GIVING AS WORSHIP
Opening Prayer
Thank you, Father, for the blessing that is mine as I read your Word, learn from it, and follow what it says. Give me what I need today to follow you more closely.
Read PSALM 112
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
1 Praise the Lord.[b]
Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
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.
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.
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.
Footnotes
- Psalm 112:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the lines of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
- Psalm 112:1 Hebrew Hallelu Yah
- Psalm 112:9 Horn here symbolizes dignity.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Sing a song of praise!One of the great things about the psalms is that they are so varied: you can always find one to express how you’re feeling. Maybe this is the one for your mood today:
life is great! Or maybe you are more in tune with the likes of Psalm 73, where the psalmist wonders why everything seems to go well for the wicked.
How do you feel about verses 2 and 3 right now? The psalmist admits that we are sometimes surrounded by darkness (v. 4), but even then we can live in light and have no reason to fear (vv. 7, 8) if we trust in the Lord. We don’t achieve this by trying hard or quashing our feelings, but rather by fearing the Lord and delighting in his commands (v. 1). As we worship him and meditate on his greatness, the things that ordinarily would terrify us somehow seem less scary.
And that is what gives us the freedom to be generous (vv. 5, 9). It’s easier to be generous with your money when you know that God will provide for you. Likewise, you can share freely your skills, your time, and your home when you understand these things as gifts from God. Giving is worship, not because we often give as part of a church service, but because giving declares our dependence on God. That’s why it makes people stop and wonder.
Apply
Is there some way in which God has blessed you that you could be sharing more freely with others?
Closing prayer
Loving King, you delight in showering me with gifts out of your storehouse that is filled beyond measure. As I freely receive from you, show me how to give freely to others, in both who I am in you and what I have because of you.
Book and Author Intros
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