Psalm 112: The blessing of the righteous

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches
August 31, 2025
Psalm 112

At the beginning of worship: 

Twenty years ago this month, I officiated Jodi’s funeral. An attractive and delightful woman, about my age, she moved back to Hastings where I was serving a church. She was in her late 40s. Her last year she lived with her elderly mother because of a terrible illness. I don’t remember the name, but the disease, which I think was hereditary, caused a stiffing of muscles. It eventually killed her because she could no longer breath, a terrible way to go. 

Jodi’s mother, Joan, was a saint. When Jodi moved back to town, it was all Joan could do help her move from the bed to a chair or go to the bathroom. Joan herself was frail, but she threw herself into the task at hand. Eventually, she had to have nursing help and Jodi remained mostly in bed. During this time, I visited her several times. Her mind was sharp, and she always expressed a joyful attitude despite being in pain. She was a lovely soul who never complained. I could only imagine how I would be if I was in her situation. 

I haven’t thought about Jodi for years, but as I started reading our morning’s Psalm in preparation for today’s sermon, she came to mind.

This morning I want you to ask yourself, “Why do we praise God?” Is it out of the hope to be rewarded? Or because of God’s nature? 

Before the reading of the Scripture: 

This week, as we explore the Psalms, we’re looking at Psalm 112. There are good reasons why I haven’t preached on this Psalm in my 36 years of preaching weekly. It sounds too simplistic. Obey God and you’ll be blessed. I expect most of us know godly people, like Jodi whom I introduced earlier, who in this life wasn’t blessed. At least not blessed in any recognizable fashion. 

There is a close connection between Psalm 111 and Psalm 112. Neither Psalm is attributed to a particular author, but most scholars think the same author wrote both. Nor do we have any hints as to the date or circumstance of either Psalm. Psalm 111 focuses on God’s praise and ends with a line from wisdom literature, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”^[1]This is followed in Psalm 112 with the blessings offered to those who fear God. ^[2]

Furthermore, both Psalms 111 and 112 are acrostic poems. Each “measure” within the poem begins with the next letter within the Hebrew alphabet.^[3] Of course, it’s impossible to faithfully translated such a poem. After all, the Hebrew language has only 22 letters verses our 26 letters. And it’s impossible to have a word starting with the same letter in both languages. 

Let’s listen to this Psalm. You might want to keep your Bibles open afterwards, as we work through this poem. 

Read Psalm 112

At our Men’s Breakfast and Bible Study on Tuesday, we read this passage. Before I say anything, I generally begin by asking for everyone’s first thoughts. One person pointed that this passage challenged the concept of the inerrancy of scripture. 

Certainly, there are things in scripture which go against these words. Job, the faithful servant, who lost everything. Jesus, the faithful Son, who dies a horrible death. And even in our own lives, we all know people who are basically good, but don’t reap the benefits spoken of here. My mind went to Jodi, whom I introduced earlier. So, let’s take a few minutes and explore this Psalm, asking ourselves what we might learn from it. 

Psalm 112, like Jesus’ opening lines in the Sermon of the Mount which we used as our call to worship this morning, is a beatitude.^[4] The Psalm promises blessings to the righteous. And who are the righteous? The first verse identities them as those who fear God and delight in God’s commandments. The fourth and fifth verse tells us they’re a light in darkness. Graciousness, mercy, righteous and justice characterizes them. The seventh verse tells us of their lack of fear of evil and in the ninth verse show they care for the poor. 

In other words, the blessed righteous in this Psalm don’t just have faith or trust in God. They haven’t just prayed the sinner’s prayer and then gone about their lives. They live out their faith by helping others. Their conscious is clear, and they trust God enough to know everything will be okay.

We’re not provided with much insight about the makeup of the wicked in this Psalm, only that they become angry at the blessings experienced by the righteous. Just like the blessings of the righteous, this seems paradoxical. After all, it often seems as if the wicked prosper. People who cheat and win are often applauded, but such actions do not find approval in scripture.

The movie Wall Street, which was released in 1987, shows this. The movie also provides hope that things might turn out differently. In the movie, Bud, played by Charlies Sheen, struggles as a young stockbroker. Trying to get ahead, he develops a relationship with Gordon Gekko, a shady character played by Michael Douglas. Gekko has lots of money to invest and likes sure things, which he usually obtains from illegal insider trading. I remember reading a few years after the movie who Douglas was shocked by people’s reaction. He thought they should be repulsed by his character, but too many wanted to be Gekko. 

Bud becomes fabulously rich, but when he learns Gekko plans to destroy the airlines where his father (played by his real father, Martin Sheen) works as a mechanic, he has a change of heart. He begins to plot against Gekko. As this plays out, the Security and Exchange Commission, who has been investigating Bud’s activities, step in and arrest him. It’s obvious, he’s bound for jail. 

The next scene involves a meeting with Gekko in a park. Gekko beats up Bud for turning against him and causing him to lose money. Bud takes the beating, refusing to fight back. As he cleans himself up afterwards in a rest room, we learn he wore a wire, provided by investigators who hope they can also take down Gekko’s illegal dealings. Bud goes to court expecting to go to jail, but also knows he’ll get a lighter sentence. Furthermore, he’s promised an honest job once he pays his dues. 

While the movie’s final scene shows Bud walking up the steps to the courthouse, we have some sense Gekko himself will experience the long arm of the law. 

Sadly, things are often not as clear cut as we’d like. Sometimes justice takes time, as the movie shows. Neither justice nor blessings move as fast as we’d like or as this Psalm indicates. Rotten and corrupt people often end up on top, at least in the present. 

Because of the condition of this world, the Psalms of Lament, where we cry out because of the injustice we experience or see, seem much more appropriate than a Psalm of blessings. 

Which leads me to ask how are the righteous blessed? In the present, their blessing might just be one thing. They don’t lose sleep over their sins, their dishonesty, and their crimes. They can relax and sleep well, knowing they’ve strived to live honorable and noble lives. That’s why the Psalm says they’re not afraid. On the other hand, the wicked who live with skeletons in their closets must always stay on top of their lies. They know that at any time, their house of cards might topple down.^[5] They are like Bud in the movie Wall Street, knowing a knock on the door could bring the Security and Exchange Commission with handcuffs. 

And, of course, if the wicked are not caught in this life, like all of us they will have to stand before the throne of judgment one day and give account of their lives.^[6] So even if the wicked appear to win, they will lose where it matters most. 

The Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann classified Psalm 112 as a “Psalm of Orientation.”  This Psalm shows how we should adapt our lives to live within God’s favor. We’re to focus on God and do what God desires from us. The Psalm shows that our contentment comes from how we relate to others.^[7] Do we give generously, practice justice, care for poor, and remain faithful to God? Goodness isn’t just a state of being. It comes from our actions as we work for the wellbeing of others. 

This Psalm teaches us that our happiness is created within social relationships.^[8] When we let greed or our desire to be self-sufficient get in the way of our relationship with others, we have missed the boat. 

One thing this Psalm demonstrate is that riches are not proof of one’s relationship to God. The Psalm does not support the heretical Prosperity Gospel, which teaches blessings come to the faithful. That goes against much of Scripture. After all, God sends rain upon the just and unjust.^[9] Money and possessions are not signs of a blessed life in this Psalm. The blessed in this life (and the next) are those who follow God’s teachings and strive to help others. 

Use this Psalm as a guide for your life. You might not become rich, but you’ll be living in a godly manner. Amen. 

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^[1] See Job 28:28, Proverbs 1:7, 9:10, 15:3.  In the Apocrypha book of Sirach, the opening chapter is a praise of wisdom (see Sirach 1:14, 16, 18, 20). See also Sirach 15:11, 19:20 and 12:11. 

^[2] Artur Weiser, The Psalms: A Commentary, Herbert Hartwell translator (1959, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1962), 703. 

^[3] James L. Mays, Psalms: Interpretation, a Biblical Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1994), 359. 

^[4] See Matthew 5:3-12.

^[5] Idea from a commentary on this passage by Scott Hoezee. See https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2019-08-26/psalm-112-2/

^[6] While the concept of eternal judgment wasn’t fully developed as the Psalms were written, the Psalms are within a larger canon including the New Testament in which judgment exists. This doesn’t mean those who break such laws are unable to get into heaven, but for them to make it into heaven, they will have to be purified of their greed and injustice. 

^[7] Walter Brueggemann, The Message of the Psalms (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1984), 47. 

^[8] Brueggemann, 46. 

^[9] Matthew 5:45.