Psalm 112:1-7

1 Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
2 His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
7 He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. (ESV)

I read this Psalm this morning. It brought back memories of a song by James Ward entitled “No Bad News” based on this Psalm (Ward wrote that in the mid 80’s I believe). That tune will be running through my head all day, I’m sure.

Do you fear bad news? I do. Especially with a new driver in the house. Whenever our 16 year old takes the car out I wrestle as parents have for generations with the fear of a car accident. Not that he’s a bad or reckless driver- it’s just a dangerous world. What phone calls or news do you dread hearing or receiving? “The test came back and it IS cancer.” “We’re sorry, but we can no longer afford your position.” “Your son is struggling in school and we’re at a loss to help him.”

The Psalmist says that the righteous are not afraid of bad news (see verse 7). We know from Scripture that the righteous are God’s people- they are those called, set apart, and credited with the righteous record of His Son by faith. They don’t fear bad news. Why? Because God promises to turn all bad news into good news? In other words, God will make all our problems go away? No. There is no fear of bad news because we know that the One who has written our story, who controls all His creatures and all their actions, has written that story with a nail scarred hand. God is sovereign, He is in control. He “works all things after the counsel of his will.” Eph. 1:11. We may be grieved over bad news, but we don’t despair. God is able to work in us and through us through the hard times to bring about His glory and our good. That’s why our hearts remain firm, as the Psalm says, and we trust in the Lord (v.7b). He who ordains whatsoever comes to pass has suffered all the pains of hell to secure us for His own possession. He’s worthy of our trust.

That’s a message I must preach to myself when one of my cars is not in the driveway.