Psalm 112:1-4 - November 3, 2009

Ps 112:1-4 "Praise the LORD. Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who finds great delight in his commands. 2 His children 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 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man." NIV

Do you really love the Word of God? Do you consistently respect the Lord and His standards for your life? Do habitually consider His will in the decisions that you make for your life? Then blessing is on the way! Psalm 112:1-4 is a celebration of the blessings that follow a man who fears the Lord!!!!!!
This passage lifts high the glory of living uprightly before the Lord and calls us to consider the rewards that follow a life that is surrendered to God. Psalm 112 begins by appealing to our parental nature and the natural desire that is in most parents to see their children excel in life! Verse 2 gives us great hope as we consider the promise that the children of those who fear the Lord and love His word will be mighty in the land. This verse sends us a powerful message. It is the life of the parents that determines to a large degree the future of the children. If we live uprightly and honor the Lord and His word the fruit of that lifestyle is that our children are directed into a path of blessing and strength.
The promise of the Lord is that our children will be blessed with strong footing in life if we as parents live in the consistent fear of the Lord AND place the word of God as central to our family values system. Many people honor the Lord in general principle but are not diligent to place the word deep into the heart of how we raise our families and live our lives. That is like having great soil with no seed in it. It is the word of God that has the powerful seeds of life in it that grows up to produce Godly fruit in a person’s future! God has clearly promised that the lineage of the righteous is blessing!
One of the wonderful attributes of this passage of scripture is that it does not stop with a general concept of blessing it carries on to some very potent definition of a life blessed by God. Verses 3 & 4 provide a context for the blessing of God that adds to our faith, hope and expectation of God! God has promised that wealth and riches will be in the lives of the children who are raised by parents who fear the Lord and love His word. A powerful principle is revealed in this simple passage. The principles of sowing and reaping in the kingdom of God increase dramatically from one generation to another. When a child is raised in the word and way of God they are beginning with the blessing that we had to fight for. Imagine Solomon. He started where David left off. David spent his life as a man of war fighting for the blessing of God to come to him and to Israel. Solomon stepped into that blessing and advanced the blessing of God on the nation to a whole different level of increase. He was known as the richest and wisest man in the Word. This is because of the starting point that he was given because of his father’s commitment. It is also worth considering that the one character flaw of sexual sin that was present in a small way with David was also greatly multiplied in the life of Solomon as he had such a multitude of wives and concubines.
There is great power in what we sow into the lives of our children for good or evil and this passage reminds us of the plan and promise of God. It is God’s desire to bless and consistently increase the measure of that blessing in every family from generation to generation and this promise is sure if we will be consistent in placing the word of God and the fear of the Lord at the center of our family lifestyles.