DUNCAN/Living in the right kind of fear

If you have your Bibles, I’d invite you to turn with me to Psalm 112. This psalm focuses on the blessedness of the godly person. In today’s passage, we are going to take up the subject of piety. 

The word piety is not one that we commonly use in our natural conversation in our day and age. When we hear the word piety, we immediately think of the word pious, and pious has a certain kind of connotation in our culture and it’s not a happy connotation. But piety is something in the Scriptures that is highly valued, and in this passage, true piety is described. It will be commended to us in the beginning of the psalm, then the psalm will define for us what true piety is, and then it will display true piety in the life of a person. Let’s look at those three things together.

Piety Commended 

First, piety is commended to us in the very first sentence of the psalm after the exhortation to us to praise the Lord. The fear of the Lord, which is the soul of piety, is linked with blessing so that we see the unity of the two. To fear the Lord is to be truly blessed. To experience true happiness requires the fear of the Lord. Satan attempts to break those things apart in our hearts and minds all the time. The psalmist puts those two things which Satan attempted to separate, right back together. True blessedness is not found in rejecting the fear of God. True blessedness is not found in rejecting the commandments of God. It’s found in the embrace of the fear of the Lord and in the keeping of His commandments.

Every time we sin, we are saying that we think we will be more blessed if we do that sin than if we do what God says in His Word. Every time we sin, we’re fighting the battle all over again to believe that blessedness is entailed in godliness and there is no blessedness apart from godliness. It is not the worldling that enjoys true blessedness. It is not the worldling that enjoys true satisfaction, it is the woman, the man, who fears God. However appealing the short-term gains of sin may appear, in the end, it will not bring blessedness, it will bring misery. Sin brings forth misery and death. Godliness, however, is connected with blessedness, and so that’s how this psalm begins. It commends piety.

Piety Defined 

Second, it defines piety for us in verse 1. But notice, it’s not merely obedience to God’s commandments. It’s the fear of the Lord and delight in His commandments. That is very significant, because in that we begin to get at something like a true definition of piety. There’s a delight in doing what God has commanded, and this is at the very heart of true piety.

Have you ever had the privilege of working with or for someone who, while working with and for that person, you develop such an admiration for that person’s character, such an appreciation for their vision and their integrity that you would do anything for that person? It delights you to work for them. That’s what true piety is like in relation to God. When you realize what a loving heavenly Father He is and how generous He has been – When you realize the marvel of His character and you love Him so that you long, you desire, you delight to do His will. You love to please Him. It’s not a burden to please Him. You love doing that which is pleasing in His sight. This is true piety — To delight in duty, to delight in doing what God commands.

Piety Displayed 

Lastly, I want to focus your attention on three displays of piety — three aspects of character that are highlighted regarding the person who fears God in this passage.

First, look at verse 5. Even though this person is materially blessed, we are told that this blessing does not cause him to abuse either money or power. He is just in his use of power, and he is generous in his use of money. Unlike a person who views money as an end in itself and the blessing to be desired, he recognizes it as a gift from the Lord. He knows that there’s a greater end to this physical blessing, so he’s able to resist the temptation to abuse these gifts, and instead, use them in a just manner. So here we see that the blessing of piety is not just in the material blessings. It’s in the character blessings that come with God’s grace.

Secondly, we’re told in verse 7, that “He is not afraid of bad news.” In other words, positively, he, she, trusts in the Lord. Even when bad news comes, this person is not tempted to give in to the sins that flow from fear but trusts in the Lord. If you fear God, you’ll have nothing else to fear. That is a true and Biblical principal, and we see it worked out here. This person trusts in the Lord’s plan. That’s one of the effects of true godliness in his character.

Third, look at verse 9. “He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn is exalted.” One thing about this person is that even though the Lord has materially blessed him, he is not stingy. Instead, he is generous. He distributes freely. He has given to the poor. He is generous in the way that he uses what the Lord gives to him. This stanza is picked up by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians chapter 9. Right next to the statement, “Though He was rich, yet He became poor for your sakes that you might become rich in Him,” and so we’re being told by Paul that this describes Jesus who was generous and the true example of true piety.

My friends, the cultivation of the fear of God, not a cringing fearful anticipation of His judgment, but a childlike reverence and awe of Him that delights to do His will is critical to fighting the most important fights of the Christian life. The great temptation that Satan always holds before our eyes is that it just costs too much to follow God and that we can’t afford that kind of costly discipleship. God, in His kindness, comes to us in Psalm 112 and says, “You can’t afford to miss the blessings of fearing Me because the fear of Me will bring you the only true blessing that exists, and the rejection of My fear will leave you nothing, forever.” That’s what verse 10 is about. The one who rejects the fear of the Lord ends up with nothing forever. That’s why we need to school ourselves in this fear because it’s what we need in the great battles of our lives, whether we’re fifteen, fifty-five, or ninety-five.

Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III is Chancellor & CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) in Jackson.