Psalms 112:1-10: a reflection

1Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who delights greatly in his commandments. 2His offspring will be mighty in the land. The generation of the upright will be blessed. 3Wealth and riches are in his house. His righteousness endures forever. 4Light dawns in the darkness for the upright, gracious, merciful, and righteous. 5It is well with the man who deals graciously and lends. He will maintain his cause in judgment. 6For he will never be shaken. The righteous will be remembered forever. 7He will not be afraid of evil news. His heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. 8His heart is established. He will not be afraid in the end when he sees his adversaries. 9He has dispersed, he has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn will be exalted with honor. 10The wicked will see it, and be grieved. He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away. The desire of the wicked will perish.

This psalm describes the blessedness of the one who fears the LORD, and one mark of such a person stands out: a steadfast heart that is not afraid of bad news, because it trusts in God. He will not be afraid of evil news, the psalm says; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established; he will not be afraid. The one who fears the LORD and trusts in him has a heart that is steady, established, unshaken; and so, when bad news comes, when trouble threatens, he is not thrown into fear and panic, because his heart is anchored in trust in God. His steadiness comes not from an absence of trouble, but from trust in the LORD. This shows the steadfast, unafraid heart that comes from trusting God. A steadfast heart, trusting God, is not thrown by bad news. Trust in God gives a heart that is steady and unshaken. The one who trusts God need not fear evil news. Steadiness comes from a heart anchored in trust in God.

Notice the source of this person's steadiness. The psalm does not say that the one who fears the LORD has no troubles, or never receives bad news; troubles and bad news come to everyone. What it says is that when they come, this person is not afraid, is not thrown into panic, because his heart is steadfast, established, trusting in the LORD. His steadiness does not come from an easy, trouble-free life, but from a heart anchored in trust in God. Because he trusts God, he can face bad news, trouble, and threat without being overwhelmed by fear; his heart holds steady, established on the God he trusts. This is a great comfort and a goal to seek. We are often thrown into fear and anxiety by bad news, by the threats and troubles that come; our hearts are unsteady, shaken, anxious. But the one whose heart is anchored in trust in God has a steadiness that bad news cannot overturn. This steadiness is available to us as we trust God. The more our hearts are anchored in trust in God, in his care, his sovereignty, his faithfulness, the less we will be thrown by the bad news and troubles that come, for our steadiness rests not on our circumstances but on the God we trust. We do well to anchor our hearts in trust in God, that we may have a steadiness bad news cannot overturn. Anchor your heart in trust in God for a steadiness bad news cannot overturn. A heart trusting God is not thrown by bad news. Steadiness rests on the God we trust, not on our circumstances. Trust God, and your heart can hold steady through trouble.

That is worth resting in, for a heart anchored in trust in God has a steadiness that bad news cannot overturn, as the one who fears the LORD is not afraid of evil news, his heart steadfast, trusting in the LORD. We can be thrown into fear and anxiety by bad news and threats, our hearts unsteady; but the one whose heart is anchored in trust in God is not overwhelmed, his heart steady and established. Trust gives steadiness. When bad news threatens to throw you into fear, anchor your heart in trust in God, whose care and faithfulness give a steadiness bad news cannot overturn. Rest in the truth that a heart anchored in trust in God has a steadiness that bad news cannot overturn, as this psalm describes the one who fears the LORD as not afraid of evil news, with a heart steadfast and established, trusting in the LORD; for the psalm does not say the one who fears the LORD has no troubles or never receives bad news, since troubles come to everyone, but that when they come this person is not thrown into fear and panic, because his heart is steadfast and trusting in the LORD, his steadiness coming not from an easy, trouble-free life but from a heart anchored in trust in God, so that because he trusts God he can face bad news, trouble, and threat without being overwhelmed by fear, his heart holding steady on the God he trusts, which is a great comfort and a goal to seek, since we are often thrown into fear and anxiety by bad news and the troubles that come, our hearts unsteady and shaken, but the one whose heart is anchored in trust in God has a steadiness bad news cannot overturn, a steadiness available to us as we trust God, so that the more our hearts are anchored in trust in his care, sovereignty, and faithfulness, the less we will be thrown by the bad news that comes, our steadiness resting not on our circumstances but on the God we trust, and we do well to anchor our hearts in trust in God.

Lord, this psalm describes the blessedness of the one who fears you, and one mark of such a person stands out: a steadfast heart that is not afraid of bad news, because it trusts in you. He will not be afraid of evil news, the psalm says; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is established; he will not be afraid. The one who fears you and trusts in you has a heart that is steady, established, unshaken; and so, when bad news comes, when trouble threatens, he is not thrown into fear and panic, because his heart is anchored in trust in you. His steadiness comes not from an absence of trouble, but from trust in you. Show me the source of this person's steadiness. The psalm does not say that the one who fears you has no troubles, or never receives bad news; troubles come to everyone. What it says is that when they come, this person is not afraid, because his heart is steadfast, trusting in you. His steadiness does not come from an easy life, but from a heart anchored in trust in you. Because he trusts you, he can face bad news, trouble, and threat without being overwhelmed by fear. This is a great comfort and a goal to seek. I am often thrown into fear and anxiety by bad news, by the threats and troubles that come; my heart is unsteady, shaken, anxious. But the one whose heart is anchored in trust in you has a steadiness that bad news cannot overturn. The more my heart is anchored in trust in you, in your care, your sovereignty, your faithfulness, the less I will be thrown by the bad news that comes. Take that to my heart, for a heart anchored in trust in you has a steadiness bad news cannot overturn. When bad news threatens to throw me into fear, help me anchor my heart in trust in you, Lord, whose care and faithfulness give a steadiness my circumstances cannot overturn, that my heart may hold steady through trouble because it rests on you.