Praise the Lord.[b]
Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
who find great delight in his commands.
who find great delight in his commands.
2 Their children will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.
4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.
4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for those who are gracious and compassionate and righteous.
5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
6 Surely the righteous will never be shaken;
they will be remembered forever.
7 They will have no fear of bad news;
their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
8 Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9 They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,
their righteousness endures forever;
their horn[c] will be lifted high in honor.
they will be remembered forever.
7 They will have no fear of bad news;
their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.
8 Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9 They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor,
their righteousness endures forever;
their horn[c] will be lifted high in honor.
10 The wicked will see and be vexed,
they will gnash their teeth and waste away;
the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.
they will gnash their teeth and waste away;
the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.
This is one of the many psalms that are actually acrostic poems where each line begins with a different successive letter in the Hebrew alphabet. We miss the beauty and creativity when we look at it in the translated form.
That aside, we are reminded once again that genuine, holy reverence draws our lives into God's desire for justice and righteousness in the world. The service of the righteous is recognized by both God and the Psalmist. Their faith has borne good works and their righteousness (because it is God's righteousness working in them and through them) will endure forever. Their dignity, symbolized by the horn, will be lifted high (by God) in honor.
These passages, both the one yesterday and the one above, may also speak to our identity amnesia or the forgetfulness of who we are and whose we are. The constant repetition of what a follower of God looks like and how a follower of God interacts with the world around them is shown in a multitude of voices (both prophetic and poetic) so that all might hear and respond to God's divine Word.
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