Psalm 112:8

Psalm 112:8

Fearless and triumphant

The theme continues! In verse 7 we discovered that the truly blessed, the righteous, those who fear the Lord and trust in Him, are described as having steadfast hearts, now we find that such people have secure hearts! That means that their hearts are strong, unwavering, firmly planted and they have a long-term lifespan. The heart is the centre of our beings, it is the most important organ in our bodies, the pumping of blood around the body is what keeps us alive, as soon as our heart fails, we are in jeopardy! The heart is also symbolic of our spiritual state, when I was a child, I often heard people talk about inviting Jesus into our hearts. In other words, He takes up a position at the very centre of our lives, He becomes as important as the organ that secures our physical life. 

One of the greatest threats to the correct functions of the heart is fear. When we are fearful our heart rate increases, if we are terrified it can soar to an unsustainable level. A fast heartbeat accompanies exercise and endeavour but also puts the body on alert, to help us cope with a crisis. This verse tells us that such events need not trouble us if our faith and trust are in the Lord God; if He is in complete control and we are dependent on Him, the grounds for fear are out of our control too!

The psalmist seems to regard his greatest source of fear as coming from his enemies. However, as one who trusts in the Lord, he believes there is no reason to be overcome by terror, the day will come when he will look in triumph at his foes. We too may adopt this attitude for, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” 

 

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