Reading With the People of God #8 PeaceSample

Psalm 112:6-8

For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.

Psalm 112 can’t properly be understood apart from Psalm 111. That’s often the case in Scripture, but it’s especially true here because Psalms 111 and 112 form an acrostic based on the Hebrew alphabet. They are literally connected by letters.

Psalm 111 is about God’s faithfulness. Martin Luther cherished it and encouraged Christians to do the same. God is a God of his word. He will do what he says. His promise is sure. This is the foundation on which Psalm 112 builds.

Psalm 112 shifts our focus. It tells us about the person who trusts in the Lord, who holds God to his promises. This person is blessed. Nothing in the world compares to having God in his promises, which are fully embodied in his incarnate Son, Jesus, born of a virgin, and who lived, died, and rose for us. God’s promise––Jesus––is secure, and therefore the person who trusts in him is, too.

“In the end, it will all be good. And if it isn’t good, it isn’t the end,” is a phrase that catches the spirit of our verses. Through trust in the God who is unmoved concerning what he has sworn, the righteous are unmoved as well. They are steady. And they will triumph in the end, because they are God’s and God always wins in the end. God never forgets; he loves to remember the righteous, and so the righteous are never forgotten.

TAKE HEART. KNOW YOUR GOD. KNOW THAT HE REMEMBERS YOU.

Your God is the God of Psalm 111. Psalm 112 describes you because it describes Christ, in whom your life is hidden through faith, in whom you now have life and live. The goal is not to make Psalm 112 true of you. The point is to realize Psalm 112 is already true of you. We don’t actualize these words. We get used to them. So take heart. Know your God. Know that he remembers you. He graciously sees you, and in him you will see the end, which will be good, and if it isn’t good, it’s not the end yet.

Lord Jesus, you made God known to us by becoming man, as the incarnate Messiah. Grant that, in clinging to you, we may be unmoved and steady, even as you are, because we are yours. Amen.