We Have a Calling – Psalm 112

A text – Psalm 112

¹ Praise the Lord! Happy are those who fear the Lord,
    who greatly delight in his commandments.
² Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
    the generation of the upright will be blessed.
³ Wealth and riches are in their houses,
    and their righteousness endures forever.
⁴ They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;
    they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
⁵ It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
    who conduct their affairs with justice.
⁶ For the righteous will never be moved;
    they will be remembered forever.
⁷ They are not afraid of evil tidings;
    their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord.
⁸ Their hearts are steady; they will not be afraid;
    in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
⁹ They have distributed freely; they have given to the poor;
    their righteousness endures forever; their horn is exalted in honor.
¹⁰ The wicked see it and are angry; they gnash their teeth and melt away;
    the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.

A reflection:

This psalm tells what will happen to those who fear the Lord and delight in his commandments. In this case, fearing the Lord might be translated as acknowledging the Lord as ruler of the universe and knowing that the Lord has the power to do anything and everything – is not domesticated in any way. And yet this Lord has given commands not so much about our duty to pay homage and bring tribute to God but rather about using all our gifts to upbuild those who need us. All God’s rules bend toward the poor, the forgotten, the lowly. All the “thou shalt nots” are to keep the world as trustworthy as possible, so that even folks who can barely afford to feed their families can trust that bread and hospitality will be available and they will be able to get some.

Who is God? The old Hebrew prayer makes it clear: “Blessed are you, oh Lord our God, ruler of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth, who has given us the fruit of the vine, who has sanctified us with his commandments…” Praying like this shows we fear God, we know God’s place over us, and we know that our work is to serve those God places into our lives. This order of things results, the psalmist says, in gorgeous things coming to pass, even amid the tumult and injustice and unbelievable selfishness we human beings can accomplish. Fearing God and loving God’s commands enables us to act in these ways (just look at all of them!). to be really human:

They rise as a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful, and righteous, they deal generously and lend, they conduct their affairs with justice, they will never be moved, they will be remembered forever, they are not afraid of evil tidings, their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord, their hearts are steady; they will not be afraid, they will look in triumph on their foes, they have distributed freely; they have given to the poor. Their righteousness endures forever.

God has created and rules over a trustworthy world, and we who love God are given stewardship of that world and that trust; we are to be fair and honest and see that the needy get a break and are looked upon with kindness and justice as fellow sharers in that stewardship. When we can see that these are the important things, we have found our God-given calling in this life.

A prayer:

Lord God, thank you for loving us. Thank you for trusting us with this calling. Help us never to forget it. Help us to see chances every day to live it out, in gratitude to you. Amen.