A Realistic Portrait?

Psalm 112 paints a portrait of the righteous man. We see these characteristics ascribed to the righteous often in the Old Testament. In Psalm 112 the righteous is said to: delight in God’s commands, have mighty descendants, be wealthy, be gracious and full of compassion, give to the poor, not be afraid of bad news, never be shaken, be a great example to the wicked. Quite a resume is established in Psalm 112. But is it realistic? As I see it, and you might disagree, the answer to the question, “Is this a realistic portrait?” is “yes and no”. Sometimes these qualities are present in the righteous. But at times, some of these qualities are not in the picture. There are plenty of righteous people in other parts of the world who do not have financial “wealth and riches”. There are plenty of times when the phrase, “surely he will never be shaken” is just what we hope to be, not where we are. Does that mean if you are ever “shaken” by circumstances or sin that you are not righteous? I don’t think so. What I believe Psalm 112 paints for us is a picture of general blessing and ability that God provides. I don’t think there is any one person who fits this picture all of the time. I don’t think this psalm is a “one size fits all” portrait of a righteous person. I think the best way to apply this psalm is to look at the portrait being painted and ask ourselves how we “look” compared to the portrait and if there is any obvious reason in our lives why we look different. If we are shaken, why? If we don’t deal graciously with the poor, why? If we are not “established”, why? If we need to make corrections, then perhaps this portrait can help us see that need. However, I don’t think we can look at Psalm 112 and say this is the “one size fits all” picture of a righteous person…because it just doesn’t fit all the time.

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