these times that we continue to be in God's Word together, and to pray together, and to worship together. So we'll continue tonight with our study of the Psalms. We are in Psalm 112. Psalm 112, we will examine tonight, verses 6 Let's read the entirety of Psalm 112 together, and the title of this evening's sermon, The Saints' Stability. The Saints' Stability. Psalm 112, beginning at verse one. Dear ones, the word of God says, Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord. His offspring will be mighty in the land. The generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Light dawns in the darkness for the upright. He is gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is well with a man who deals generously and lends, who conducts never be moved. He will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news. His heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady. He will not be afraid until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. He has distributed freely. He has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His thorn is exalted in honor. The wicked man sees it the desire of the wicked will perish. My friends, this is the Word of God. Thanks be to God. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you for your Word and pray that you would bless your Word. We pray, Father, that you would take your Word, that you would bring it to bear upon our soul. We ask, Father, to see and ears to hear. I pray that by your Spirit you would soften our hearts, that you would instill sound doctrine in our minds, that you would prepare us, O Lord, to walk in the footsteps of Christ, our Redeemer. Father, you justify the ungodly in Christ alone. Not only do you justify, but you also sanctify. Father, please continue to make us holy, even as the Lord Father, bless this time, in Jesus' name, amen. Dear friends, our thesis this evening is this. Be confident in God your Savior, who in Christ Jesus justifies the ungodly, sanctifies our character, and secures us by His Spirit unto an eternal redemption. Dear friends, Psalm 112 is my genre, a wisdom psalm. It is a wisdom psalm, meaning that the themes that are being discussed in Psalm 112 are parallel and are repeated in the wisdom literature, including Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. There are certain psalms that are very comparative to Psalm 112. For example, Psalm 1. has a lot of thematic similarity to Psalm 1, and there is the contrast between the righteous and the wicked, between the one who is justified, the one who is reconciled to God, the one who belongs to the Lord, and the one who is estranged from God, who is in rebellion and dead in trespasses and sins. And we saw last week in Psalm 112 that the righteous one is the one who is not only justified, but the one who is being sanctified. And this is true of every believer. Friends, Old Testament saints, New Testament saints, every believer, all of God's people, from Abel to the last saint, are not only justified in Christ, but their character is being conformed into the likeness of Jesus. We were made, as the Bible says, in the image of God. We were made to reflect the glory of God in his holiness. But because of the fall, because man rebelled against his creator in the garden, we come into this world still image-bearers, but that image is distorted, marred by our sin, by that original sin of Adam that is imputed to us and by our own sin. by our own rebellion, by our own wickedness. And yet, as we are born again unto faith in Christ, in the Lord Jesus, we are declared righteous and our character is being conformed into his likeness. And so the righteous here is seen, he is known by his works of obedience, by his loving faithfulness to the Lord his God. And here in verse six, the psalmist continues, he continues his meditation by saying, for the righteous will never be moved, he will be remembered forever. The saint has stability, the believer has stability, the Christian has stability, that is stability. the faithfulness of God, grounded on the righteousness of Christ, grounded on the promises of God to preserve and to protect. And he has a heritage. He will be remembered forever. Dear friends, we know in our history books the records and annals of generals, of commanders, of kings and conquerors who made great names for themselves. There's many, many more kings and many, many more mighty men who have made a great name for themselves, but once they die, that glory has passed away, and it's remembered only in the books. But we see that God remembers his people. There is an enduring heritage for the saints, a heritage from the Lord our God. He will be remembered forever. Verse 7, he is not afraid of bad news. His heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. The saint is not afraid of ill times or evil that is going on in the world. His heart is firm. He is steady. My friends, the righteous, the believer, the one who holds fast to the Word of God and holds fast to His promises, is not unduly disturbed by bad news. He knows that the Lord is suffering. He knows that the Lord is ruling over all circumstances. He knows that the Lord is faithful and sure, and because he believes the Lord is God, he is stable and sure. Verse 8, he continues this theme of stability. His heart, the heart of the righteous, is steady. He will not be afraid until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. His heart is steady. Dear friends, remember that as we look at Psalm 112 and we look at the character of the righteous person, remember that this righteous person is ultimately seen is the only person who is righteous in and of himself. He is the only truly, wholly righteous man in and of himself. And in Christ, not only are we justified, but it is in Christ that that image of God is being restored. And so we see that we have stability, we have freedom from fear, because we are sharing in the triumph that God has given to Christ. The triumph that will surely come against not only His adversaries, but also our adversaries. Friends, do you know that we share today in the triumph of Christ? We share today in His victory. We often think that the victory is something that is just, a decisive day to come when Christ returns in glory, when at His return, He summons His people, He raises the dead, He makes an end of all sin and lawlessness. When Christ returns in glory, there is a complete and perfect triumph. We're looking to the kingdom of God consummated, but friends, there is victory that is won for the Christian at the cross and at the resurrection. When Christ was raised to glory, to the right hand of God the Father, he went to be seated. Friends, when Christ ascended, that ascension was Christ going to his royal investment. He was receiving, he was going to reign with the Father. He sat down, Psalm 110 says, he sat down at the right hand. Psalm 110.1 says, the Lord said to my Lord, sit thou at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet, until I make your enemies your footstool. Friends, today the church shares in the victory that Christ has won through the cross. We share in the triumph that has been declared over the power of sin, over the power of the grave. We share, even as Christ is now reigning over his church and reigning over the world, we know that the enemies of Christ are being made now a footstool for his feet. And yes, we have not seen the end of this great war, but the victory is assured. Friends, the saint is confident The saint has stability because our God is faithful to keep his promise to Christ, to make his enemies a footstool for his feet. Friends, in a sense, the Christian religion is always triumphant. Yes, the church will suffer many defeats. Yes, there will be times when the church is weak. Yes, there will be times where great sin will run rampant in the church. but God always preserves his people. He never hands them over completely. We have the full history of the Old Testament to prove that. As Israel was unfaithful generation upon generation, yet God was still faithful, and he did not break his oath to Abraham, Isaac, or to Jacob. So, too, our God is faithful to his people. He does not hand his people over completely, but he preserves for himself a remnant. So there will be times in the history of the church where the church is strong and when the church is weak. There will be times of great struggle, but we share in the triumph of Christ. And so the saint, as he looks to Christ, we're ending at the right hand of the Father, he sees and awaits the triumph that God will give him over his adversary. So friends, do you rest in that confidence? CNN says or no matter what Fox News or any other internet outlet says, do you have confidence that Christ reigns and that in Christ you are secure? That in Christ you're sharing now with his victory and one day Christ's kingdom will be consummated. Friends, evil looks powerful. It looks as though it is implacable. but one day all evil, all sin, all wickedness will be put under heel. Friends, the bedrock of our stability is the faithfulness of our God to keep his word and to keep his promise. So hold to that. Verse nine, he has distributed freely. He has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn is exalted in honor. Here we see the character of the righteous person. Not only does the saint, whose character is being conformed, shaped, molded to the likeness of Christ, believe and hold fast to the word of God, he is also generous. Even as Christ is generous, notice verse nine, he has distributed freely. The saint holds his possessions loosely. The saint knows Everything he or she has comes from God, and is thus a stewardship from God. Dear friends, we must always be reminded of this. We need the Spirit of God to remind us that our material possessions belong to Him, our health belongs to Him, that our time and energies belong to Him, and that it is our calling and privilege to spend those God-given resources for the glory of God. So we hold our possessions loosely. Friends, one mark of idolatry is that something has a hold on us rather than we having a hold upon it. Hold all things loosely. And that leads to spirit of generosity. He is distributed freely. He is given to the poor. One mark of the Christian as he matures is that he is generous. foolish with his money, not foolishly throwing it around, but he is generous. Again, he has found his contentment in the Lord his God. He has found his satisfaction in the Almighty. He is content that God has given him everything in his beloved Son. And so that same generous character that marked the Lord Jesus Remember friends, God is shaping you as a Christian to think, to love, to live like his son. He wants you to be exactly like Jesus. He wants you to grow up and to be mature as Christ is mature. Christ is the standard of manhood, friends. And we as young boys and young girls are growing up into his likeness and stature. So we must be those who are Friends, a childlike trust in God is admirable. A childlike trust in the Word of Christ is necessary. We must come to Christ as a little child, believing the Word of God, holding fast to Him, and taking great hope in His Word. Friends, just like a child trusts the Word of his father because he loves his father, that is the same childlike trust that marks the Christian. But it is different than a childish, In mature faith, where the believer fails to understand that, Christ has called us to grow up. The Father is calling us to mature in our thinking, to mature in our practice, to mature and to bear fruit for his glory. So as the Christian matures, he begins to hold his possessions loosely. He's distributed freely, he is given to the poor. You see, In 2 Corinthians 9, verse 9, Paul is discussing to the Corinthian church the need of the church of Jerusalem. You recall at this time, in Paul's ministry, the church of Jerusalem, which is almost exclusively Jewish, is very impoverished. The church of Jerusalem, under the eldership and under the leadership of James, the half-brother of Jesus, this church destitute. There is much physical material need in this church, and Paul, along with the other apostles and church leaders, are burdened for their brothers in Jerusalem, and they want to alleviate their suffering and minister to them in love, and so Paul is admonishing the churches to give and to take up a collection for the church in Jerusalem, and he said he would be the one to and he encourages the Corinthians, you wanted to do this, you were zealous at the start, bring it to completion with what you have. And remember, God's good promises, the mark of the Christian is a generous spirit, and that God is able to reward, he is able to provide. Notice verse nine, his righteousness endures forever, his Lord is exalted in honor. His righteousness endures forever. Friends, our righteousness that we have is an imputed righteousness. It is the righteousness of Jesus Christ, unstained, unsullied, unchanging. The righteousness of Christ given to us endures forever, and the character of righteous living that is being produced unto all eternity. Dear friends, sometimes we confuse justification and sanctification. And this is the most, this is a very critical point in understanding the gospel of God. The basis, dear ones, by which God justifies sinners is on the merit, the obedience, the righteousness of Jesus. It is Jesus alone who saves. In Christ, our sin is atoned for. In Christ, the righteousness that God demands of us is supplied. It's all of Jesus from start to finish. And when it comes to sanctification, friends, God is working in us. We are sanctified in Christ. So it's Christ's own and our words and deeds, and the Spirit of God is applying this to us. It's a process, amplification is ongoing. Throughout the Christian life, God is molding, shaping, maturing, growing. And then, friends, in glory to come, where all remnant of sin is removed, where our hearts are wholly devoted to the Lord, the Lord our God, and we will rejoice in Him and serve Him forever. So, friends, the imputed righteousness that is ours in Christ endures forever. And this Christ-like character that is imperfect, flawed, mixed with sin, and in it is a true love for Christ, that righteous character will persist unto eternity and will be perfected in heaven to come. His righteousness endures The saint can have great confidence that the Lord is able to exalt and able to honor his horn. The horn is speaking of might, of glory. In some of the prophetic literature, for example, we speak of visions that Daniel has of a great horn, and that is identifying leaders, that's identifying prominence, honor. The glory of the righteous one is named Dear friends, God is able to exalt, and God gives honor. Friends, some of this honor is here in the life of the church, in communal life, in community. God is pleased to bless and to honor his people. But as the Christian is growing and loving and serving, God bestows honor. Friends, for example, when you were born again, the Spirit of God gave to you a spiritual gift. There is not a single true believer who has not been equipped and empowered by the Holy Spirit for ministry. Every one of us is being equipped by the Spirit to serve Christ with His Church. And those gifts are not only revealed in covenant community, they are also cultivated. So as we love each other, as we serve alongside one another, the Spirit of God reveals these gifts and brings them to maturity. And as these gifts are revealed, as they are exercised, as they become fruitful, God is pleased to honor and to bless. Friends, there is honor, there is blessing that God gives to his people here on earth, but also the honor of glory to come in heaven. But we can take great confidence that our Lord is able to honor and able to exalt. And verse 10, we see the antithesis. This is the contrast. We saw the blessing, we saw the security, we saw the stability, the confidence of the righteous one. Now, verse 10, we see the contrast, the foil of the wicked man. Verse 10, the wicked man sees it and he's angry. What does the wicked man sees? The wicked man sees God's grace, God's mercy upon his people. Now, who are the wicked man? Well, friends, in one sense, this wicked man is referring to those who are in the covenant community. They are among the people, but they are not of the people. Today would be those estranged from God. They are, by nature, rebels against God. Friends, the Bible says that we are all, by nature, sinners. Remember that we're not sinners because we sin, but rather we sin because we are sinners, and it's out of our nature that comes all manner of evil. So the wicked man sees the grace of God, the mercy of God to his people, and his response is anger. Friends, this is the natural hostility of man against God and against man. You've heard the great commandment, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. But the reverse is what man practices. By nature, man hates God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength, and he hates his neighbor even as he hates his own self. the anger, the wrath of man against God and against his people burns. Friends, maybe you experienced this. Maybe you experienced how things were going along pretty well, and then when you came to Christ, it seemed like everything would be dandy. But then things got hard. You realized that there was opposition, opposition in your home, opposition in your job, opposition in your work. And we've wondered about that. Why do I suddenly have all these problems? Well, friends, when you come to Christ, when you are in Christ, you also have Christ's enemies. Jesus said, if they love me, they'll love you. If they hate me, they will hate you. If they receive my words, they will also receive your words. Friends, the Christian is called to share in the suffering of Christ and also in his glory. If we share in the condemnation, if we share in the humiliation of the Lord Jesus, the scorn he received from men, we too will share in Christ's honor and exaltation. There's a great gospel reversal. We share in Christ's suffering so that we may also share in his glory. But friends, understand that natural man is hostile to God and hostile to the people of God. because there is no love for the Lord, for Christ, for his church, and his heart. In verse 10, what does the wicked do when he sees the Lord securing and establishing the righteous before his face? He can do nothing. He gnashes his teeth and melts away. He expresses his anger until he ultimately goes to a final end. He melts away like snow. it will perish. Friends, his desire will come to an end. It will perish, it will not endure. Friends, the saint has stability, the saint is secure, because God, our Savior, justifies the ungodly in Christ and is sanctifying us to have his same holy character. And he has secured us by his spirit unto an eternal redemption. Friends, this is how we can have confidence in the day of adversity, the day of evil and the day of struggle, because our God is faithful, and he will keep his word. So that's my prayer for you tonight, that your confidence is in Christ. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for your word. We pray, Lord, that you continue to secure us, that you continue to conform our character, O Lord, into the likeness of Jesus. Dear Spirit, we thank you that you are at work. Lord, we confess that we have not the ability in ourselves to do what You have required of us. Please come. Please enlarge our hearts, enrich our minds, equip us, O Lord, to come after You, Lord, that we might serve You with joy, with confidence, with love in the world. And finally, we pray that You would put Your Gospel in our minds and in our hearts, that, O Lord, as we speak, to our friends and neighbors and families, that they may hear the good news that Jesus saves, and that, Father, by your grace, they return to trust in him. Father, we glorify you. In our families, we glorify you. In our lives, we ask in Jesus' name, amen. Well, friends, let me read you this word of benediction tonight. This word of benediction comes The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen. Amen. You are dismissed.