The righteous will be "remembered forever"

I’ve been thinking about Psalm 112 of late.  This is a Psalm that speaks of the blessings of being a godly man.  Verses 3, 6, and 9 all speak of how the upright man will always be remembered – and this is true even if the person has passed away.  Verse 9 says, “He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”  Interestingly, this verse is actually quoted in the New Testament.  Specifically, it’s in 2 Corinthians 9.

I love Psalm 112:6: “For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.”  What a great verse!  What a grand truth!  First of all, the dictionary defines being righteous as “acting in a just, upright manner; virtuous.”  I could give several examples to illustrate this notion.  I could cite Biblical characters who are remembered for their righteousness; such as Daniel, Joseph (from the Old Testament, although kudos to Joseph from the New Testament as well), and Job.  Or I could cite more contemporary men like Charles Spurgeon, Adrian Rogers, and Rick Ferguson.  But I want to bring up my dad on this one.

 

To be clear: all of the men that I’ve alluded to were flawed and imperfect, and that includes my father, but what a great example of the truth of Psalm 112:6.  I was going to say this on Father’s Day, but why put off to tomorrow what you can say today?  Dad’s righteousness still endures, even today.  It was a blessing to go through the personal effects he left behind.  It was a window into the heart and soul of my dad.  There were no surprises that would cause him shame or embarrassment.  No skeletons in the closet, so to speak, were uncovered.  All we found were indications of how much he loved God and his family (for example, just consider all his prayers that I’ve shared in this blog).

In conclusion, my dad lived in dignity, and he also passed away in dignity.  Dad finished well.  He left a legacy of integrity, faithfulness, and righteousness.  Hebrews 11 says that Abel still speaks today, even though he has passed on (verse 4).  This is true of my dad as well.  He says to live a life of faith and trust in God, because ultimately it’s well worth it.  Putting all this together for today’s blog has inspired me afresh to stay on the path of the righteous, no matter what.  “For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.”

Kevin