Praise the Lord

1 Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
2 His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
7 He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
the desire of the wicked will perish!

- Psalm 112

In this short Psalm the reader can note three things. First is the exhortation to praise the Lord. This is followed by the blessings of the righteous. The psalm ends with the condemnation of the wicked.

Three simple words- praise the Lord! This is both a command and an exhortation. It can not be stated too often in the life of a believer. As a command, it is a reminder to all that praises are due to the one who created us. Praise Him for His holiness. Praise Him for His righteousness. Praise Him for His mercy. Praise Him for His love. Praise Him for who He is. As an exhortation, it reminds the believer to return the praises to God that He deserves. How often do we sing our own praises for the good things in our lives? Perhaps it is telling that this exhortation is followed by a list of blessings. We often depend on God in our times of need but when things are going well we have a tendency to rely on our own provision.

The list of blessings encompasses most of the psalm. There are several things that stood out to me in this list. First is the promise to the believer. The believer can know that he will be blessed. This reminds me of Romans 8:28-30. Although I am not a believer in material blessings that were a sign of God’s blessings in the Old Testament for the New Testament believer, I can still take comfort in the fact that God is His infinite wisdom will provide me with blessings. Note that the mention of blessings even in this psalm are of eternal nature and not temporal. The second thing that stands out to me is the mention of light dawning in the darkness. How appropriate for the believer who has been called out of darkness into the light. It is a new dawn indeed. The third thing that stands out to me is the trust in God and not in the temporal as noted in verse 7. Even in times of trouble the believer can hold fast to the hope of Him who has called Him and to the promises noted above.

Finally we come to the condemnation of the wicked. Having spent considerable time witnessing to atheists on internet forums I can testify to the truth of the hatred that they have for those who have been called by God. Yet even when confronted with this, it is our duty to continue to proclaim the wonder of Him who called us out of darkness and into the light. I for one, since I formerly walked in darkness, pray for the calling of those that continue to walk there. My hope is that the Spirit will convict them of the truth that changed my life. Praise the Lord continually.