God’s Word

A Sheep’s Journey Through Psalms -112

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The Blessed Life of the God-Fearing Heart 


Dear friend in Christ,

Come, sit with me in the quiet light of God’s Word this morning. Psalm 112 is one of those gentle, steady songs that the Holy Spirit has placed in the Psalter like a warm hearth on a chilly day. It is an acrostic poem—each line beginning with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet—so perfectly ordered, just like the life it describes. But this is no cold checklist of rules. This is a love song about what happens when a sinner’s heart is captured by the fear of the Lord. From a Redeemed heart, we see here not a formula for earning God’s favor, but the beautiful fruit of sovereign grace already received in Jesus Christ. Let’s walk through it together, slowly, verse by verse, letting the Spirit warm our souls.

Verse 1 
“Praise the Lord! Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments!”

The word “blessed” (Hebrew ashrei) is not a casual “happy.” It is a shout of deep, soul-satisfied joy—the same word Jesus will later use in the Beatitudes. And notice what produces it: fear of the Lord. In Christian theology we never shrink from this word. Fear is not cringing terror; it is reverent awe that bows the knee and melts the heart. It is the first gift of the new birth (Jeremiah 32:40). The second part is even more precious: this man greatly delights in God’s commandments. He doesn’t obey them grudgingly; he loves them. Why? Because the same grace that saves him also writes the law on his heart (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Obedience is never the root of blessing—it is the happy overflow of being already loved in Christ.

Verses 2-3 
“His offspring 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.”

Don’t let prosperity preachers twist these lines. The psalmist is painting a covenant picture. In the Old Testament, “mighty” children and enduring wealth were covenant signs of God’s faithfulness. But the true riches here are righteousness that lasts forever. That is language only the gospel can fully explain. Your bank account may rise and fall, dear saint, but the perfect righteousness of Jesus credited to you never will (2 Corinthians 5:21). Your children may not all be CEOs, but if they belong to Christ, they are mighty in the land that matters most—the kingdom of God.

Verse 4 
“Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.”

Here is one of the sweetest surprises in the psalm. Suddenly the spotlight shifts from the blessed man to God Himself. The language is almost identical to Exodus 34:6—God’s own self-description: gracious, merciful, righteous. The upright man doesn’t just receive light; he reflects the character of the God who saved him. When you walk through dark valleys (and you will), the same God who said “Let there be light” at creation now says it again over your soul. And because He is gracious to you, you become gracious to others. That is sanctification in one beautiful line.

Verses 5-6 
“It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice. For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.”

Generosity is not optional for the man who fears the Lord. He lends freely, not because he has extra, but because he knows his Father owns the cattle on a thousand hills. And because his righteousness is anchored in Christ, he is unmovable. Storms will come—financial, emotional, even physical—but the man whose trust is in the Lord stands like a house built on the Rock (Matthew 7:24-25). Your name may be forgotten on earth, but it is written forever in heaven.

Verses 7-8 
“He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.”

This is the heartbeat of the psalm, beloved. Bad news will come—diagnosis, layoff, betrayal, grief. Yet the righteous man does not panic. Why? Because his heart is firm (Hebrew kun—established, prepared, made secure). The same God who sovereignly ordains the bad news is the God who holds the man’s heart in His hand. Fear is replaced by steady trust. One day you will look back on every adversary—sin, death, the devil—and see them defeated at the cross. Until then, your heart stays steady because your eyes stay fixed on Jesus.

Verse 9 
“He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted in honor.”

The apostle Paul quotes this exact line in 2 Corinthians 9:9 when he urges cheerful, generous giving. The blessed man doesn’t hoard; he scatters seed because he knows the Lord will multiply the harvest. His “horn” (a picture of strength and dignity) is lifted high—not by self-promotion, but by the honor that comes from God alone.

Verse 10 
“The wicked man sees it and is angry; he gnashes his teeth and melts away; the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.”

The psalm ends with a sobering contrast, not to gloat, but to warn. The wicked see the quiet joy of the righteous and rage—because they have no root in Christ. Their desires dissolve like smoke. But you, dear child of God, are not left to your own strength. The same sovereign grace that made you fear the Lord will keep you fearing Him to the end.

A Closing Prayer for Your Heart 
Gracious Father, how kind You are to give us this psalm! Thank You that every blessing described here is already ours in Christ. Write Your fear upon our hearts. Make us delight in Your commandments. Make us generous, steady, and unafraid. And when bad news comes, anchor our hearts in the unshakeable righteousness of Jesus. We ask this in the strong name of our Redeemer, Amen.

Now go live this day as one who is already blessed—because in Christ, you most certainly are. The Lord who began this good work in you will carry it on to completion (Philippians 1:6).

With warm affection in our shared Savior, 
Your brother in the gospel. 

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A Heart Hungry To Worship part 4

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The next chapter from the book A Heart Hungry To Worship (available on Amazon) – Dinah’s Story

Before there can be fullness there must
be emptiness.  Before God can fill us with Himself, we must first be emptied of ourselves.[1]

Chapter 3

Dinah’s Story

            The rapping sound on the door startled me. It was late in the evening and I wasn’t expecting company. I opened the door to find Dinah standing there, looking angry and confused. She asked if she could come in and ask some questions, so I invited her inside and we sat down in the living room. Dinah told me she just left a meeting with her church leaders, asking them to answer a couple of questions that I had given to her a couple of weeks earlier. She informed me that not only was she dissatisfied with the answers they gave her, but also that one question was answered with, “Well, technically, he is correct.”

            Dinah was facing a crossroads of faith. On one side was a belief system she had grown up with, embraced and taught to others that was now being challenged. On the other side were answers from Scripture that stood at odds with what she’d always believed. To change her mind meant admitting that she was wrong and that she had taught her family and other people wrong beliefs as well. This is why she showed up at my door, angry and confused.

            Dinah and I met some months earlier when she showed up at our church. Her daughter, in the military at the time, had joined a church affiliated with our denomination. Dinah took this as a personal affront, an abandonment of beliefs held by their family for generations. She came to our church seeking to know what we believed and how our beliefs differed from hers in the hopes of confronting her daughter and bringing her back to their denomination.

            What Dinah found was her own beliefs being confronted. I answered her questions about our beliefs on varying topics in return for her telling me what her church taught about them. I then suggested we take our church’s official statements of belief and compare them to Scripture and to each other. Where we found discrepancies, I asked her to go back to her leaders and seek understanding of why they believed as they did.

            For weeks, we met, going through doctrine after doctrine. Slowly, she came to an understanding that many of the beliefs she held did not match up to the clear teaching of the Bible. During one session with her leaders, Dinah told me that they said to her that their traditions held the same weight as Scripture. We then looked at verses in the Bible that addressed that issue as well. Dinah began to get frustrated with her leaders as answer after answer came back to “tradition” and not because their belief system was undergirded by God’s Word.

            Finally, there came the night when she appeared at my door. We both knew what it was costing her that night. Pride warred with truth. One of the big hurdles for her to overcome was the fact that by admitting the beliefs she had held for years were wrong, she was also admitting she had taught those wrong beliefs to her family and many others through her work for her denomination. The guilt she was feeling warred with her pride. I silently prayed that the Holy Spirit would cause her to understand the truth of Jesus’ statement, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”[2]

Sensing that she was close to making a major decision, I asked her to meet with me the following evening and bring her husband, Ted. A quiet man, Ted would sometimes accompany Dinah when we talked about beliefs and I wanted him to be there with her. While Ted had not participated in our discussions very often, I surmised from the comments that he did interject that he was also wrestling with the same doubts.

            The next evening, I sat down with the two of them and asked a simple, yet direct question. “Now that we have exhausted all your questions about doctrines and beliefs, what is keeping you from entering into a personal relationship with Jesus?” They replied, “Nothing.”

Dinah and Ted both gave their lives over to the Savior that night.

Dinah had read the Bible many times in her life. She never understood the meaning of the words she read until the Holy Spirit started illuminating them. She knew that the Bible contained truths. Her problem, like so many other people’s problem, was that she looked to human tradition instead of Scripture alone. When confronted with clear differences between the two, she realized she had a choice to make. Would she hold to her tradition out of stubborn pride, or would she yield to the teachings of God’s Word?

Dinah and Ted studied the Bible diligently from that night on. They began a spiritual journey that led both of them, in their sixties, to move to another community and help start a new church. Their hearts responded to God’s Word and they began to worship the Creator the way that He intended for them to worship Him. All they needed was for someone to explain to them the meaning of the Scriptures they were reading.

The Bible contains the story of a man who knew God’s Word held answers for his life, but who needed someone to explain their meaning to him. It is the story of the Ethiopian in the Book of Acts.

[1] A.W. Tozer, How to be Filled With the Spirit

[2] John 8:32

Hymn Devotions Day 20 – How Firm A Foundation

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DAY 20 – HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION

How I love the affirmation of Scripture in the very first verse of this wonderful hymn! We can count on God’s Word. It’s veracity gives us a rock solid foundation for our faith. Everything we need to have a godly life pleasing to Him is found in His Word. It is complete.

I also love the way the author depicts how God is with us, our Rock. We are able to trust Him. Every word, every promise He gives us, is true and we can lean on Him at all times. He will never leave us nor forsake us. There is no place we can go where His presence cannot be with us. How comforting that is.

That truth is also frightening. Whenever I go someplace a Christian ought not to go, whenever I place myself in situations I ought not to be in, I take Christ there with me. I expose Him to shame and grieve His Holy Spirit.

We are even shown, in verse 4, the truth that the fiery trials we encounter are merely to refine us, not destroy us. God lets us go through them not to bring harm to us, but to purify us and make us strong.

What a wise and loving God we serve. No matter what we go through, no matter who or what seeks to conquer us, we can stand firm with the shield of faith, steadfast in the knowledge that the Lord is our refuge and our strength, an ever present help in times of trouble.

 

Lord, what a blessing Your Holy Word is. Thank you so much for giving it to us. Help me to study it and to hide it in my heart, so that I might not sin against You. 

 

HOW FIRM A FOUNDATION – Robert Keen? George Keith?

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord

Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!

What more can He say than to you He has said

To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

 

“Fear not, I am with you, O be not dismayed

For I am Your God and will still give you aid

I’ll strengthen you, help you, and cause thee to stand

Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

 

When through the deep waters I call thee to go

The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow

For I will be with thee, your troubles to bless

And sanctify thee to your deepest distress

 

When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie

My grace all sufficient shall be thy supply

The flame shall not hurt thee I only design

Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine

 

The soul that on Jesus, hath leaned for repose

I will not, I will not desert to his foes

That soul though all hell shall endeavor to shake

I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!”

Free Bible Studies

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Ta Ethne’s free downloadable resources are now available. Each study will be posted in PDF format. We hope that these studies will assist you in digging deep into God’s Word. Feel free to copy and use it for our personal bible study or group study.  May they help you spread the good news of God’s Kingdom throughout the world.

Dominos: A Commentary on Jude Introduction
Dominoes – A Dynamic Commentary on Jude Chapter 1 plus Study Guide
 
Commentary on Jude Chapter 2
Chinese Edition of Is Jesus Enough?

2 Peter Study

Colossians

Getting The Most From A Sermon

Resources Coming

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This month will, God willing, see downloadable resources available for our readers use. Both from this site, and from our sister site, http://www.discernmentministries.webs.com, there will be bible studies added on various topics. Sometime in the middle of August, we will make available, free of charge, a Kindle version of our newest book, A Heart Hungry for Worship for a week. When we get firm dates we will post them. If you do not have a Kindle device, you can download a PC version free from Amazon to use on your home computer or laptop. A PDF copy can be emailed also during that time to overseas friends.

More podcasts of sermons and studies will be posted also. We have been asked about posting video teachings and we will be looking into that for later in the fall. When that becomes available it will be posted on our sister site, which has the capability of storing video.

As you can see, it is going to be a busy August. Will you pray about becoming a monthly partner to help us as we grow? Donations are accepted on our sister site. Commit to praying for us and share our podcasts and resources with friends.

Thank you so much for all the support and feedback we have received. May God get the glory and have His word spread to all peoples.

 

Highlights Around The World – #5 Uganda

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Some years ago, when I was teaching at Yellowstone Baptist College, I had the privilege of having Grace Halland in my class. Grace was an exceptional student, with a passion for sharing the gospel and God’s Word. How pleased I was to learn of her plans to follow up Bible school by working with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Grace is now in Entebbe, Uganda, working with the translation teams.

This work is critical. The ability to get God’s Word into the hands of those who need to hear its life-changing message, in their own language, is priceless. I enjoy receiving Grace’s newsletter, as she not only keeps us informed of her work, but also of her life. It is rewarding to see her growth in the Lord, the maturing of her spirituality as she labors for the Kingdom. It is humbling to know that she has given her life to the people of Uganda – not just in translation work, but by adopting children and making a home there. It is satisfying to know that in a very, very small way, I was able to be part of her life, in the time God was speaking to her, calling her to this life of service.

We never know what impact we have on others. We never know how we will influence a person – not just for good or bad, but also in a large way or a small way. God takes all of those influences and works His work in the lives of His children. I am proud of Grace and the work of all Wycliffe translators. I am proud that God enabled me to meet her and spend time with her during her senior year. I do not for a minute take even the smallest part of credit for anything God has done or will do through Grace. It is I that have been influenced by her and her faithfulness.

Lift her up in prayer alongside me. Write to her through wycliffe.org and get to know this amazing person. Look around, God may place you in the path of one of His servants and the relationship you make will be eternal.