The Bible speaks frequently about righteousness and here again, in Psalm 112, the topic arises. While the book of Psalms often is referred to as a book of hymns or praises, it must be carefully noted that God’s righteousness, the plight of the righteous and the concern for righteous living saturates the book of Psalms. The word “righteous” and its derivatives occur 125 times in the book of Psalms with four occurences in the 10 verses of Psalm 112.
Psalm 112 flows out of the wording of Psalm 111:10, which states: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.” Specifically, Psalm 112 expounds on the response of the follower of God to the declaration of Psalm 111:10 by describing those who “follow his precepts” as righteous ones.
Since the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” Psalm 112 shows that moving toward God is the principle of wise living, not fleeing God in terror. That moving toward God is seen as righteous action. Righteous living also was a strong concern of Jesus, who said in Matthew 5:6, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” This is certainly a complementary thought to the message of Psalm 112.
Righteousness refers to having a right standing in a relationship. Here, of course, the concern is for a right standing between the human individual and the Lord. The New Testament helps to teach that a righteous standing before God ultimately depends on a faith relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Yet the Old Testament teaches that the pursuit of a right relationship with the Lord is key indicator of faith and therefore of vital importance to the Lord. The pursuit of righteousness is the active expression of faith and, as Psalm 112 points out, God is determined to respond to such activity in the lives of his faithful ones.
A priority for God (Psalm 112:1)
The Psalm opens with a hallelujah, as does the companion psalms 111 and 113. Verse 1 continues by offering a beatitude on fearing the Lord. Thus verse 1 immediately answers the concluding verse of Psalm 111. The rest of Psalm 112 fills out the meaning of verse 1.
Verse 1 illustrates the truth that real fear of the Lord turns a person toward God by declaring such a person delights in the Lord’s commands. As usual, the beatitude is packed tightly. The term “commands” represents God’s “word.” Yet a command is far more specific than a general reference to God’s word. The one who fears the Lord desires to please him and wants specific statements of how to please him.
Amid the wording of the beatitude is the term “delight.” Using the word “delight” to refer to “commands” possibly has little or no parallel sentiment in society today. Our secular laws are made and owned by the people. Thus many secular laws commonly are ignored.
It is easy to bring this practice and sentiment into the church. In contrast though, the follower of God delights in God’s commands. They are specific expressions of the Lord’s desire for living life. But they are more as well. God’s commands are treasured as God’s communication by his loved ones. Every word from God, even his commands, is delightful. For those who still struggle with the place of commands in a relationship, it must be understood that God’s commands also carry implicit promises: live like this and you will experience God’s pleasure and blessing in your life.
The pursuit of God’s commands places the priority on God and his presence in one’s life. This is the blessed moment. God responds to, that is blesses or invests himself in, the life of the one who pursues him. For those who contemplate following God, the beatitude of verse 1 is a great promise. For those who live for the Lord, verse 1 is a great affirmation. God does respond to those who live their lives for him. The remainder of Psalm 112 describes the blessed condition referred to in verse 1.
Sign up for our weekly edition and get all our headlines in your inbox on Thursdays
A heart for others (Psalm 112:2-5)
Psalm 112 lays out the usual biblical blessings for righteous—children and wealth—two common indicators of prosperity in biblical times. Yet Psalm 112 notes that with the righteous, this prosperity is in good hands. Unlike the unrighteous who use their gain to harm others and continue acting in unrighteous ways, the righteous continue living by their righteousness (v. 3) unspoiled by success. They are gracious, generous, compassionate and just.
The momentous insight is that God with his vast power and the immense expanse of his wealth acts just like the righteous of verses 2-5. Actually the righteous of these verses act like him! Thus the high character of righteousness is seen, borne out in the lives of the righteous God and righteous people: grace and compassion for others, generosity, justice, etc.
A key observation is that the statement of God’s enduring righteousness in Psalm 111:3 is restated in Psalm 112:3 to refer to the enduring righteousness of the follower of God. The logic is that God so blesses such an individual that their life endures forever. That is truly a blessed position in which to be. This thought is emphasized again in verse 6.
An inner strength (Psalm 112:6-10)
Verses 6-9 look at the inner resources God’s blessing has provided. God’s blessing, then, is thorough, reaching to the foundational strength for human living. Therefore it should be seen that God’s response to righteous living has an external dimension, eternal dimension and here an internal dimension. God covers all aspects of human life.
Because God has done so, the righteous person will never be shaken (v. 6). That does not mean life cannot deliver blows to one’s life, but that one will stand in the midst of the gales of human life. Similarly, verse 7 states bad news cannot shake a well-planted righteous person, they are steadfast because they trust the Lord. Connecting back to verse 1, we note that the fear of the Lord expresses itself as trust.
In contrast to the usual thoughts associated with fear (terror, flight), verse 8 shows those who fear the Lord are secure. Inner security often is sought in our world, but it is only truly found in a right relationship with the Lord.
The scattering of verse 9 refers to the scattering of the farmer sowing his fields. Wide scattering is a sign of generosity, the reason for such abundant blessing. The righteous one has understood the use of his or her blessedness: to share from abundance with those who lack such things. The word “poor” is not clarified, which allows the usual connection to material poverty. While such a connection is not disallowed, the poverty in view should surely be connected to the lack of blessed living, that is righteous living. Thus the Lord desires the righteous lives of his people to influence others to live righteously for him. The reward for such conduct is high honor, implying the exalted God is the one who so honors his righteous follower.
Verse 10 finishes out the psalm by reflecting on the alternative consequences in the lives of those who do not follow the Lord with wisdom. Their lives are filled with frustration and waste and their desires never are fulfilled. These are such sharp contrasts with the extensively blessed lives God’s righteous ones.
Psalm 112 thus strongly encourages righteous living before the Lord. The advantages are many and endure into eternity. The key is to pursue the Lord by learning from his commands. Then the believer should watch as God’s blessing blossoms in his or her life.
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.