Episode Details

Psalm 112: The Man Who Is Not Afraid

Here is the companion piece to Psalm 111, and the pairing is deliberate. Psalm 111 ended with "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom"; Psalm 112 opens by showing us what that wisdom looks like when it puts on flesh and walks around in the world. The man who fears God, it turns out, is not cowering — he is fearless. "He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord." That phrase — heart is fixed — is worth sitting with. It does not mean a heart that feels no anxiety, but a heart that has been anchored to something heavier than the news cycle. And the portrait that follows is remarkable in its specificity: this person is generous, lends freely, conducts affairs with discretion, and light rises for him even in darkness. The wicked, meanwhile, watch and gnash their teeth — not because they are being punished, but because the quiet, rooted flourishing of a righteous life is itself an unbearable rebuke to those who have built on sand.

00:00 Blessed Is the Man Who Fears
00:15 Light in the Darkness
00:30 A Heart That Is Fixed
00:45 Generosity and the Poor
01:00 The Wicked Shall See and Grieve