Psalm 112

Psalm 112 Hallelujah! 1 Blessed is the man who fears Yahweh, who delights greatly in His Commandments. 2 His descendants will be mighty on earth; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. 4 Unto the upright there arises light in the darkness; he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. 5 A good man deals graciously and lends; he will guide his affairs with discretion. 6 Surely he will never be shaken; the righteous will be in everlasting remembrance. 7 He will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. 8 His heart is established; he will not be afraid, until he sees his desire upon his enemies. 9 He has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be exalted with honor. 10 The wicked will see it and be grieved; he will gnash his teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked shall perish. The Second Hallel is evidently a companion to the First, “and, like it, it is an alphabetical psalm. Even in the number of verses, and clauses of each verse, it coincides with its predecessor, as also in many of its words and phrases. The reader should carefully compare the two psalms line by line. The subject of the poem before us is—the blessedness of the righteous man, and so it bears the same relation to the preceding which the moon does to the sun; for, while the first declares the glory of God, the second speaks of the reflection of the divine brightness in men born from above.” (C. H. Spurgeon) “The close of the preceding psalm had somewhat overpassed its limits, when it declared that ‘the fear of Jehovah’ was the beginning of wisdom and that to do His commandments was sound discretion. This psalm echoes these sayings.” (Expositor’s Bible) “‘Blessed is the man who fears Yahweh.’ This seems to be the continuation of the preceding Psalm: there it was asserted that the beginning of wisdom was the fear of the Lord; and here the blessedness of the man who thus fears is stated.” (Adam Clarke)— “‘who delights greatly in His Commandments.’ This identifies the righteous man as not just a hearer, but a doer of the Word. He “‘delights greatly in' and makes it his chief care, business, and delight, to meditate on, understand, and obey God’s [Ten] Commandments." (Joseph Benson) “But the bulk of the psalm describes the blessed consequences, rather than the essential characteristics, of godliness.” (Expositor’s Bible) “‘His descendants’— זרעו zaro, [spirtual] posterity or converts— ‘will be mighty on earth.’ The Targum is, ‘mighty in the law;' as Apollos is said to be ‘mighty in the Scriptures’, Acts 18:24... [and] not in a literal sense (physical strength), for not many mighty are called; but in a spiritual sense, of their being strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might, and in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” (John Gill) “‘The generation of the upright will be blessed.’ (2) The universal church spoken “shall be prospered; honored; distinguished among people.” (Albert Barnes) “‘Wealth and riches will be in his house,’ This signifies spiritual riches, the riches of grace, the unsearchable riches of Christ, durable riches and righteousness; seeing it is connected with an everlasting righteousness, as in the next clause.” (John Gill) — “‘and his righteousness endures forever' (3) as does His Lord's. “For there is nothing, no, nothing, innocent or good, that dies or is forgotten; let us hold to that faith, or none” (Charles Dickens) In contrast, this world and the works thereof will be destroyed. And there will be another in which righteousness dwells. “’Unto the upright there ‘arises’ — commonly used of the sunrise— ‘light in the darkness.’ For the good man the darkest night of trouble and sorrow will have a dawn of hope.” (C. J. Ellicott) — the Second Coming. Meanwhile, “‘he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.’ (4) These terms are also used in Psalms 111 in the author's description of God. This is an application of the eternal truth that a devout man becomes more and more like the object of his worship." (Wycliffe OT Commentary)— Compare 1 John 3:2. “A good man deals graciously’ with regard to the sins of others ‘and lends’ himself in their service with an objective of their salvation. And ‘he will guide [all] his affairs with discretion. Surely he will never be shaken;’ (5-6a) The righteous are indeed liable to the incidents common to humanity, and even may often appear as if they were about to sink under the weight of their calamities; but their confidence remains unshaken, and by invincible patience they surmount all their adversities.“ (Calvin)— even the temptations of Satan. “‘The righteous will be in everlasting remembrance.’ (6b) Mary's anointing the feet of Jesus and the widow's two mites are examples of the everlasting remembrance of the righteous, but far more than such earthly remembrance and honor is the remembrance of the righteous by the Father in Heaven. Christ Himself has promised, ‘That not even a cup of cold water given to one because he is Christ's shall in no wise lose its reward’ (Mark 9:41).” (Burton Coffman)— “‘He will not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord.’ (7) upon the promise of God; and hence he hath a spiritual security, a blessed sabbath of spirit.” (John Trapp) "Moses had it at the Red Sea, Exodus 14:13; Asa, before the overwhelming hosts that threatened to submerge his little army, 2 Chronicles 14:9-12; Jehoshaphat, when confronted by the hordes of Ammon, 2 Chronicles 20:12; and Hezekiah, when the Assyrian threatened to invade Judah, 2 Chronicles 32:6-8." (F. B. Meyer) “His heart is established; he will not be afraid’ of evil tidings" (Wolfgang Musculus) 'until he sees his desire upon his enemies’ (8) His faith will not fail, nor shrink, nor change, while one by one his enemies are brought to the knowledge of the truth and the love of Christ, and he shall see his heart's desire fulfilled upon them, even that they may be saved.” (Plain Commentary)— Thus, according to Jesus’ admonition, he does not fear those who can kill the body only, but rather Him who can destroy both his body and soul (the entire man) in hellfire. (Matthew 10:28) “’He has dispersed- like precious seed- ‘abroad, he has given to the poor;’ according to the nature of the soil, and in proper season, so as to produce the most plentiful harvest.“ (Thomas Scott) “Therefore ‘his righteousness endures forever;’ its fruits and its good report are lasting among men; and it is never forgotten before God.” (Bishop Home) “'His horn will be exalted with honor’(9)— the reproach cast upon him shall be wiped off; he shall grow more prosperous, and become more honourable among men here on earth; and in the resurrection morning shall have the dominion over the wicked, and shall appear with Christ in glory, and be with him to all eternity.” (John Gill) "'The wicked will see it and be grieved; he will gnash his teeth and melt away [in the consuming fire of God].’” "The sun of God's providence shall dissolve him like snow, and at the last the fire of divine vengeance shall consume him as the fat of rams.— And ‘the desire of the wicked shall perish.’ He shall not achieve his purpose, he shall die a disappointed man.” (C. H. Spurgeon)