Praise The LORD! Happy Are Those Who Fear The LORD
Devotional
Companion to the Psalter
A Devotional Guide to the Psalms
Praise the LORD!
Happy are those who fear the LORD,
who greatly delight in his commandments.
Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed ...
The wicked see it and are angry ...
the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.
-- Psalm 112:1-2, 10
Theme: The trustfulness of the godly person
Outline
1 -- How blest are those who fear the LORD.
2-9 -- The blessings and activities of these persons are cited.
10 -- The wicked look on it all with vexation and helpless rage.
Notes
• Wisdom
• See notes on companion Psalm 111.
• "This psalm was composed for the comfort of the pious over against the greed, temporal fame, and pleasure-madness of this earth; and thus it is to be used."1
For Reflection
• Luther says that reason cannot agree with the psalm, but "these are the words of the Spirit." "One must grasp them by faith ... not be guided by appearances but must take beginning and end together; then one will discover the truth of the prophet's statement: 'The righteous lack nothing, neither wealth nor fame nor pleasure; but the undertakings of the wicked shall not prosper.' "2
Prayer
Lord God, these words of your Spirit are true, though they may appear to contradict experience for a time. May your Spirit help us not only to believe them, but to experience them as you see fit, for we want to learn obedience, led by the Spirit and the word of God. So bless your whole church, as we convey and interpret spiritual truths to those indwelt by the Spirit. Amen.
____________
1. Martin Luther, "Selected Psalms," Luther's Works, Vol. 13 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1956), p. 392.
2. Ibid.
Happy are those who fear the LORD,
who greatly delight in his commandments.
Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed ...
The wicked see it and are angry ...
the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.
-- Psalm 112:1-2, 10
Theme: The trustfulness of the godly person
Outline
1 -- How blest are those who fear the LORD.
2-9 -- The blessings and activities of these persons are cited.
10 -- The wicked look on it all with vexation and helpless rage.
Notes
• Wisdom
• See notes on companion Psalm 111.
• "This psalm was composed for the comfort of the pious over against the greed, temporal fame, and pleasure-madness of this earth; and thus it is to be used."1
For Reflection
• Luther says that reason cannot agree with the psalm, but "these are the words of the Spirit." "One must grasp them by faith ... not be guided by appearances but must take beginning and end together; then one will discover the truth of the prophet's statement: 'The righteous lack nothing, neither wealth nor fame nor pleasure; but the undertakings of the wicked shall not prosper.' "2
Prayer
Lord God, these words of your Spirit are true, though they may appear to contradict experience for a time. May your Spirit help us not only to believe them, but to experience them as you see fit, for we want to learn obedience, led by the Spirit and the word of God. So bless your whole church, as we convey and interpret spiritual truths to those indwelt by the Spirit. Amen.
____________
1. Martin Luther, "Selected Psalms," Luther's Works, Vol. 13 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1956), p. 392.
2. Ibid.