Psalm 112, My Jerry

Psalms 112, “The Virtuous Man”, My Jerry

  June 2017 by Alice Jensen

A virtuous or righteous man, who can find one? I have! A few weeks ago, as I once again read Psalms 112, I was amazed to realize that the chapter could be written about my husband. Every verse applies to my Jerry!

1, “Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.”

 After dating several men in a matter of a couple of years, I was pretty burned out on the whole idea of dating. I knew that I wanted a husband, but I finally realized that I also needed him to be a Godly man that loved God above all else. God assured me that He already had one picked out just for me. Little did I know that it would be my Jerry! After a few dates, I told Jerry that one of the requirements to continue dating me was that he had to be reading his Bible faithfully. I already saw the evidence that Jerry served the Lord and was faithful to God and His church. Jerry assured me that he read his Bible every day, and to this very day that is still true. Jerry fears the LORD and delights greatly in His Word and is obedient to it.

2, “His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.”

When Jerry and I began to plan for our future, we had hoped to have six children. I so wanted to give him a son to carry on the Jensen name, but God had other plans for us. He did allow us to have six pregnancies, but He also allowed us to lose five of them. One was a set of twins. However, God also blessed us with one pregnancy that went to birth. Our Rebekah is our one and only “seed”. But she has been a mighty good influence in our lives. She is a blessing to so many people, in spite of her autism. She is a mighty blessed woman, and Jerry has done a great job of raising her to love and serve the Lord.

3, “Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.” 

There was a time, when our finances were so tight, you could hear them scream. But from a young age I had been taught to tithe and to give God the first part of all our increase. I do have to admit that there was once that we just were not able to do so, but we made it up later. Jerry has always done his best to provide for his little family and to please the Lord while working.  And God blessed Jerry with better and better jobs, until He gave Jerry the career as a law enforcement officer. For thirty-seven years Jerry protected and served the people of Port Orchard. Because of our tithing and because of that job, God has given to us wealth and riches and a wonderful house that we can use to serve the Lord and be a ministry to others. Jerry is known as a righteous man because of the life he lives, and God has blessed him.

4, “Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.”

Jerry never realized what was in store for him when he got married to me. We would go through great depths of sorrow and horrible heights of mental illness. Yet, Jerry stayed an upright man and God has blessed him with light in the darkness. Jerry is full of compassion and understanding when Bekah or I go through times of struggle. He stays gracious and righteous, and God delivers us time after time. One of the darkest periods of our lives was when our daughter became psychotic and self-destructive. Jerry kept things as peaceful as he could within our little family. Several times he would have to take her for rides to get her mind onto other things and to give me a break.

5, “A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.” 

There is no man with more of a servant’s heart than my Jerry. He is willing to help anyone and everyone any time all the time. He not only lends, but he also has a very giving spirit and has given large sums of money when we are guided to do so by the Holy Spirit. And together we try to be the best stewards of God’s resources. Jerry is discrete and has never been a gossip or backbiter. As a patrol-officer there were many cases that he kept to himself and could not share with others outside of the office. He has done a great job of knowing when and when not to share his experiences.

6, “Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.”

 I know this doesn’t mean that he won’t move from one house to another. But I also know that Jerry would be satisfied to live in one place for the rest of his life, and I am also sure that he will be happy to live wherever God moves him. This verse means that a righteous man will stay a righteous man because of the choices that he makes. And those who know him will know that he will stay a righteous man. It is too bad and too sad that there are not more men that this can be said about, but without a doubt it can be said about my Jerry. From the day I first met Jerry almost 39 years ago, he has been a righteous man that is faithful and loyal to the Lord and to the Bible.

7, “He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.”

Jerry was the epitome of a police officer. For 37 years he protected and served the city of Port Orchard. Never did he get fearful of his job and what he could potentially face in the line of duty. He was always professional and calm. He treated everyone fairly and kept his cool. He was level-headed and able to quickly assess and address each situation as it arose. At first when he became a police officer, I was extremely afraid that he would be hurt or killed. However, as I saw how well Jerry did his job and as I trusted in the Lord, I became less fearful. The fear never totally left until the day he retired, I knew that Jerry would do his best to not get hurt nor allow anyone else to be hurt. God has taken great care of Jerry.

8, “His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies.”

I don’t think that Jerry ever had any enemies, but I am sure that there were those who did not like the job that Jerry did as a police officer, and there were those who didn’t like him for doing his job. But Jerry trusted in the Lord and knew that no matter what happened it could only be done according to the will of God. Jerry’s heart is established to trust in God and in His Word.

9, “He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.”

Jerry is a very giving man. I remember hearing a story from a former neighbor from when Jerry was a young teenager. She told how that Jerry had found a garden hose in someone’s trash. It was still in good condition and just needed a cleaning. He did so and then gave it to the neighbor who needed a second garden hose. Whenever we hear of a true need, we are some of the first to respond. Jerry gives of his time, talents, and treasures, and has always done it with a grateful heart to the Lord who made it possible to give in the first place. Again, I cannot emphasize enough what a righteous man Jerry is and has been. His righteousness truly does endure for ever.

10, “The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.”

I don’t know how to apply this to Jerry other than to say that many of the criminals he has arrested have also faced the punishment for their crimes. My prayer is that Jerry will always be remembered by the wicked and by the righteous as a man who loved and faithfully served the Lord. When Jerry first started as an officer, he was accused by an angry man who had received a ticket from Jerry, that Jerry had been rude and angry and cursing when he had confronted the man. The sergeant who took the report told that man he had the wrong officer because Jerry Jensen was the calmest and most level tempered officer on the force; and that no-one had ever known Jerry to get angry at anyone, nor had anyone ever heard Jerry use curse words. The man had to leave in shame because of his own wickedness. Instead of getting a reprimand for doing wrong, Jerry was commended for doing right.

To say that I am proud of my husband would be like saying the ocean is wet. Yes, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I am proud of my husband. I believe he is the most righteous man in the world! And I am so blessed to be his wife and to have him in my life.