which I pointed out earlier.

Well, I've handled verse 9 as the summary of what has been written about the godly man in the body of the psalm. But it would be equally right to link it to verse 10, so that these last verses together make a contrast between two ways of life: the way of the godly on the one hand and the way of the wicked on the other. This reminds us of Psalm 1, where we started out. The structure of the psalm may be even suggest this since these last two verses each have three lines, and therefore fall together as being opposed to the earlier verses of the psalm that only have two lines. Derek Kidner says, "The companion psalm, Psalm 111, whose subject was the Lord, finished with a verse that invited man's response. The present psalm, having expounded that response, clinches the matter by showing how bitter, transient, and futile is the only alternative way of life."

Verse 10 says that the wicked man will gnash his teeth when he looks on the prosperity of the righteous. I don't think that always happens in this life. The wicked often remain quite content with themselves, and they despise the righteous. But it will happen one day when life is done. The Bible describes hell as a place where there is an eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth. If you're not yet a Christian, don't wait for then to discover what real life is actually about.

Our Father, we thank you for the time that we've had to study this great psalm together, and we would ask for your blessing in applying it to each and every heart. If there are those listening who are not yet Christians, may they learn from its warning and not wait until the life to come to find out what they have missed here, and missing here, miss also for eternity. And for your own who know you, may there be a new sense of the challenge that is before us to be godly people, following in your way. And may we desire with fresh desire to know you and delight in your commands and to obey you in every possible way we can, to the glory of Jesus Christ, our Savior. Amen.

Guest (Male): You have been listening to the Bible Study Hour, a production of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals exists to promote a biblical understanding and worldview. Drawing upon the insight and wisdom of Reformation theologians from decades, even centuries gone by, we seek to provide contemporary Christian teaching that will equip believers to understand and meet the challenges and opportunities of our time and place. The Alliance ministry includes the Bible Study Hour, featuring Dr. James Boice. Every Last Word, with Bible teacher Dr. Philip Ryken, and Dr. Barnhouse and the Bible, featuring Donald Grey Barnhouse. For more information on the Alliance, including a full list of radio stations carrying our programs, or to make a contribution, please contact us by calling toll-free 1-800-488-1888. Again, that's 1-800-488-1888. You can also write the Alliance at Box 2000, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Or you can visit us online at www.alliancenet.org. Ask for your free resource catalog, featuring books, audio teachings, commentaries, booklets, videos, and a wealth of other materials from outstanding reformed teachers and theologians, including Donald Barnhouse, James Boice, and Philip Ryken. Thank you again for your continued support.