SERMON TEXT: Psalm 112:1-10

SERMON THESIS: Establishing right priorities based on biblical principles is the basis  for true happiness.

INTRODUCTION: What about your priorities?  Are you developing good ones?  Establishing right priorities in life will make or break us.  I am sharing with you today from Psalm 112, which is in essence a psalm having to do with right priorities.  In light of this psalm, it behooves each of us to consider carefully the kind of priorities we establish in life.

Priority No. 1

I.  FEAR OF GOD - Psalm 111, ends with the theme that is picked-up in Psalm 112.  The theme is fear of God.

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever. Praise the Lord! How blessed is the man who fears the Lord...” (Psalm 111:10-112:1b).

     In these verses, according to the Disciple’s Study Bible, “ . . . the fear of the Lord appears

to be a Hebrew idiom referring to a reverential attitude, which leads to obeying God’s law and revelation.”

     1.  The most important priority in life is to develop a reverential attitude toward God. It was the writer of Proverbs who wrote . . .

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

           According to Exodus 20:20, it is the fear of God that keeps us from sinning . . .

“And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin” (Exodus 20:20).

           The Lord is willing to put His reputation at risk for the man or woman who fears him . . .

“And the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil” (Job 1:8).

            The Psalmist said . . .

“Who is the man that fears the Lord? He will instruct him in the way he should choose” (Psalm 25:12).

      2.  Fear of the Lord is the way that leads to happiness.  One writer said, “Fear of God brings happiness.”  He goes on to say, “Happiness comes from appreciating the guidelines God has set out for life and follow them.”  Speaking of priority, Psalm 112 in its entirety is concerned with the blessedness of the God-fearing man or woman, and is closely related to Psalm 1, “Blessed is the man . . . ,” and with Jesus’ Beatitudes found in Matthew 5:3-11.  You will note that each Beatitude, like Psalm 1, begins with “blessed,” and could be translated as “O the happiness of . . .”

            In these passages, we see the same similarity with our text which reads, “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord . . .”(Psalm 112:1).

            I like the commentary the late Matthew Henry gives us on this passage.  He has written, “It is not only reasonable that we should fear God, because His name is reverend and His nature is holy, but it is advantageous to us . . . Men can never begin to be wise till they begin to fear God.” 

          Oh sure, men claim to be wise, but according to Paul in Romans 1:22, “They become fools.”  It was the fool who said in his heart, “there is no God.” 

QUESTION: Are you developing a reverential attitude toward God?  Fear of God is to be our first priority.  The second priority grows quite naturally out of the first one . . .

Priority No. 2

II.  OBEDIENCE TO GOD - Not only are we to have fear of God, we are to be obedient to God.  This brings me almost immediately back to the theme of happiness. This old hymn Trust and Obey highlights this theme of happiness.  It goes like this, “Trust and obey for there is no other way but to trust and obey.”

       The Psalmist continues with verse one, “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands”(Psalm 112:1).  Does not the Bible say, “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart”(Psalm 37:4). 

       What does it mean to delight ourselves in the Lord?  When is a parent most delighted in their son or daughter?  When they are obedient!  Obedience brings satisfaction.

        One writer preacher stated it like this, “God is most glorified when we are most satisfied.”  We are most satisfied when we obey His commandments.  Hear how the Psalmist stated it . . .

“The steps of a man are established by the Lord; and He delights in his way” (Psalm 37:23).

        The last part of that Psalm speaks of God’s  protection over the person who obeys His commands.  Joshua was assured of success if he met God’s conditions . . .

“No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life.  Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you. “Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may have success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:5-9).

        It was Matthew Henry who wrote, “Where the fear of the Lord rules in the heart there will be a constant conscientious care to keep His commandments, not to talk of them, but to do them . . .”  He goes on to say, “The most obedient are accepted as the most intelligent.”  A so called intelligent person is not the one who has the most head knowledge. No.  The most intelligent person is the one who has heart knowledge and is obedient to God.  The Psalmist has this to say about such a person . . .

“His heart is upheld, he will not fear, until he looks with satisfaction on his adversaries” (Psalm 112:8).

         The person who fears and obeys God, will have no fear.  That is to say, they will not be panic-stricken. 

         The fear of God, and obedience to God, lends itself to . . .

Priority No. 3

III.  RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD - Speaking of relationship, one writer put it like this, “Proper relationship with God leads a person to give proper priority to other concerns.”

        1.  There is the family life . . .

 “His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed” (Psalm 112:2).

“His soul will abide in prosperity and his descendants will inherit the land” (Psalm 25:13).

 “I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or His descendants begging bread. All day long, He is gracious and lends; and His descendants are a blessing” (Psalm 37:25-26).

“When you shall eat of the fruit of your hands, you will be happy and it will be well with you.  Your wife shall be like a fruitful vine, within your house, your children like olive plants around your table.  Behold, for thus shall the man be who fears the Lord” (Psalm 128:2-4).

        2.  Then there is the economic relationships . . .

“Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever” (Psalm 112:3).

“But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day” (Deut. 8:18).

              It has been stated like this, “ . . . economic relationships will reflect a sense of stewardship and responsibility.” Show me a person who has established an intimate relationship with God, through a healthy fear of Him, and loyal obedience to Him, and I will show you a person who has no problem with tithing.

              Then for those who have learned and practice the principles of biblical  stewardship can claim God’s promises . . .

“It is well with the man who is gracious and lends; He will maintain his cause in judgment” (Psalm 112:5).

“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men... “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour out into your lap.  For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return” (Luke 6:35, 38).

        Note: While there may, or may not be, and accumulation of wealth for one who is rightly related to God, the quality of one’s life will reflect, in the words of one writer,“ . . . true wealth of fulfillment and righteousness.” 

        Concerning relationship and right priorities, the bottom line is this, it is a matter of the heart.  About the person who fears and obeys God, the Psalmist said, “His heart is secure/fixed . . .”(Psalm 112:7).  For you see, “If the heart is fixed on evil, we shall become evil.  If it is fixed upon self, we shall become incurably selfish.  If it is fixed upon things, we shall become practical materialists.”  Thus the end result for the person whose heart is not fixed on God . . .

“The wicked will see it and be vexed; He will gnash his teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked will perish” (Psalm 112:10).

“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish” (Psalm 1:5-6).

        Therefore, my dear friends, don’t you think that the wise thing to do is to establish right priorities?  That is to say, have a healthy fear of God, obey Him fully, and be rightly related with Him forever.

CONCLUSION: One’s first and foremost priority is to trust Jesus as Lord and Savior.  That is the first priority for the unsaved person.  This is the starting point for an intimate relationship with the Father.  Will you put your trust in Jesus today?