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 (vs 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 (vs 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.

Help me, Lord, to fear you and to take great delight in your commands. Help me to set my heart on things above, where Christ is, not on earthly things.

This wonderful psalm reminds us that a life centred in God and a life lived well – that is, a life lived rightly – brings its own rewards in many ways. Of course, there are difficulties, sorrows and even terribly damaging things in life, and we are to expect persecution as well. At the same time, a life hidden¹ and rooted in Christ gives inner peace, security and a lack of fear. Gracious, compassionate and generous people do not only store up treasures in heaven. By being gracious and compassionate to others, they shape themselves into being less selfish and/or self-absorbed. By being generous, they do not allow money to have a hold over them. The righteous who trust in the Lord have fewer deep worries about their lives because they know that underneath are the everlasting arms. This inner peace and security is something that the wicked do not have, or understand.  

Often, when we think of our lives and the times we have sinned most, we will find that these times were not happy, but distressing. Those of us who have lived for many years as Christians may sometimes take for granted the security that knowing Christ in God brings.

Psalm 112 acts as a counter to Psalm 73, in which the psalmist bemoans the fact that the wicked prosper² while he does not – though the ending of Psalm 73 demonstrates the psalmist’s assurance and trust in God. The psalms are not promises but they reflect on a wide range of experiences and emotions. Psalms like Psalm 112 can encourage us, whatever mood or circumstance we are in, to remember that the Good Shepherd brings us life – and life to the full.    

Meditate on the fact that you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. In what respects should you set your mind more on things above?

¹ Col 3:3  ² See also Jer 12