Psalm 112:1 Praise the Lord.
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who finds great delight in his commands.

This Psalm is another listing of the benefits of fearing the Lord. There are many such Psalms, and several are, like this one, acrostics, starting each line with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. That doesn’t mean they are any less true or inspired, it is simply a poetic form the writer followed. However, it does place constraints on the specific grammatical forms involved, and that sometimes makes for ambiguities. However, the best poetry is often ambiguous! I am struck here by verse 4, which in the NIV is rendered as “Even in darkness light dawns for the upright, for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.” The Japanese specifies that it is the Lord who causes light to shine in the darkness for the upright person, and then says that it is the Lord who is gracious and compassionate and righteous. A little checking shows that there is no subject, grammatically speaking, to the last half of the verse, leaving it open to either interpretation. Either is good, and both are true! Going with the NIV, it would follow that these traits would be characteristic of the person who fears the Lord and delights to obey Him. That is certainly true. A person who matches the description in verse 1 will increasingly be like Jesus, and verse 4 certainly applies to Him. Some people put on an appearance of piety, but if their character, their daily interaction with others, doesn’t resemble Christ, then it is clear that they are simply acting, and will get no eternal reward. That’s why it’s so important that this starts with fearing the Lord. If we fear Him rightly, the last thing we want to do is be hypocritical, because we know He sees right through us, and that attitude will be evident in every area of our lives.

This of course applies to me as much as it does to anyone. I have experienced countless blessings because of knowing God, though I can’t claim perfect obedience, certainly. I have never met anyone who would not benefit from a right relationship with God, and so I seek to lead them into such a relationship. The greatest benefits are eternal, but from our current perspective those seem very theoretical, so I need to approach people from the standpoint of their life right now. That’s certainly not to say that opening your heart to God instantly solves all the things you see as problems, but it at least puts them all in a different perspective. Anything is easier to bear when you know you are on God’s side! I need God’s wisdom, guidance, and strength, because it’s clear mine are not up to the task. However, God graciously provides all that is needed for those who serve Him with gladness, so I am to be anxious for nothing. (Philippians 4:6-7)

Father, thank You for Your Word that refreshes me morning by morning. Thank You for enabling me to hide it in my heart. (Psalm 119:11) Help me not only relate to You rightly myself, but also lead many others to do so. I ask You to raise up an army of those who fear and love You so that we may tear down the gates of hell and set the captives free, even as you promised. (Matthew 16:18) Thank You. Hallelujah!