Turn with me in your Bibles to Psalm 112.

Psalm 112:1-10  Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.  2 His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.  3 Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.  4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.  5 A good man sheweth favor, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.  6 Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.  7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.  8 His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies. 9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honor.  10 The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

I was in Ollie’s – a local discount store – with a 15% off coupon. I love coupons! What was great about this coupon is that it was for the entire sale – whatever I had in the shopping cart. Boy, do I love free. I stopped by the “Books” section to check out the Bibles and Bible study books when I saw a book on Psalm 112 written by an “Apostle”. Anytime someone takes the title “Apostle” to themselves, I’m immediately suspicious. The Apostles were appointed by Jesus, and were eyewitnesses of His earthly ministry. The Apostle Paul notes in:

Ephesians 4:11-13   And {Jesus} gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;  12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:  13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith

The Apostles and Prophets were appointed by God, along with the Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. Some say that this verse teaches there are Apostles today. That would be true if you read no other Scripture. Though there are Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers today, the Bible goes on to say in that same Book of Ephesians:

Ephesians 2:19-20  Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;  20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; 

The Apostles and Prophets were the FOUNDATION of the Church, and Jesus Christ is the Chief Corner Stone. When Paul was writing Ephesians (as an Apostle appointed by Jesus. See 1 Corinthians 15:8-11; Galatians 1:17, 19; Acts 9:15-16) there were still Apostles who were alive, and writing Scripture as God led them to do. The last living Apostle was John the Revelator, who wrote the Gospel of John, 1-3 John, and Revelation. The Office of Apostle closed with the death of John. God did set some in the Church Apostles and Prophets (1 Corinthians 12:28), but they were the foundation of the body. The Apostles saw Christ (1 Corinthians 9:1), and had the power to perform signs and wonders (Acts 2:43; 2 Corinthians 12:12). As one commentary notes, 

“The responsibility of the twelve apostles, laying the foundation of the church, would also argue for their uniqueness. Two thousand years later, we are not still working on the foundation. … There are some today who are seeking to restore the position of apostle. This is a dangerous movement. Frequently, those claiming the office of apostle seek authority equal to, or at least rivaling, the authority of the original twelve apostles. There is absolutely no biblical evidence to support such an understanding of the role of apostle today. This would fit with the New Testament’s warning against false apostles (2 Corinthians 11:13)”

Our foundation is the Scripture, what the Bible says. Why did I take the time to explain to you the Office of Apostle? Because there are people out there who will twist the Scripture for personal wealth and gain. There are no Apostles today – but God DOES want you to be prosperous.

Psalm 112 IS about achieving PROSPERITY, but it is not about having great health nor large amounts of money in the bank. It speaks to a different type of prosperity. 

Psalm 112 Focuses On SPIRITUAL Prosperity As Opposed To SPIRITUAL Bankruptcy

Psalm 112:1 Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

Psalm 112:10 The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.

The “wicked” find their blessings in the things of this world. This is the Hebrew rāšāʿ {pronounced raw-shaw'} which means “the ungodly, the one guilty of sin, the morally wrong (as judged by God)”. Righteous Abraham called the Sodomites “rāšāʿ” (Genesis 18:23). Those who disrespect life and murder others are “rāšāʿ” (Numbers 35:31). We are told in:

Job 18:5  Yea, the light of the wicked {rāšāʿ} shall be put out, and the spark of his fire shall not shine.

To be “wicked” is not to be just immoral, but to approach life without God in view!

We are told in Solomon’s writings:

Proverbs 21:4  An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked {rāšāʿ}, is sin.

When I think of WICKEDNESS, or UNGODLINESS, I do not think about tilling your garden. But God says that very act of tilling the garden for the godless is sinful. The Psalmist said:

Psalm 10:4  the wicked {rāšāʿ}, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

To violate the Ten Commandments is wicked. But to live your life without a thought to God is also wicked. Our Lord Jesus spoke the parable of the wealthy farmer in:

Luke 12:15-21 And {Jesus} said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.  16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:  17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?  18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.  19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.  20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?  21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. 

The rich farmer had a good season, and made so many crops that they were overflowing. So what did he do with his crops? Did he give the excess to the poor? He ponders. Did he give the excess to God – along with his praise for the great bounty? No! He asks himself, “What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?”. Why, since God is not in all his thoughts, and he has too much to store, he decides:

I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods

Many people say “But what’s wrong with that?” What is wrong is that he has cut out from his life anything to do with God. God made him. God gave him life. God gave him the good seasons that allowed him to have a record bumper crop. Yet he has no thought of God. He has no thought of those less fortunate. His universe is himself.

Then God says, “Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee”. That word “fool” is used in the Scripture for the unbeliever, such as in:

Psalm 14:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

Those who cut God out of their thoughts are fools. They may have great physical prosperity. They may be:

Beautiful
Rich
Powerful
Famous

But without God they are spiritually bankrupt. Eventually well known stars Elvis Presley, Prince, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Whitney Houston, Steve Jobs, George H.W. Bush, Tom Petty, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Rivers, John McCain, Muhammad Ali … I could go on and on. Eventually you must meet your Maker and your God. 

Will you be spiritually prosperous when you meet the Lord? Or will He be a Stranger Who says, “Depart from Me, I never knew you”? (Matthew 7:23)

Psalm 112:1 Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

Here is the way to true prosperity. “Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord”. What does it mean to “fear the Lord”? The Psalmist tells you. It is to “delight greatly in His commandments”. To love the Word of God. The wicked care nothing at all for God’s Word, for His Bible. But the one who is blessed knows that God’s Word is a treasury. There are great things in this wonderful old Book. The truths taught in this Book are not only the foundation of the Church (as we’ve previously noted), but they are the foundation for living the good life.

So many people think that vast riches and power are the ways to a good life. If that were true, then we wouldn’t see celebrities killing themselves. Marilyn Monroe, Charles Boyer, Kurt Cobain, Robin Williams, Ernest Hemmingway, Brian Keith, are just a few of those who thought the good life could be found outside of God. There is no good life outside of God. When we depart from God’s Word and ignore His commandments, it’s like trying to use a lawn mower in water! It just doesn’t work! Life doesn’t work without God!

When you “delight greatly in God’s commandments”, His Word to you, then God assures you that your legacy will endure. We read:

Psalm 112:2  His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.

When you love the Word of God and teach your children to cherish the Word of God, they will be better equipped to live successful lives on this earth. Jesus loved the children. When the disciples tried to keep the parents from bring the children to Him, He rebuked them, and said:

Matthew 19:14-15  … (ESV) “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” 15 And he laid his hands on them …

Before God sent Israel into the Promised Land, He told them:

Deuteronomy 6:4-7  (ESV)  … “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children…

If you love God’s Word, and teach it to your children, your children will grow up to be successful and productive citizens in the Kingdom of God and in the nations of man. 

Psalm 112:3  Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.

The “Name it and Claim it Prosperity Preachers” will tell you that this verse is proof that God wants all Christians to be physically wealthy. That’s not true. The Apostle Paul said of himself and the other Apostles:

2 Corinthians 6:4-10  (ESV) … as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

A “servant of God” is often going to be at odds with this world. Jesus warned us that “the world will HATE YOU, because it HATED ME” (John 15:18). If you are serving God, do not expect the world to cheer you on. If you are serving God, do not expect great wealth or fame. Yes, there are people like Adrian Rogers, Billy Graham, Charles Stanley, and others who are famous and well known. But I’ll guarantee you these same men went through hell on earth and the attacks of others. 

What do all Christians have that no one else has? Look at the phrase:

his righteousness endureth for ever

When you believed on Christ as Lord and Savior, God imputed His righteousness to your spiritual bank. 

We are born with NO RIGHTEOUSNESS of our own. The Bible is quite clear that:

Isaiah 64:6 … we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Romans 3:23 … all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus corrected our ideas concerning holiness. He said “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in Heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). He said “except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Holy Cow! The Pharisees were outwardly SUPER-righteous. They prayed at the right times, they were flawless in dress and decor, they tithed regularly, and were ALWAYS in Church. How can we – how can I hope to be BETTER than a Pharisee? How can we hope to be as perfect as God our Father?

It is only through Christ that we can achieve this excellence. Jesus Christ took OUR SIN on Himself, and paid the penalty of sin for us. The Scripture says:

Romans 5:9  (ESV) … Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

We who have received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are under the Blood of Christ. Jesus took our penalty, so we can take His righteousness. One of my favorite passages is in:

2 Corinthians 5:20-21  … we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

God has credited the righteousness of Christ to YOU, to your spiritual bank account. “his righteousness endureth for ever”. The salvation we have in Christ saves us, and keeps on saving us. This is the message the Apostle gave us:

Romans 3:21-25, 28  But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;  22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:  23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;  24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:  25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;  … 28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.

The Christian stands right and righteous before God because of Christ. We have “riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7). 

Saved By Faith, The Righteous Walk With God

Those who are saved by faith in Christ are changed, from inside out. We become very much the “Children of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:26). The Holy Spirit enters our lives in a very real way. Jesus sends the Spirit to His Children. 

John 14:16-17 … I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;  17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

The Spirit Filled Christian does not walk in darkness, but in the light of God. “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth” (1 John 1:6). 

Psalm 112:4-5  Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.  5 A good man sheweth favor, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.

Those who are God’s Children walk in the light of Christ no matter how dark the day. God’s Children are grace oriented – the saved are to treat others graciously. They are “full of compassion” for others, but they do not compromise the commands of God. God’s people are not stingy with compassion or sharing. They are imitators of Christ. Jesus was always careful to be “about His Father’s business” (Luke 2:49). Those who are Christ’s “guide {their} affairs with discretion”. Those who are saved by Grace are “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). We represent not ourselves, but our Lord. We are stewards of the life He has given us.

Psalm 112:6-7  Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.  7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.

The saved are “OVERCOMERS”. We cling to God. We have no choice! Yes, doubts may come. Yes, we are frail. But those who are saved are bound to God. When John the Revelator wrote to the Churches, he repeatedly said:

1 John 5:5  Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?

Revelation 2:7  … To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Revelation 2:11 … He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

We do not overcome in our power, but in HIS. Jesus said, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels”. I don’t know about you, but I have no choice but to cling to my Jesus! My heart is fixed. I’m going to trust in God, for this is where my riches are. 

Psalm 16:5; Psalm 73:26  The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup … My flesh and my heart faileth: but GOD is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever!

What a joy it is to be in Jesus! Let’s finish with these words:

Psalm 112:8-9  His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.  9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honor.

The believer in Christ is to make a difference where he or she is. Are you Christ’s? Then live for Him. Shine where you are. Let God be a part of your daily walk. If you consider yourself saved, but never consider the desires of God unless you are in Church or in pain – then perhaps you are NOT saved. Beloved, know that Christ died for you. Give your lives unto Him, believing Him to be both Lord and Savior. “Whosoever calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13). Amen and Amen!