Fearless and Free During Economic Storms I


 “His Righteousness Endures Forever”: Two Hymns

Psalms 111 & 112



Psalm 111

Psalm 112

















































Praise the LORD.




























Praise the LORD. 


Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,

who finds great delight in his commands. 


His children will be mighty in the land;

the generation of the upright will be  blessed. 






















God created humanity as his representatives (“image of God”) to partner with him in caring for the earth, in co-creating the future with him, and sharing the joys of life. We are called to “mirror” God in our lives. Psalm 112 “mirrors” Psalm 111 and offers insight into how we are to become like God, particularly in the use of our resources and wealth in relation to “others” (creation, poor, community, etc.). We are called to partner with God in the use of our resources to pursue the righteous task that God has given us as his “imagers.” The blessed believer has “no fear of bad news” and is secure in trusting God.


Questions Based on Psalms 111 & 112 


1.  Noting that the subject of Psalm 111 is God and the subject of Psalm 112 is the blessed believer, what parallels can you see between the way God is extolled in Psalm 111 and the life of the blessed believer is celebrated in Psalm 112?


God is  ________________________      

The believer is ___________________


God is _________________________     

The believer is ___________________


God is _________________________     

The believer is ___________________


God is _________________________     

The believer is ___________________


God is _________________________     

The believer is ___________________


God is _________________________     

The believer is ___________________


God is _________________________     

The believer is ___________________


2.  What is the relationship between Psalm 111 and 112?  Why do you suppose they appear back-to-back in Israel’s hymnbook?  What does the Psalmist want to teach by putting these two together?  What is the relationship between praising God and the blessedness of his people?


3.  Does the “blessedness” of the believer scandalize you in any way? What is the blessed person’s relationship to wealth and poverty? What does the blessed person fear or not fear? How does this relationship give the believer freedom to become like God?


4.  Paul quotes Psalm 112 in 2 Corinthians 9:8-11 as part of his attempt to persuade the Corinthians to contribute to his fund for the poor saints in Jerusalem.




What is Paul’s application of this Psalm to the Corinthian church?  How does this inform our use of wealth in our context?  Where is the theme of generosity in both Psalm 111 and 112?


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