Scripture

Praise the LORD. Blessed are those who fear the LORD, who find great delight in his commands.

~Psalm 112:2, NIV

Quote

  The glory of the Christian is not that we rise above the circumstances, but in the midst of these circumstances, we radiate cheer and goodwill.

~Charles R. Erdman

I am a list maker and as soon as I read Psalm 112 the other day, I saw a list. These are the characteristics of a MAN [Person} WHO FEARS GOD.

1. He will be blessed–[v1] “How blessed is the man who fears Yahweh.” The Hebrew word for blessed is Asher. You got it, the same as one of Jacob’s sons and it means ‘Happy.’ Jacob also named one son Praise and another Wolf. Actually, Wolf was a nickname.
2. His children will be blessed–[v.2] “His seed will be mighty on earth.” Their children will become a heritage.
3. He will be prosperous–[v3] “Wealth and riches are in his house.” We are talking about his net worth. Life doesn’t consist in the abundance of things. How many friends do you have? There is more to wealth than money.
4. He walks in the light–[v4] “Light arises in the darkness for the upright.” Jesus said in John 8:12, “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
5. He is a good man–[v4] “He is gracious and compassionate and righteous.”
6. He is honest and fair in his dealing with others–[v5] “Who sustains his works with justice.”
7. He is stable and stedfast–[v6] “For he will never be shaken.” His faith is deeply rooted. He cannot be moved.
8. He does not allow fear to rule him–[v7] He will not fear an evil report.
9. He is optimistic–[v8] He looks in triumph on his adversaries. He knows that the desire of the wicked will perish.
10. He is generous–[v9] He gives freely to the needy. Also verse 4, He is a gracious lender.

This is a good list, don’t you think? Spurgeon said, The blessed not only study God’s word, they put it into practice and this is what makes them blessed {happy}. Holiness is their happiness, devotion is their delight, and truth is their treasure. Cheerful obedience is the only acceptable obedience. Let the self-righteous praise themselves but let those of us who fear the LORD God give our praise to Him.

I think Spurgeon is right!

Extra

Our good friend Jerry Randolph passed away yesterday morning around 4:00. Jerry had heart issues for the past 30 years but it was a combination of things that caused his death. Like all Randolph/Livingstones, He was a hard worker. I don’t think Maw raised any lazy folks, the three I know were hard workers. Jerry has always been good to me. Our sympathy to Karen and the kids.

June says it is going to be a hot one {94*}, but with low humidity. The best news is rain on Saturday. I think they have confirmed the diagnosis on Jan Fields, it is Guillian Barre. Pray for Jan, Don, Rickey and Tracey. She is in Brookwood in Birmingham.

I hope you have a great day and thanks for reading the blog.