THE BLESSED PERSON

Praise the LORD! BLESSED is the man who fears the LORD, Who delights greatly in His commandments – Psalm 112:1

In order to understand the Fullness of Blessings, it is important to know God’s perspective on the BLESSED PERSON: “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful” (Psa.1:1). Both Psalms 1 and 112 therefore use the words “Blessed is the man.” The pertinent question is: “What does it mean to be blessed?” The Hebrew word for “blessed” means “happy,” while the Greek word translated “blessed” (makarioi) means to be fully satisfied. Both refer to receiving God’s favour, regardless of circumstances. It is an interpersonal term focusing primarily on one’s relationship with the Lord God Almighty, and secondarily on relationships with others. When we use the term “to be blessed by God”, we are referring to being “favoured by God” or enjoying one or the other of His multi-faceted disposition and acts of kindness and goodness. Rarely would any human being reject a gesture of blessing from the Lord.

In order for us to be blessed by God and to appreciate what this means, the next question to consider is: “What kind of person does God bless and honor? Psalm 112 reveals six characteristics of the person who God blesses – the Blessed Person. We’ll identify each of these briefly in today’s meditation, and expound on them in the coming days.

The Blessed Person fears the Lord: “Blessed is the man who fears the LORD” (v.1a). To “fear” God means to dread, stand in awe of, revere, and respect Him. It means also to think holily and reverently concerning God, and to walk in His ways.

The Blessed Person delights in obeying God and His Word: “…who delights greatly in His commandments” (v.1b). It is not enough to fear God, we must also love him. While fear will deter us from evil; love will lead us to obedience. And the more a person fears and loves God, the more obedient will he or she be; which would lead to delighting greatly in His commandments.

The Blessed Person is gracious: “Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous” (v.4). Such a person is full of kindness to all around, thus becoming God's image bearer. In Psalm 111:4 we read “the Lord is gracious and full of compassion.” The blessed person emulates the God-like quality of graciousness.

The Blessed Person is compassionate: “...he is... full of compassion…” (v.4b). The blessed person tenderly feels for others, empathises with them, and extends a hand of help as far as practicable in their times of trouble. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care: “But whoever has this world's good, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1Jh.3:17).

The Blessed Person is righteous: “he is... righteous” (v.4b). As God is righteous in all His dealings with humanity, indeed in all His dealings with all of creation, so also the person God blesses is "righteous" in all of his or her transactions with fellow human beings. To be righteous in our dealings with others is to genuinely exhibit obvious moral excellence in character and conduct, and practice care and loving kindness as not only necessary, but also in the way we live our daily lives.

The Blessed Person has a steadfast confidence in the Lord: “He will not be afraid of evil tidings; His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established” (v.7-8a). This aligns with Daniel 11:32b: “…the people who know their God shall be strong…” The blessed person demonstrates steadfastness of faith in Christ (Col.2:5). Beloved, you and I can affirm with Paul: “Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil.1:6).

To what degree do you and I measure up to God’s standards of “Blessedness”? Praise God, His Grace is available to qualify us!