#843 With Fear and Trembling

 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 ESV

A Psalm of God's glory lit upon the upright.

Praise the Lord! - This because, as in the prior passage, is due His name, for it is above all. Now see here too, that He is worthy of praise because of him who fears the Lord. We do not come to know that but by His grace in manifesting Himself through His Holy Word, by His Holy Spirit. If a man walks in an upright manner, then let us praise God, for it is His glory that shines upon the face of His children. The fear of Lord was counted as the beginning of wisdom, so we must praise God, Who gives this as well.

Who greatly delights in his commandments - This is not someone who puts on the face of mourning to go in obedience to God's commandments. He is not a sage or ascetic, making much of his proper duty and chief end. It is not for the sake of other men's praise, but rather his delight in serving the One who set him free. His desire is to look like his Master, and to have the words of instruction from Him is surely to be counted blessed. Let all the world choose it's own way, he only knows joy in obedience to the will of God. 

…16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3: 16-17

12 Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good pleasure. 14 Do everything without complaining or arguing,… Philippians 2: 12-14

20 Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with every good thing to do His will. And may He accomplish in us what is pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13: 20-21

…9 For I am the least of the apostles and am unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them— yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. 11 Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.… 1 Corinthians 15: 9-11

The generation of the upright will be blessed -

- If the promise must be regarded as alluding to natural seed, it must be understood as a general statement rather than a promise made to every individual, for the children of the godly are not all prosperous, nor all famous. Nevertheless, he who fears God, and leads a holy life, is, as a rule, doing the best he can for the future advancement of his house; no inheritance is equal to that of an unblemished name, no legacy can excel the benediction of a saint; and, taking matters for all in all, the children of the righteous man commence life with greater advantages than others, and are more likely to succeed in it, in the best and highest sense. The generation of the upright shall be blessed. The race of sincere, devout, righteous men, is kept up from age to age, and ever abides under the blessing of God. The godly may be persecuted, but they shall not be forsaken; the curses of men cannot deprive them of the blessing of God, for the words of Balaam are true, "He hath blessed, and I cannot reverse it." Their children also are under the special care of heaven, and as a rule it shall be found that they inherit the divine blessing. Honesty and integrity are better cornerstones for an honourable house than mere cunning and avarice, or even talent and push. To fear God and to walk uprightly is a higher nobility than blood or birth can bestow. - C. H. Spurgeon

And his righteousness endures forever - 

…5 Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a Righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as king and administer justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness. Jeremiah 23: 5-6

…20 Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.  2 Corinthians 5: 20-21

Light dawns in the darkness for the upright - 

- He will have his days of darkness, he may be sick and sorry, poor and pining, as well as others; his former riches may take to themselves wings and fly away, while even his righteousness may be cruelly suspected; thus the clouds may lower around him, but his gloom shall not last for ever, the Lord will bring him light in due season, for as surely as a good man's sun goes down it shall rise again. If the darkness be caused by depression of spirit, the Holy Ghost will comfort him; if by pecuniary loss or personal bereavement, the presence of Christ shall be his solace; and if by the cruelty and malignity of men, the sympathy of his Lord shall be his support. It is as ordinary for the righteous to be comforted as for the day to dawn. Wait for the light and it will surely come; for even if our heavenly Father should in our last hours put us to bed in the dark, we shall find it morning when we awake. - C. H. Spurgeon

It is well with the man who deals generously and lends -

- Having passed beyond stern integrity into open handed benevolence he looks kindly upon all around him, and finding himself in circumstances which enable him to spare a little of his wealth he lends judiciously where a loan will be of permanent service. Providence has made him able to lend, and grace makes him willing to lend. He is not a borrower, for God has lifted him above that necessity; neither is he a hoarder, for his new nature saves him from that temptation; but he wisely uses the talents committed to him. He will guide his affairs with discretion. Those who neglect their worldly business must not plead religion as an excuse, for when a man is truly upright he exercises great care in managing his accounts, in order that he may remain so. It is sometimes hard to distinguish between indiscretion and dishonesty; carelessness in business may become almost as great an evil to others as actual knavery; a good man should not only be upright, but he should be so discreet that no one may have the slightest reason to suspect him of being otherwise. When the righteous man lends he exercises prudence, not risking his all, for fear he should not be able to lend again, and not lending so very little that the loan is of no service. He drives his affairs, and does not allow them to drive him; his accounts are straight and clear, his plans are wisely laid, and his modes of operation carefully selected. He is prudent, thrifty, economical, sensible, judicious, discreet. Men call him a fool for his religion, but they do not find him so when they come to deal with him. "The beginning of wisdom" has made him wise, the guidance of heaven has taught him to guide his affairs, and with half an eye one can see that he is a man of sound sense. Such persons greatly commend godliness. Alas, some professedly good men act as if they had taken leave of their senses; this is not religion, but stupidity. True religion is sanctified common sense. Attention to the things of heaven does not necessitate the neglect of the affairs of earth; on the contrary, he who has learned how to transact business with God ought to be best able to do business with men. The children of this world often are in their generation wiser than the children of light, but there is no reason why this proverb should continue to be true. - C. H. Spurgeon

He is not afraid of bad news - He has seen providence, not only knows the doctrine of God's sovereignty, but walks in the firm and settled belief of it. His motto is, "As the Lord sees fit, as He permits, and always, praise the Lord."

The wicked man sees it and is angry - If the wicked see you do well then they will envy. If he can by force take what he sees as treasure away from you, yet you remain solid in your faith, he shall not be satisfied with your purse, his anger will increase all the more. 

…5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. 6 For the LORD guards the path of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish. Psalm 1: 5-6