DO YOU
REALLY WANT TO BE BLESSED?
Psalm 112:1
Praise the
LORD!
Blessed is
the man who fears the LORD,
who greatly
delights in his commandments!
There is no
doubt that fearing God is a recurring theme of the Bible. In this psalm, the
author reminds us that delighting in the Lord’s commands is the natural response
of a God-fearing believer. Actually, as you read carefully, the writer says
that one should delight greatly in the commands of God.
To be able
to have this kind of delight, one needs to know the commands, trust the Giver
of the commands, and desire the results of obedience to them.
Jesus said
that those who obey are His friends.
John
14:15-17
“If you love me, you will keep my
commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another
Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot
receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells
with you and will be in you.
John
15:5-17
I
am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is
that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not
abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are
gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words
abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you
bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so
have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide
in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy
may be full.
“This
is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love
has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command
you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what
his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard
from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you
and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should
abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
These things I command you, so that you will love one another.
We all know
that abiding in Christ is a blessing, we know that bearing fruit is both a consequence
and a joy. We all desire to have real and lasting joy, and Jesus reminds us
that obeying Him is the path to true and full joy. We must live for the eternal
and not for the temporal!
As the
Psalm continues, it is reminiscent of the book of Proverbs.
Psalm
112:2-9
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.
Light dawns
in the darkness for the upright;
he is
gracious, merciful, and righteous.
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.
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.
He has
distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
his
righteousness endures forever;
his horn is
exalted in honor.
There is
much peace, when one knows that he has dealt with others in a loving and
biblical way. The apostle Peter reminds us of the same truth.
1 Peter
3:13-17
Now
who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you
should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of
them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always
being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the
hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good
conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good
behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For
it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for
doing evil.
Our true
blessedness does not come from the response of man, but from what God thinks
about our lives. We live under careful scrutiny of our Lord.
1 Peter
3:10-12
For
“Whoever desires to love life
and see good days,
let him keep his tongue from evil
and his lips from speaking deceit;
let him turn away from evil and do
good;
let him seek peace and pursue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are on the
righteous,
and his ears are open to their
prayer.
But the face of the Lord is against
those who do evil.”
I know that
I need to pray that God will give me a love and desire for His glory. My
comfort, my goals, and my desires can very quickly drown out the joy of
faithful service to God. Our focus needs to be upon attracting others to our
Savior Jesus Christ. Our great delight must be in living according to the will
of God.
We could
sum up this life goal with the words of Christ:
Matthew
22:37-39
You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and
with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is
like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Having a
clear conscience and living to please and serve God will truly make us blessed!
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