A verse by verse commentary on Psalm 112 dealing with the blessedness of the man who fears the Lord and finds delight in His commands. Many blessings follow this man.

1. PSALM 112 COMME TARY
EDITED BY GLE PEASE
I TRODUCTIO
SPURGEO , "TITLE A D SUBJECT. There is no title to this psalm, but it is
evidently a companion to the hundred and eleventh, 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.
God is here praised for the manifestation of his glory which is seen in his people,
just as in the preceding psalm he was magnified for his own personal acts. The
hundred and eleventh speaks of the great Father, and this describes his children
renewed after his image. The psalm cannot be viewed as the extolling of man, for it
commences with "Praise ye the Lord; "and it is intended to give to God all the
honour of his grace which is manifested in the sons of God.
DIVISIO . The subject is stated in the first verse, and enlarged upon under several
heads from 2 to 9. The blessedness of the righteousness is set forth by contrast with
the fate of the ungodly in verse 10.
COKE, "Godliness hath the promises of this life, and of the life to come. The
prosperity of the godly shall be an eye-sore to the wicked.
‫הללויה‬ halleluiah. THIS psalm is composed after the same manner as the former, and
seems to be a short commentary upon the last verse of it. It sets forth the wisdom of
being religious, and the good effects that attend it. Concerning the main subject of
it, we refer the reader to the note on Psalms 1:4. Fenwick is of opinion, that the
psalm speaks of the Messiah, under the character of the man that fears the Lord;
declaring that his seed shall be mighty on earth, and that he shall be had in
everlasting remembrance, or be the praise of all ages; and that his horn or kingdom
shall be exalted with honour, while Satan, the wicked one, beholds and grieves.
These things, says he, cannot with truth or propriety be applied to any but Christ;
but in Him, and his seed, or faithful servants, they will all in due time be fulfilled.
Psalms 112:1. That delighteth greatly in his commandments— As He
did, whose meat and drink it was to do his Father's will; and of whom, by this
character, we may reasonably presume the whole psalm is speaking. Fenwick.

2. CO STABLE, "1. The blessed condition of those who fear Yahweh112:1
This anonymous psalm begins with "Hallelujah," as do the ones immediately
preceding and following it. They are all "Hallel" psalms. Then the writer stated the
main idea he wanted to communicate.
1 Praise the Lord.[b]
Blessed are those who fear the Lord,
who find great delight in his commands.
BAR ES, "Praise ye the Lord - Margin, as in Hebrew, “Hallelujah.” See the notes
at Psa_106:1.
Blessed is the man - Hebrew, “The blessings of the man.” See the notes at Psa_1:1.
That is, Blessed, or happy, is such a one.
That feareth the Lord - In Psa_111:10, the psalmist had referred to “the fear of the
Lord” as “the beginning of wisdom,” and had “alluded” to the success, prosperity, or
happiness which attends the fear of the Lord, or true religion. This psalm is designed
more fully “to illustrate” that thought.
That delighteth greatly in his commandments - See the notes at Psa_1:2. It is a
characteristic of true piety to find pleasure in the commands of God; in the
commandments themselves, and in obedience to them.
CLARKE, "Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord - 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.
That delighteth greatly - It is not enough to fear God, we must also love him: fear
will deter us from evil; love will lead us to obedience. And the more a man fears and
loves God, the more obedient will he be; till at last he will delight greatly in the
commandments of his Maker.

3. GILL, "Praise ye the Lord,.... Or, "hallelujah". This is properly the title of the psalm:
Aben Ezra says it is a word of the psalmist; it shows that all that a good man is, has, or
does, is from the Lord; and therefore his name is to be praised: and he is not only to be
praised for his perfections and works, but for this among others, that there are any good
men on earth that fear and serve him, and are useful in their day and generation.
Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord; not men, but the Lord; not his wrath,
nor his judgments here or hereafter, but his goodness; not with a servile, but with a
godly fear. This every man does not; there are but few that truly fear the Lord, only such
who have the grace of God; and these are happy men: they have an interest in the heart
of God, in his pity, love, and delight; great discoveries are made unto them; the secret of
the Lord is with them; he shows them his covenant; and the sun of righteousness arises
upon them: they are guarded and protected by the Lord; his eye of providence, as well as
love, is upon them, and his angels encamp about them: they are supplied with all needful
good things, temporal and spiritual; and have much goodness laid up for them hereafter.
This psalm begins with what the preceding ends, the fear of the Lord; and is a further
illustration and enlargement of it; See Gill on Psa_111:10.
That delighteth greatly in his commandments: in the righteousness, purity, and
holiness of them: in keeping and doing them: they are not grievous, but pleasant; a good
man delights in them, after the inward man; he observes them from a principle of love,
and finds peace and pleasure in them; he loves them above gold, yea, above fine gold;
and esteems them concerning all things to be right, Psa_119:97.
HE RY 1-4, "The psalmist begins with a call to us to praise God, but immediately
applies himself to praise the people of God; for whatever glory is acknowledged to be on
them it comes from God, and must return to him; as he is their praise, so they are his.
We have reason to praise the Lord that there are a people in the world who fear him and
serve him, and that they are a happy people, both which are owing entirely to the grace
of God. Now here we have,
I. A description of those who are here pronounced blessed, and to whom these
promises are made.
1. They are well-principled with pious and devout affections. Those have the privileges
of God's subjects, not who cry, Lord, Lord, but who are indeed well affected to his
government. (1.) They are such as stand in awe of God and have a constant reverence for
his majesty and deference to his will. The happy man is he that fears the Lord, Psa_
112:1. (2.) They are such as take a pleasure in their duty. He that fears the Lord, as a
Father, with the disposition of a child, not of a slave, delights greatly in his
commandments, is well pleased with them and with the equity and goodness of them;
they are written in his heart; it is his choice to be under them, and he calls them an easy,
a pleasant, yoke; it is his delight to be searching into and conversing with God's
commandments, by reading, hearing, and meditation, Psa_1:2. He delights not only in
God's promises, but in his precepts, and thinks himself happy under God's government
as well as in his favour. It is a pleasure to him to be found in the way of his duty, and he
is in his element when he is in the service of God. Herein he delights greatly, more than
in any of the employments and enjoyments of this world. And what he does in religion is
done from principle, because he sees amiableness in religion and advantage by it.
2. They are honest and sincere in their professions and intentions. They are called the
upright (Psa_112:2, Psa_112:4), who are really as good as they seem to be, and deal

4. faithfully both with God and man. There is no true religion without sincerity; that is
gospel-perfection.
JAMISO , "Psa_112:1-10. This Psalm may be regarded as an exposition of Psa_
111:10, presenting the happiness of those who fear and obey God, and contrasting the
fate of the ungodly.
True fear produces obedience and this happiness.
CALVI , "1Blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah Although the prophet begins
with an exhortation, he has, as I have already pointed out, something farther in
view, than simply the calling upon the faithful to praise God. To practice
wickedness, and perpetrate injustice, is, in all quarters, accounted a great
happiness; and, although integrity may be occasionally praised, nevertheless, there
is scarcely one among a hundred who pursues it, because all imagine that they will
be miserable unless, by one means or another, they seize as booty every thing which
comes in their way. In opposition to this, the prophet tells us that more advantage is
to be expected from God’s paternal regard, than from the inflicting of every species
of injury, and the perpetrating of every kind of injustice in our power; and by
setting before us the certain hope of reward, he calls us back to the practice of
equity and beneficence. The following is the analysis which I give of the verse:
Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, and delighteth himself in his
commandments; and thus, by the second clause of the verse, the prophet specifies in
what the fear of God consists. And that the addition of this explanatory clause is
called for, is quite apparent from what we remarked towards the conclusion of the
preceding psalm. For, while the law is boldly contemned by mankind, yet nothing is
more common than to pretend that they fear God. Such impiety is well refuted by
the prophet, when he acknowledges none as belonging to the worshippers of God,
but he who endeavors to keep his law. The Hebrew verb ‫,חפף‬ chaphets, is rather
emphatical, which is, as it were, to take his pleasure, and I have rendered to delight
himself For the prophet makes a distinction between a willing and prompt endeavor
to keep the law, and that which consists in mere servile and constrained obedience.
We must, therefore, cheerfully embrace the law of God, and that, too, in such a
manner, that the love of it, with all its sweetness, may overcome all the allurements
of the flesh, otherwise, mere attention to it will be unavailing. Hence a man cannot
be regarded as a genuine observer of the law, until he has attained to this — that the
delight which he takes in the law of God renders obedience agreeable to him. I now
resume the consideration of the passage at large. The prophet, in affirming that the
worshippers of God are happy, guards us against the very dangerous deception
which the ungodly practice upon themselves, in imagining that they can reap a sort
of happiness, I know not what, from doing evil.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 1. Praise ye the LORD. This exhortation is never given too
often; the Lord always deserves praise, we ought always to render it, we are
frequently forgetful of it, and it is always well to be stirred up to it. The exhortation
is addressed to all thoughtful persons who observe the way and manner of life of

5. men that fear the Lord. If there be any virtue, if there be any praise, the Lord
should have all the glory of it, for we are his workmanship.
Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord. According to the last verse of Psalms
111:1-10, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; this man, therefore, has
begun to be wise, and wisdom has brought him present happiness, and secured him
eternal felicity. Jehovah is so great that he is to be feared and had in reverence of all
them that are round about him, and he is at the same time so infinitely good that the
fear is sweetened into filial love, and becomes a delightful emotion, by no means
engendering bondage. There is a slavish fear which is accursed; but that godly fear
which leads to delight in the service of God is infinitely blessed. Jehovah is to be
praised both for inspiring men with godly fear and for the blessedness which they
enjoy in consequence thereof. We ought to bless God for blessing any man, and
especially for setting the seal of his approbation upon the godly. His favour towards
the God fearing displays his character and encourages gracious feelings in others,
therefore let him be praised.
That delighteth greatly in his commandments. The man not only studies the divine
precepts and endeavours to observe them, but rejoices to do so: holiness is his
happiness, devotion is his delight, truth is his treasure. He rejoices in the precepts of
godliness, yea, and delights greatly in them. We have known hypocrites rejoice in
the doctrines, but never in the commandments. Ungodly men may in some measure
obey the commandments out of fear, but only a gracious man will observe them with
delight. Cheerful obedience is the only acceptable obedience; he who obeys
reluctantly is disobedient at heart, but he who takes pleasure in the command is
truly loyal. If through divine grace we find ourselves described in these two
sentences, let us give all the praise to God, for he hath wrought all our works in us,
and the dispositions out of which they spring. Let self righteous men praise
themselves, but he who has been made righteous by grace renders all the praise to
the Lord.
EXPLA ATORY OTES A D QUAI T SAYI GS.
Whole Psalm. The hundred and eleventh and the hundred and twelfth psalms, two
very short poems, dating apparently from the latest age of inspired psalmody,
present such features of resemblance as to leave no doubt that they came from the
same pen. In structure they are identical; and this superficial resemblance is
designed to call attention to something deeper and more important. The subject of
the one is the exact counterpart of the subject of the other. The first celebrates the
character and works of God; the second, the character and felicity of the godly man.
—William Binnie.
Whole Psalm. Here are rehearsed the blessings which God is wont to bestow on the
godly. And as in the previous Psalm the praises of God were directly celebrated, so
in this Psalm they are indirectly declared by those gifts which are conspicuous in
those who fear him. —Solomon Gesner.
Whole Psalm. This psalm is a banquet of heavenly wisdom; and as Basil speaketh of
another part of Scripture, likening it to an apothecary's shop; so may this book of
the psalms fitly be compared; in which are so many sundry sorts of medicines, that
every man may have that which is convenient for his disease. —T. S., 1621.
Whole Psalm. The righteousness of the Mediator, I make no doubt, is celebrated in
this psalm; for surely that alone is worthy to be extolled in songs of praise:

6. especially since we are taught by the Holy Ghost to say, "I will make mention of thy
righteousness, even of thine only." I conclude, therefore, that in this alphabetical
psalm, for such is its construction, Christ is "the Alpha and the Omega." —John
Fry.
Ver. 1. This psalm is a praising of God for blessing the believer, and the whole
Psalm doth prove that the believer is blessed: which proposition is set down in verse
1, and confirmed with as many reasons as there are verses following. Whence learn,
1. Albeit, in singing of certain psalms, or parts thereof, there be nothing directly
spoken of the Lord, or to the Lord, yet he is praised when his truth is our song, or
when his works and doctrine are our song; as here it is said, Praise ye the Lord, and
then in the following verses the blessedness of the believer taketh up all the psalm.
2. It is the Lord's praise that his servants are the only blessed people in the world.
Praise ye the Lord. Why? because Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord.
3. He is not the blessed man who is most observant to catch opportunities to have
pleasure, profit, and worldly preferment, and careth not how he cometh by them:
but he is the blessed man who is most observant of God's will, and careful to follow
it. —David Dickson.
Ver. 1. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord. It is not said simply, "Blessed is the
man who fears": for there is a fear which of itself produces misery and
wretchedness rather than happiness. It has to do, therefore, chiefly with what is
feared. To fear when it is not becoming, and not to fear when fear is proper, these
are not blessedness for a man, but misery and wretchedness. The prophet, therefore,
says rightly, "Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord":and in the 7th and 8th
verses he says of this blessed one that he shall not be afraid of evil tidings.
Therefore, he who fears God and, according to the exhortation of Christ, does not
fear those who can kill the body, he truly may be numbered among the blessed. —
Wolfgang Musculus.
Ver. 1. Feareth the Lord. Filial fear is here intended. Whereby we are both
restrained from evil, Proverbs 3:7; and incited unto well doing, Ecclesiastes 12:13;
and whereof God alone is the author, Jeremiah 32:39-40; A duty required of every
one, Psalms 33:8; Early, 1 Kings 18:12; Only, Lu 12:5; Continually, Proverbs 23:17;
With confidence, Psalms 115:11; With joyfulness, Psalms 119:74; With
thankfulness, Revelation 19:5. —Thomas Wilson, in "A Complete Christian
Dictionary, "1661.
Ver. 1. That delighteth greatly in his commandments. The Hebrew word Upx,
chaphets, is rather emphatic, which is, as it were, to take his pleasure, and I have
rendered it to delight himself. For the prophet makes a distinction between a willing
and prompt endeavour to keep the law, and that which consists in mere servile and
constrained obedience. —John Calvin.
Ver. 1. That delighteth greatly in his commandments —defining what constitutes
the true "fear of the Lord, "which was termed "the beginning of wisdom, "Psalms
111:10. He who hath this true "fear" delights (Psalms 111:2) not merely in the
theory, but in the practice of all "the Lord's commandments." Such fear, so far
from being a "hard" service, is the only "blessed" one (Jeremiah 32:39). Compare
the Gospel commandments, 1 John 3:23-24, Psalms 112:3. True obedience is not
task work, as formalists regard religion, but a "delight" (Psalms 1:2). Worldly
delights, which made piety irksome, are supplanted by the newborn delight in and

7. taste for the will and ways of God (Psalms 19:7-10). —A. R. Fausset.
Ver. 1. In his commandments. When we cheerfully practice all that the Lord
requireth of us, love sweetens all things, and it becomes our meat and drink to do
his will. The thing commanded is excellent, but it is sweeter because commanded by
him —"his commandments." A man is never thoroughly converted till he
delighteth in God and his service, and his heart is overpowered by the sweetness of
divine love. A slavish kind of religiousness, when we had rather not do than do our
work, is no fruit of grace, and cannot evidence a sincere love. —Thomas Manton.
COFFMA , "Verse 1
PSALM 112
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SERVA T OF GOD
See introduction to the preceding chapter for discussion of this psalm as "a twin" of
that one. The theme of Psalms 111 was "The Character of God," and the theme here
is "The Characteristics of God's Servant." This is another of the Hallelujah Psalms.
It is also an acrostic.
The theme of the psalm was stated by Leupold, "This psalm emphasizes the praise
that God deserves because of what he does for those who truly fear him."[1]
Psalms 112:1-3
"Praise ye Jehovah.
Blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah,
That delighteth greatly in his commandments.
His seed shall be mighty upon the earth:
The generation of the upright shall be blessed.
Wealth and riches are in his house;
And his righteousness endureth forever."
"Praise ye Jehovah" (Psalms 112:1). This stands apart from the acrostic pattern,
serving somewhat as a title for the psalm. These words translate the Hebrew text,
which is "Hallelujah."
"Blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah, etc." (Psalms 112:1). This thought is
repeated a hundred times in the Psalter, beginning with the very first verse in it.
"His seed shall be mighty upon earth, etc." (Psalms 112:2). The two clauses of this
verse are parallel, both of them promising that success and prosperity shall come to

8. the righteous man's posterity. Families that are reared in the knowledge and fear of
God by their parents continue to exhibit the truth of what is written here. Jamieson
noted that exceptions to this general rule may be cited, "But such exceptions occur
only as they are seen by God to be inconsistent with those spiritual blessings which
are better." [2]
"Wealth and riches are in his house, etc." (Psalms 112:3). It is surely true of any
society where righteousness generally prevails that wealth tends to be accumulated
in the hands of good men. "A land needs its mighty men, and is fortunate if they are
of such stock as this and if wealth is in such hands."[3] It is always a disaster for any
community where the wealth and power of the people are concentrated in the hands
of evil men.
EBC, ""BE ye perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect," might be inscribed on
this picture of a godly man, which, in structure and substance, reflects the
contemplation of God’s character and works contained in the preceding psalm. The
idea that the godly man is, in some real sense, an image of God runs through the
whole, and comes out strongly, at several points, in the repetition of the same
expressions in reference to both. The portrait of the ideal good man, outlined in this
psalm, may be compared with those in Psalms 15:1-5; Psalms 24:1-10. Its most
characteristic feature is the prominence given to beneficence, which is regarded as
eminently a reflection of God’s. The foundation of righteousness is laid in Psalms
112:1 in devout awe and inward delight in the commandments. But the bulk of the
psalm describes the blessed consequences, rather than the essential characteristics,
of godliness.
The basis of righteousness and beneficence to men must be laid in reverence and
conformity of will towards God. Therefore the psalm begins with proclaiming that,
apart from all external consequences, these dispositions carry blessedness in
themselves. 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, and so links itself to the former one. It deepens
them by pointing out that the fear of Jehovah is a fountain of joy as well as of
wisdom, and that inward delight in the Law must precede outward doing of it. The
familiar blessing attached in the Old Testament to godliness, namely, prosperous
posterity, is the first of the consequences of righteousness which the psalm holds out.
That promise belongs to another order of things from that of the ew Testament;
but the essence of it is true still, namely, that the only secure foundation for
permanent prosperity is in the fear of Jehovah. "The generation of the upright"
(Psalms 112:2) does not merely mean the natural descendants of a good man-"It is a
moral rather than a genealogical term" (Hupfeld)-as is usually the case with the
word "generation." Another result of righteousness is declared to be "wealth and
riches" (Psalms 112:3), which again, must be taken as applying more fully to the
Old Testament system of Providence than to that of the ew.

9. A parallelism of the most striking character between God and the godly emerges in
Psalms 112:3 b, where the same words are applied to the latter as were used of the
former, in the corresponding verse of Psalms 111:1-10. It would be giving too great
evangelical definiteness to the psalmist’s words, to read into them the Christian
teaching that man’s righteousness is God’s gift through Christ, but it
unwarrantably eviscerates them of their meaning, if we go to the other extreme, and,
with Hupfeld, suppose that the psalmist put in the clause under stress of the
exigencies of the acrostic structure, and regard it as a "makeshift" and "stop gap."
The psalmist has a very definite and noble thought. Man’s righteousness is the
reflection of God’s; and has in it some kindred with its original, which guarantees
stability not all unlike the eternity of that source. Since Psalms 112:3 b thus brings
into prominence the ruling thought of the two psalms, possibly we may venture to
see a fainter utterance of that thought, in the first clause of the verse, in which the
"wealth and riches" in the righteous man’s house may correspond to the "honour
and majesty" attendant on God’s works (Psalms 111:3 a).
Psalms 112:4 blends consequences of righteousness and characterisation of it, in a
remarkable way. The construction is doubtful. In a, "upright" is in the plural, and
the adjectives in b are in the singular number. They are appended abruptly to the
preceding clause; and the loose structure has occasioned difficulty to expositors,
which has been increased by the scruples of some, who have not given due weight to
the leading thought of correspondence between the human and Divine, and have
hesitated to regard Psalms 112:4 b, as referring to the righteous man, seeing that in
Psalms 111:4 b refers to God. Hence efforts have been made to find other
renderings. Delitzsch would refer the clause to God, whom he takes to be meant by
"light" in the previous clause, while Hitzig, followed by Baethgen, would translate,
"As a light, he (the righteous) rises in darkness for the upright," and would then
consider "gracious," etc., as in apposition with "light," and descriptive of the
righteous man’s character as such. But the very fact that the words are applied to
God in the corresponding verse of the previous psalm suggests their application here
to the godly man, and the sudden change of number is not so harsh as to require the
ordinary translation to be abandoned. However dark may be a good man’s road, the
very midnight blackness is a prophecy of sunrise; or, to use another figure,
"If winter comes, can spring be far behind?"
{Compare Psalms 97:11} The fountain of pity in human hearts must be fed from the
great source of compassion in God’s, if it is to gush out unremittingly and bless the
deserts of sorrow and misery. He who has received "grace" will surely exercise
grace. "Be ye merciful, even as your Father is merciful". [Luke 6:36]
ISBET, "WHO IS BLESSED?
‘Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord.’
Psalms 112:1
I. The fear and the love of God are inseparably united, and have an internal
connection, in the truly pious.—The reward of this blessed and holy union is great.

10. Its blessing extends to their descendants, and is powerfully displayed in themselves.
ot only earthly prosperity, but a life well-pleasing to God, and the opportunity
thereby gained of becoming a power on earth, and of exercising an influence that
overcomes the world, form a mind, a position, and a greatness of action that are
heroic. They are thus maintained as a blessing from God in pious generations, the
light never failing to rise again even in the night of affliction.
II. The love of our neighbour is connected in the closest manner with love to God,
and he who has experienced in himself and his family the mercy of the Eternal is
both inclined and enabled to show mercy to others, and thereby gains a new
support, strengthening his heart in God, widening his active influence among men,
securing his happiness for all time; while the wicked are destroyed outwardly and
inwardly, and go to ruin with their possessions and fortune, as well as with their
efforts and aspirations.
III. All human righteousness has its root in the righteousness of God.—It is not
merely man striving to copy God; it is God’s gift and God’s work. There is a living
connection between the righteousness of God and the righteousness of man, and
therefore the imperishableness of the one pertains to the other also.
Illustrations
(1) ‘An alphabetical psalm like the last. This psalm is immediately connected with
the last verse of the preceding one, and may be considered as a commentary on it.’
(2) ‘The subject—the blessedness of the righteous man—bears the same relation to
the preceding which the moon does to the sun; for whilst the first declares the glory
of God, the second speaks of the reflection of Divine brightness in men born from
above.’
(3) ‘The 111th psalm contains the character of God; the 112th of the holy—a gentle,
steadfast, generous nature.’
K&D 1-10, "As in the preceding Psalm. Psa_112:1 here also sets forth the theme of
that which follows. What is there said in Psa_112:3 concerning the righteousness of God,
Psa_112:3 here says of the righteousness of him who fears God: this also standeth fast
for ever, it is indeed the copy of the divine, it is the work and gift of God (Psa_24:5),
inasmuch as God's salutary action and behaviour, laid hold of in faith, works a like form
of action and behaviour to it in man, which, as Psa_112:9 says, is, according to its
nature, love. The promise in Psa_112:4 sounds like Isa_60:2. Hengstenberg renders:
“There ariseth in the darkness light to the upright who is gracious and compassionate
and just.” But this is impossible as a matter of style. The three adjectives (as in Psa_
111:4, pointing back to Exo_34:6, cf. Psa_145:8; Psa_116:5) are a mention of God
according to His attributes. ‫וּן‬ ַ‫ח‬ and ‫חוּם‬ ַ‫ר‬ never take the article in Biblical Hebrew, and
‫יק‬ ִ ַ‫צ‬ follows their examples here (cf. on the contrary, Exo_9:27). God Himself is the light
which arises in darkness for those who are sincere in their dealings with Him; He is the

11. Sun of righteousness with wings of rays dispensing “grace” and “tender mercies,” Mal_
4:2. The fact that He arises for those who are compassionate as He is compassionate, is
evident from Psa_112:5. ‫טוב‬ being, as in Isa_3:10; Jer_44:17, intended of well-being,
prosperity, ‫ישׁ‬ ִ‫א‬ ‫ּוב‬ is here equivalent to ‫ישׁ‬ ִ‫א‬ ‫י‬ ֵ‫ר‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ֽፍ, which is rendered ‫א‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫ב‬ַ‫ג‬ ְ ‫י‬ ֵ‫טוּב‬ in
Targumic phrase. ‫ן‬ֵ‫ּונ‬‫ח‬ signifies, as in Psa_37:26, Psa_37:21, one who charitably dispenses
his gifts around. Psa_112:5 is not an extension of the picture of virtue, but, as in Psa_
127:5, a promissory prospect: he will uphold in integrity (‫ט‬ ָ ְ‫שׁ‬ ִ‫מ‬ ְ , Psa_72:2, Isa_9:7, and
frequently), or rather (= ‫ט‬ ָ ְ‫שׁ‬ ִ ַ ) in the cause (Psa_143:2, Pro_24:23, and frequently), the
things which depend upon him, or with which he has to do; for ‫ל‬ ֵⅴ ְ‫ל‬ ִⅴ, sustinere, signifies
to sustain, i.e., to nourish, to sustain, i.e., endure, and also to support, maintain, i.e.,
carry through. This is explanatorily confirmed in Psa_112:6 : he stands, as a general
thing, imperturbably fast. And when he dies he becomes the object of everlasting
remembrance, his name is still blessed (Pro_10:7). Because he has a cheerful conscience,
his heart too is not disconcerted by any evil tidings (Jer_49:23): it remains ‫ּון‬‫כ‬ָ‫,נ‬ erect,
straight and firm, without suffering itself to bend or warp; ‫ה‬ ְ ַ‫ח‬ ֻ‫ט‬ ָ , full of confidence
(passive, “in the sense of a passive state after a completed action of the person himself,”
like ‫כוּר‬ָ‫,ז‬ Psa_103:14); ְ‫מוּך‬ ָ‫,ס‬ stayed in itself and established. The last two designations are
taken from Isa_26:3, where it is the church of the last times that is spoken of. Psa_91:8
gives us information with reference to the meaning of ‫יו‬ ָ‫ר‬ ָ‫צ‬ ְ‫ב‬ ‫ה‬ፎ ָ‫;ר‬ ‫ד‬ ַ‫,ע‬ as in Psa_94:13, of
the inevitable goal, on this side of which he remains undismayed. 2Co_9:9, where Paul
makes use of Psa_112:9 of the Psalm before us as an encouragement to Christian
beneficence, shows how little the assertion “his righteousness standeth for ever” is
opposed to the New Testament consciousness. ‫ר‬ַ ִ of giving away liberally and in
manifold ways, as in Pro_11:24. ‫,רוּם‬ Psa_112:9, stands in opposition to the egoistical
‫ים‬ ִ‫ר‬ ָ‫ה‬ in Psa_75:5 as a vegetative sprouting up (Psa_132:17). The evil-doer must see this,
and confounded, vex himself over it; he gnashes his teeth with the rage of envy and
chagrin, and melts away, i.e., loses consistency, becomes unhinged, dies off (‫ס‬ ָ‫מ‬ָ‫,נ‬ 3d
praet. Niph. as in Exo_16:21, pausal form of ‫ס‬ ַ‫מ‬ָ‫נ‬ = ‫ס‬ ֵ‫מ‬ָ‫.)נ‬ How often has he desired the
ruin of him whom he must now see in honour! The tables are turned; this and his
ungodly desire in general come to nought, inasmuch as the opposite is realized. On ‫ה‬ ֶ‫א‬ ְ‫ר‬ִ‫,י‬
with its self-evident object, cf. Mic_7:10. Concerning the pausal form ‫ס‬ ָ‫ע‬ ָ‫כ‬ְ‫,ו‬ vid., Psa_
93:1. Hupfeld wishes to read ‫ת‬ַ‫ו‬ ְ‫ק‬ ִ after Psa_9:19, Pro_10:28. In defence of the
traditional reading, Hitzig rightly points to Pro_10:24 together with Pro_10:28.
BI, "Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in His
commandments.
Genuine piety
I. Its characteristics. A truly good man—
1. Feareth the Lord.

12. 2. Delights greatly in His commandments.
3. Is upright.
4. Is merciful. What a noble character! Heaven multiply such.
II. Its advantages. He is blessed—
1. In his posterity.
2. In his possessions.
3. In his influence.
4. In his calamities.
5. In his steadfastness.
6. In his memory.
7. With fearlessness of soul.
8. With exaltation.
9. To the confusion of the wicked. (Homilist.)
2 Their children will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
BAR ES, "His seed shall be mighty upon earth - His children; his posterity.
That is, they shall be prospered; honored; distinguished among people: distinguished for
their virtues, for their influence, for their success in life. This refers to what was regarded
among the Hebrews as an object of great desire, and is in accordance with the promises
everywhere found in their Scriptures. See Psa_25:13, note; Psa_37:25-26, notes.
Compare Gen_12:2; Gen_17:6; Exo_20:6. It is in accordance, also, with a general fact in
the course of events. The best security for the virtue and success of children is the virtue
and the piety of parents; the surest inheritance as pertaining to happiness,
respectability, and usefulness in life, is that which is derived from the example, the
prayers, the counsel of a pious father and mother.
The generation of the upright shall be blessed - The family; the children. Such
promises are to be expected to be fulfilled in general; it is not required by any proper
rules of interpreting language that this should be universally and always true.

13. CLARKE, "His seed shall be mighty - ‫זרעו‬ zaro, his posterity. So the word should
always be understood in this connection.
GILL, "His seed shall be mighty upon earth,.... The Targum is,
"mighty in the law;''
as Apollos is said to be "mighty in the Scriptures", Act_18:24. This must be understood
of such of them as fear the Lord also, and love him, and delight in his commandments,
according to Exo_20:6 and not in a literal sense, 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. Some understand this of the spiritual seed of Christ;
and make him to be the man that feared the Lord, and greatly delighted in his
commandments, as it is certain he did; he was heard in that he feared; and it was his
meat and drink to do the will of him that sent him. He has a spiritual seed; and these are
mighty in the sense before given; and as they will be in the latter day, when the feeble
among them shall be as David, and the house of David as God, as the Angel of the Lord;
when the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to the saints,
and, being kings and priests, they shall reign with Christ on earth. Aben Ezra thinks the
note of similitude "as" is wanting, and supplies it thus, "his seed shall be as a mighty
man on earth"; be known, as he is in his generation.
The generation of the upright shall be blessed; the seed of them, as before, who
are the upright in heart and conversation: or the age in which upright men live is happy
on their account; or a succession of upright persons: or rather a company of them
dwelling together, at the same time, and in the same place; the same with the generation
of them that seek the Lord, Psa_24:6, these are blessed with spiritual and eternal
blessings.
CALVI , "2His seed shall be powerful For the purpose of confirming the statement
which he advanced respecting the happiness of the man that fears Jehovah and
takes delight in his commandments, the prophet enumerates the tokens of God’s
loving-kindness, which he is wont to bestow upon his worshippers. And, in the first
place, he says that God’s fatherly kindness is not confined to their own persons, it
also extends to their posterity: agreeably to what is said in the law, “I am merciful to
a thousand generations, towards them that love me and keep my commandments,”
Exodus 34:7. And in Psalms 103:8, and other passages, we have formerly adverted
to this doctrinal statement. As, however, not a few are disposed to pervert this
doctrine, by applying it as the standard according to which God dispenses his
temporal favors, it is therefore proper to bear in mind what I have said in Psalms
37:25, that these are bestowed according to the manner, and in the measure, which
God pleases. Sometimes it happens that a good man is childless; and barrenness
itself is considered a curse of God. Again, many of God’s servants are oppressed
with poverty and want, are borne down under the weight of sickness, and harassed
and perplexed with various calamities. It is therefore necessary to keep this general

14. principle in view, That God sometimes bestows his bounty more profusely, and, at
other times, more sparingly, upon his children, according as he sees it to be most for
their good; and, moreover, he sometimes conceals the tokens of his kindness,
apparently as if he had no regard for his people at all. Still, amid this perplexity, it
constantly appears that these words were not uttered in vain, the righteous and their
offspring are blessed God very frequently blasts the vain hopes of the ungodly,
whose sole object is to bear rule in the world, and to raise their children to places of
wealth and honor. On the other hand, as the faithful are satisfied with bringing up
their children in the fear of God, and contented to live sparingly, God, as it were
with an outstretched hand, exalts them to honor. Add to this, that anciently, under
the law, the truth of this doctrine was more evident; because it was requisite for a
people inexperienced and feeble, to be trained gradually, by means of temporal
benefits, to entertain a better hope. And in our times, but for our vices, God’s
temporal kindness would shine more brightly upon us. For experience demonstrates
that what is immediately subjoined does not uniformly hold true, wealth and riches
shall be in the houses of the righteous It is no uncommon occurrence for the
virtuous and holy to suffer hunger, and to be in want even of the most homely fare;
and, for this reason, it would not be for their good were God to bestow more earthly
benefits upon them. In afflicting circumstances, numbers of them would be
incapable of behaving in a manner becoming their profession. In the meantime, we
may observe, that the grace which the prophet commends appears principally in
this, that the good and sincere are satisfied with their humble estate, whereas no
portion, however large, even to the extent of the world itself, will content the
ungodly worldling. The old adage holds true, That the covetous wants that which he
has, as well as that which he has not; because he is master of nothing, and is the
slave of his own wealth. In connection with this clause must also be taken that which
follows, the righteousness of good men endureth for ever This, in fact, constitutes
the true and proper difference between the godly and ungodly; because the latter
may, for a time, hoard up immense wealth; yet, all that shall, according to the words
of the prophet, “suddenly vanish away at the blast of the Almighty,” Haggai 1:9.
And we daily see that what has been acquired by violence and deceit, becomes the
prey and property of others. But, to the faithful, their integrity is the best and surest
preserver of God’s blessings.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 2. His seed shall be mighty upon earth, that is to say, successive
generations of God fearing men shall be strong and influential in society, and in the
latter days they shall have dominion. The true seed of the righteous are those who
follow them in their virtues, even as believers are the seed of Abraham, because they
imitate his faith; and these are the real heroes of their era, the truly great men
among the sons of Adam; their lives are sublime, and their power upon their age is
far greater than at first sight appears. If the promise must be regarded as alluding
to natural seed, it must be understood as a general statement rather than a promise
made to every individual, for the children of the godly are not all prosperous, nor all
famous. evertheless, he who fears God, and leads a holy life, is, as a rule, doing the
best he can for the future advancement of his house; no inheritance is equal to that
of an unblemished name, no legacy can excel the benediction of a saint; and, taking
matters for all in all, the children of the righteous man commence life with greater

15. advantages than others, and are more likely to succeed in it, in the best and highest
sense.
The generation of the upright shall be blessed. The race of sincere, devout, righteous
men, is kept up from age to age, and ever abides under the blessing of God. The
godly may be persecuted, but they shall not be forsaken; the curses of men cannot
deprive them of the blessing of God, for the words of Balaam are true, "He hath
blessed, and I cannot reverse it." Their children also are under the special care of
heaven, and as a rule it shall be found that they inherit the divine blessing. Honesty
and integrity are better cornerstones for an honourable house than mere cunning
and avarice, or even talent and push. To fear God and to walk uprightly is a higher
nobility than blood or birth can bestow.
EXPLA ATORY OTES A D QUAI T SAYI GS.
Ver. 2. His seed. If any one should desire to leave behind him a flourishing posterity,
let him not think to accomplish it by accumulating heaps of gold and silver, and
leaving them behind him; but by rightly recognising God and serving Him; and
commending his children to the guardianship and protection of God. —Mollerus.
Ver. 2. The generation of the upright —the family; the children —shall be
blessed. Such promises are expected to be fulfilled in general;it is not required by
any proper rules of interpreting language that this should be universally and always
true. —Albert Barnes.
Ver. 2. The generation of the upright shall be blessed. Albeit, few do believe it, yet is
it true, that upright dealing hath better fruits than witty projecting and cunning
catching. —David Dickson.
Ver. 2-3. It is probable that Lot thought of enriching his family when he chose the
fertile plains of wicked Sodom, yet the event was very different; but Abraham
"feared the Lord, and delighted greatly in his commandments, "and his descendants
were "mighty upon earth." And thus it will generally be, in every age, with the
posterity of those who imitate the father of the faithful; and their disinterested and
liberal conduct shall prove, in the event, a far preferable inheritance laid up for
their children, than gold and silver, houses and lands, would have been. —Thomas
Scott.
CO STABLE, "Verses 2-9
2. The blessings the righteous enjoy112:2-9
There are five blessings that normally come to the righteous. First, the righteous
person (living under the Mosaic Covenant) receives physical and material
prosperity ( Psalm 112:2-3). Second, he obtains light in his darkness ( Psalm 112:4).
Third, goodness comes to him for his generosity and justice ( Psalm 112:5). Fourth,
he enjoys stability and confidence ( Psalm 112:6-8). Fifth, he gets strength and
honor from the Lord because he gives to the poor ( Psalm 112:9).
"In a way this psalm can be taken as a calculating guide on how to be happy. But its
claim goes well beyond that. It asserts that giving life resources away to others in the
community is the way to real joy. This psalm is echoed in Jesus" teaching, "Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (
Matthew 5:6)." [ ote: Brueggemann, p47.]

16. 3 Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures forever.
BAR ES, "Wealth and riches shall be in his house - The Septuagint and the
Vulgate render this, “glory and riches shall be in his house.” The word, however,
properly means riches or wealth, and the two terms are used apparently to convey the
idea that wealth or property in “varied forms” would be in his house; that is, not merely
gold and silver, but all that was understood to constitute wealth - variety of garments,
articles of furniture, etc. This promise is of the same nature as that of the previous verse.
It pertains to a general truth in regard to the influence of religion in promoting
prosperity. Compare the notes at 1Ti_4:8.
And his righteousness endureth for ever - That is, The effects of it shall be
transmitted from age to age in the prosperity, the respectability, the wealth, the
happiness of his descendants. It travels on from age to age, and blesses distant
generations.
CLARKE, "Wealth and riches shall be in his house - This is often the case: a
godly man must save both time and money. Before he was converted he lost much time,
and squandered his money. All this he now saves, and therefore wealth and riches must
be in his house; and if he do not distribute to the necessities of the poor, they will
continue to accumulate till they be his curse; or God will, by his providence, sweep them
away. Both ‫צדקה‬ tsedakah and δικαιοσυνη are often used to signify, not only justice and
righteousness, but also beneficence and almsgiving; and this is most probably the
meaning here. See Psa_112:9.
GILL, "Wealth and riches shall be in his house,.... In his family; if not possessed
by him, yet by his posterity: though rather 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.
And his righteousness endureth for ever; he is not hurt by his temporal riches, as
others are, the prodigal, the covetous, and formal professor; he continues the good and
righteous man he was, notwithstanding his riches. Some understand this of his liberality
with his riches, as alms deeds are sometimes called righteousness; see Psa_112:9 though
it rather intends either inherent righteousness, the new man which is created in

17. righteousness, the inward principle of grace which always continues; or the
righteousness of Christ imputed to him, which is an everlasting one.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 3. Wealth and riches shall be in his house. Understood literally
this is rather a promise of the old covenant than of the new, for many of the best of
the people of God are very poor; yet it has been found true that uprightness is the
road to success, and, all other things being equal, the honest man is the rising man.
Many are kept poor through knavery and profligacy; but godliness hath the
promise of the life that now is. If we understand the passage spiritually it is
abundantly true. What wealth can equal that of the love of God? What riches can
rival a contented heart? It matters nothing that the roof is thatched, and the floor is
of cold stone: the heart which is cheered with the favour of heaven is "rich to all the
intents of bliss."
And his righteousness endureth for ever. Often when gold comes in the gospel goes
out; but it is not so with the blessed man. Prosperity does not destroy the holiness of
his life, or the humility of his heart. His character stands the test of examination,
overcomes the temptations of wealth, survives the assaults of slander, outlives the
afflictions of time, and endures the trial of the last great day. The righteousness of a
true saint endureth for ever, because it springs from the same root as the
righteousness of God, and is, indeed, the reflection of it. So long as the Lord abideth
righteous he will maintain by his grace the righteousness of his people. They shall
hold on their way, and wax stronger and stronger. There is also another
righteousness which belongs to the Lord's chosen, which is sure to endure for ever,
namely, the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus, which is called "everlasting
righteousness, "belonging as it does to the Son of God himself, who is "the Lord our
righteousness."
EXPLA ATORY OTES A D QUAI T SAYI GS.
Ver. 3. Wealth and riches shall be in his house, and his righteousness endureth for
ever. He is not the worse for his wealth, nor drawn aside by the deceitfulness of
riches, which yet is hard and happy. —John Trapp.
Ver. 3. In the lower sense, we may read these words literally of abundant wealth
bestowed on the righteous by God, and used, not for pride and luxury, but for
continual works of mercy, whence it is said of the person so enriched, that
his righteousness endureth for ever. But the higher meaning bids us see here those
true spiritual riches which are stored up for the poor in spirit, often most needy in
the prosperity of the world; and we may come at the truest sense by comparing the
words wherein the great apostle describes his own condition, "As poor, yet making
many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things." 2 Corinthians 6:10.
For who can be richer than he who is heir of God and joint heir with Jesus Christ? â
€”Agellius, Chrysostom, and Didymus, in eale and Littledale.
Ver. 3. His righteousness endureth for ever. It seems a bold thing to say this of
anything human, and yet it is true; for all human righteousness has its root in the
righteousness of God. It is not merely man striving to copy God. It is God's gift and
God's work. There is a living connexion between the righteousness of God and the
righteousness of man, and therefore the imperishableness of the one appertains to
the other also. Hence the same thing is affirmed here of the human righteousness

18. which in Psalms 111:3 is affirmed of the Divine. —J. J. S. Perowne.
Ver. 3. His righteousness endureth for ever. We are justified before God by faith
only: Romans 3:4 : but they are righteous before men, who live honestly, piously,
humbly, as the law of God requires. Concerning this righteousness the Psalmist says
that it endureth for ever, while the feigned and simulated uprightness of hypocrites
is abominable before God, and with men speedily passes away. —Solomon Gesner.
ELLICOTT, "(3) His righteousness endureth for ever.—The parallelism in Psalms
112:9, where the same clause is repeated, seems to require for righteousness the
limited sense which the Talmud gives the word—viz., liberality or beneficence. See
also Daniel 4:27, in the LXX. Still the saying is true in its widest sense. “There is
nothing, no, nothing, innocent or good, that dies or is forgotten; let us hold to that
faith, or none” (Dickens)
MACLARE , "GOD A D THE GODLY
Psalms 111:3; Psalms 112:3.
These two psalms are obviously intended as a pair. They are identical in number of
verses and in structure, both being acrostic, that is to say, the first clause of each
commences with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, the second clause with the
second, and so on. The general idea that runs through them is the likeness of the
godly man to God. That resemblance comes very markedly to the surface at several
points in the psalms, and pervades them traceably even where it is less conspicuous.
The two corresponding clauses which I have read as my text are the first salient
instances of it. But I propose to deal not only with them, but with a couple of others
which occur in the course of the psalms, and will appear as I proceed.
The general underlying thought is a noteworthy one. The worshipper is to be like
his God. So it is in idolatry; so it should be with us. Worship is, or should be,
adoration of and yearning after the highest conceivable good. Such an attitude must
necessarily lead to imitation, and be crowned by resemblance. Love makes like, and
they who worship God are bound to, and certainly will, in proportion to the ardour
and sincerity of their devotion, grow like Him whom they adore. So I desire to look
with you at the instances of this resemblance or parallelism which the Psalmist
emphasises.
I. The first of them is that in the clauses which I have read as our starting-point, viz.
God and the godly are alike in enduring righteousness.
That seems a bold thing to say, especially when we remember how lofty and
transcendent were the Old Testament conceptions of the righteousness of God. But,
lofty as these were, this Psalmist lifts an unpresumptuous eye to the heavens, and
having said of Him who dwells there, ‘His righteousness endureth for ever,’ is not
afraid to turn to the humble worshipper on this low earth, and declare the same
thing of him. Our finite, frail, feeble lives may be really conformed to the image of
the heavenly. The dewdrop with its little rainbow has a miniature of the great arch
that spans the earth and rises into the high heavens. And so, though there are
differences, deep and impassable, between anything that can be called creatural
righteousness, and that which bears the same name in the heavens, the fact that it
does bear the same name is a guarantee to us that there is an essential resemblance

19. between the righteousness of God in its lustrous perfectness, and the righteousness
of His child in its imperfect effort.
But how can we venture to run any kind of parallelism between the eternity of the
one and that of the other? God’s righteousness we can understand as enduring for
ever, because it is inseparable from His very being; because it is manifested
unbrokenly in all the works that for ever pour out from that central Source, and
because it and its doings stand fast and unshaken amidst the passage of ages, and
the ‘wreck of matter and the crash of worlds.’ But may there not be, if not an
eternity, yet a perpetuity, in our reflection of the divine righteousness which shall
serve to vindicate the application of the same mighty word to both? Is it not possible
that, unbroken amidst the stress of temptation, and running on without
interruptions, there may be in our hearts and in our lives conformity to the divine
will? And is it not possible that the transiencies of our earthly doings may be
sublimed into perpetuity if there is in them the preserving salt of righteousness?
‘The actions of the just
Smell sweet, and blossom in the dust.’
And may it not be, too, that though this Psalmist may have had no clear articulate
doctrine of eternal life beyond, he may have felt, and rightly felt, that there were
things that were too fair to die, and that it was inconceivable that a soul which had
been, in some measure, tinged with the righteousness of God could ever be
altogether a prey to the law of transiency and decay which seizes upon things
material and corporeal? That which is righteous is eternal, be it manifested in the
acts of the unchanging God or in the acts of a dying man, and when all else has
passed away, and the elements have melted with fervent heat, ‘he that doeth the will
of God,’ and the deeds which did it, ‘shall abide for ever.’ ‘His righteousness
endureth for ever.’
ow, brethren! there are two ways in which we may look at this parallelism of our
text: the one is as containing a stringent requirement; the other as holding forth a
mighty hope. It contains a stringent requirement. Our religion does not consist in
assenting to any creed. Our religion is not wholly to consist of devout emotions and
loving and joyous acts of communion and friendship with God. There must be more
than these; these things there must be. For if a man is to be guided mainly by
reason, there must, first of all, be creed; then there must be corresponding emotions.
But creed and emotions are both meant to be forces which shall drive the wheels of
life, and conduct is, after all, the crown of religion and the test of godliness. They
that hold communion with God are bound to mould their lives into the likeness of
His. ‘Little children, let no man deceive you,’ and let not your own hearts deceive
you. You are not a Christian because you believe the truths of the Gospel. You are
not such a Christian as you ought to be, if your religion is more manifest in loving
trust than in practical obedience which comes from trust. ‘He that doeth
righteousness is righteous,’ and he is to be righteous ‘even as He is righteous.’ If you
are God’s, you will be like God. Apply the touchstone to your lives, and test your
Christianity by this simple and most stringent test.
But again, we may look at the thought as holding forth a great hope. I do not wish to
force upon Old Testament writers ew Testament truth. It would be an
anachronism and an absurdity to make this Psalmist responsible for anything like a
clear evangelistic statement of the way by which a man may be made righteous.

20. That waited for coming days, and eminently for Jesus Christ. But it would be quite
as great a mistake to eviscerate the words of their plain implications. And when they
put side by side the light and the reflection, God and the godly, it seems to me to be
doing violence to their meaning for the sake of trying to make them mean less than
they do, if we refuse to recognise that they have at any rate an inkling of the thought
that the Original and Pattern of human righteousness was likewise the Source of it.
This at least is plain, that the Psalmist thought that ‘the fear of the Lord’ was not
only, as he calls it at the close of the former of the two psalms, ‘the beginning of
wisdom,’ but also the basis of goodness, for he begins his description of the godly
with it.
I believe that he felt, what is assuredly true, that no man, by his own unaided effort,
can ever work out for himself a righteousness which will satisfy his own conscience,
and that he must, first of all, be in touch with God, in order to receive from Him
that which he cannot create. Ah, brethren! the ‘fine linen, clean and white, which is
the righteousness of saints,’ is woven in no earthly looms; and the lustrous light with
which it glistens is such as ‘no fuller on earth can white’ men’s characters into.
Another Psalmist has sung of the man who can stand in the holy place, ‘He shall
receive the blessing from the Lord, even righteousness from the God of his
salvation,’ and our psalms hint, if they do not articulately declare, how that
reception is possible for us, when they set forth waiting upon God as the condition of
being made like Him. We translate the Psalmist’s feeling after the higher truth
which we know, when we desire ‘that we may be found in Him, not having our own
righteousness which is of the law, but that which is of God by faith.’ So much, then,
for the first point of correspondence in these two psalms.
II. God and the godly are alike in gracious compassion.
If you will turn to the two psalms for a moment, and look at the last clauses of the
two fourth verses, you will see how that thought is brought out. In the former psalm
we read, ‘The Lord is gracious and full of compassion’: in the latter we find, ‘he’
{the upright man} ‘is gracious and full of compassion, and righteous.’
I need not trouble you with any remarks about certain difficulties that lie in the
rendering of that latter verse. Suffice it to say that they are such as to make more
emphatic the intentional resemblance between the godly as there described, and
God as described in the previous one. Of both it is said ‘gracious and full of
compassion.’
ow that great truth of which I have been speaking, the divine righteousness, is like
white Alpine snow, sublime, but cold, awful and repellent, when taken by itself. Our
hearts need something more than a righteous God if we are ever to worship and
draw near. Just as the white snow on the high peak needs to be flushed with the
roseate hue of the morning before it can become tender, and create longings, so the
righteousness of the great white Throne has to be tinged with the ruddy heart-hue of
gracious compassion if men are to be moved to adore and to love. Each enhances the
other. ‘What God hath joined together,’ in Himself, ‘let not man put asunder’; nor
talk about the stern Deity of the Old Testament, and pit Him against the
compassionate Father of the ew. He is righteous, but the proclaimers of His
righteousness in old days never forgot to blend with the righteousness the mercy;
and the combination heightens the lustre of both attributes.
The same combination is absolutely needful in the copy, as is emphatically set forth

21. in our text by the addition of ‘and righteous,’ in the case of the man. For whilst with
God the tyro attributes do lie, side by side, in perfect harmony, in us men there is
always danger that the one shall trench upon the territory of the other, and that he
who has cultivated the habit of looking upon sorrows and sins with compassion and
tenderness shall somewhat lose the power of looking at them with righteousness. So
our text, in regard to man, proclaims more emphatically than it needs to do in
regard to the perfect God, that ever his highest beauty of compassion must be
wedded to righteousness, and ever his truest strength of righteousness must be
softened with compassion.
But beyond that, note how, wherever there is the loving and childlike contemplation
of God, there will be an analogy in our compassion, to His perfectness. We are
transformed by beholding. The sun strikes a poor little pane of glass in a cottage
miles away, and it flashes with some likeness of the sun and casts a light across the
plain. The man whose face is turned Godwards will have beauty pass into his face,
and all that look upon him will see ‘as it had been the countenance of an angel.’
If we have, in any real and deep measure, received mercy we shall reflect mercy.
Remember the parable of the unmerciful debtor. The servant that cast himself at his
lord’s feet, and got the acquittal of his debt, and went out and gripped his fellow-
servant by the throat, leaving the marks of his fingernails on his windpipe, with his
‘Pay me that thou owest!’ had all the pardon cancelled, and all the debt laid upon
his shoulders again. If we owe all our hope and peace to a forgiving God, how can
we make anything else the law of our lives than that, having received mercy, we
should show mercy? The test of your being a forgiven man is your forgivingness.
There is no getting away from that plain principle, which modifies the declaration of
the freedom of God’s full pardon.
But I would have you notice, further, as a very remarkable illustration of this
correspondence between the gracious and compassionate Lord and His servant, that
in the verses which follow respectively the two about which I am now speaking, the
same idea is wrought out in another shape. In the psalm dealing with the divine
character and works we read, immediately after the declaration that He is ‘gracious
and full of compassion,’ this-’He hath given meat to them that fear Him’; and the
corresponding clause in the second of our psalms is followed by this-to translate
accurately-’It is well with the man who showeth favour and lendeth.’ So man’s
open-handedness in regard to money is put down side by side with God’s open-
handedness in regard to giving meat unto them that fear Him. And again, in the
ninth verse of each psalm, we have the same thought set forth in another fashion.
‘He sent redemption unto His people,’ says the one; ‘He hath dispersed, He hath
given to the poor,’ says the other. That is to say, our paltry giving may be paralleled
with the unspeakable gifts which God has bestowed, if they come from a love which
is like His. It does not matter though they are so small and His are so great; there is
a resemblance. The tiniest crystal may be like the hugest. God gives to us the
possession of things in order that we may enjoy the luxury, which is one of the
elements in the blessedness of the blessed God, who is blessed because He is the
giving God, the luxury of giving. Poor though our bestowments must be, they are
not unlike His. The little burn amongst the heather carves its tiny bed, and impels
its baby ripples by the same laws which roll the waters of the Amazon, and every
fall that it makes over a shelf of rock a foot high is a miniature iagara.

22. III. So, lastly, we have still another point, not so much of resemblance as of
correspondence, in the firmness of God’s utterances and of the godly heart.
In the first of our two psalms we read, in the seventh verse, ‘All His commandments
are sure.’ In the second we read, in the corresponding verse, ‘his heart is fixed,
trusting in the Lord.’ The former psalm goes on, ‘His commandments stand fast for
ever and ever; and the next psalm, in the corresponding verse, says ‘his heart is
established,’ the original employing the same word in both cases, which in our
version is rendered, in the one place, ‘stand fast,’ and in the other ‘established.’ So
that the Psalmist is thinking of a correspondence between the stability of God’s
utterances and the stability of the heart that clasps them in faith.
His commandments are not only precepts which enjoin duty. All which God says is
law, whether it be directly in the nature of guiding precept, or whether it be in the
nature of revealing truth, or whether it be in the nature of promise. It is sure,
reliable, utterly trustworthy. We may be certain that it will direct us aright, that it
will reveal to us absolute truth, that it will hold forth no flattering and false
promises. And it is ‘established.’ The one fixed point amidst the whirl of things is
the uttered will of God.
Therefore, the heart that builds there builds safely. And there should be a
correspondence, whether there is or no, between the faithfulness of the Speaker and
the faith of the hearer. A man who is doubtful about the solidity of the parapet
which keeps him from toppling over into the abyss will lean gingerly upon it, until
he has found out that it is firm. The man that knows how strong is the stay on which
he rests ought to lean hard upon it. Lean hard upon God, put all your weight upon
Him. You cannot put too much, you cannot lean too hard. The harder the better; the
better He is pleased, and the more He breathes support and strength into us. And,
brethren! if thus we build an established faith on that sure foundation, and match
the unchangeableness of God in Christ with the constancy of our faith in Him, then,
‘He that believeth shall never make haste,’ and as my psalm says, ‘He shall not be
afraid of evil tidings; his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.’
The upshot of the whole matter is-we cannot work out for ourselves a righteousness
that will satisfy our own consciences, nor secure for ourselves a strength that will
give peace to our hearts, and stability to our lives, by any other means than by
cleaving fast to God revealed in Jesus Christ.
We have borne the image of the earthly long enough; let us open our hearts to God
in Christ. Let us yield ourselves to Him; let us gaze upon Him with fixed eyes of
love, and labour to make our own what He bestows upon us. Thus living near Him,
we shall be bathed in His light, and show forth something of His beauty. Godliness is
God-likeness. It is of no use to say that we are God’s children if we have none of the
family likeness. ‘If ye were Abraham’s sons ye would do the works of Abraham,’
said Christ to the Jews. If we are God’s sons we shall do the works of God. ‘Be ye
therefore perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect;’ be ye merciful as your Father
is merciful. And if thus we here, dwelling with Christ, are being conformed to the
image of His Son, we shall one day ‘be satisfied’ when we ‘awake in His likeness.’
BI, "Wealth and riches shall be in his house.
Prosperity and its qualifications

23. I. What is prosperity? To be prosperous is to have that which will promote the well-
being of man’s whole nature and which has that end secured. Material, moral, and
intellectual wealth and its results.
II. What is calculated to produce it? The psalmist, our Lord, and St. Paul are at one as to
the qualification. “Righteousness”—the harmony of a man’s whole nature with the will of
God.
1. When that is the case, a man is moderate, temperate, observant of natural laws,
and (supposing of course no constitutional ailment) therefore healthy.
2. He holds in check the feverish desire to succeed, and thus godliness with
contentment becomes great gain.
3. He holds those passions in check which cloud the understanding and impair the
vision.
4. He respects the rights of others. Hence, those whose rights you respect, will
respect yours.
5. He will be frugal of his time, his money, etc., in recognition of God’s claims upon
both, and, as God’s steward, will put them out to usury, and strive to be prosperous,
that he may advance God’s interests in the world.
III. What objections can be urged against all this?
1. That the righteous are not better off than others. But
(1) Do those who are called righteous answer to the law of righteousness in its
entirety?
(2) Without controversy it is all true respecting communities. All history proves
that they prosper in proportion to their righteousness.
(3) It is so by the common consent of the world. How often do we hear the
expression that such an one is “worth his weight in gold.”
2. That men prosper who violate the laws of righteousness. But
(1) Are these men prosperous?
(2) Supposing them to have all that heart could wish, “what shall it profit a
man?” etc.
(3) Supposing it true of an individual, when was it ever true of a nation? (J. W.
Burn.)
Treasure in the house
The treasures in the house of the righteous—i.e, in the Christian home—though very
great, are not duly appreciated, even by those who possess them. I heard a good man say
once, as we passed the home of a millionaire, “It, doesn’t seem right that such a man as
he is should be rolling in wealth, while I have to work hard for my daily bread.” I made
no reply. But when we reached the home of the grumbler, and a troop of rosy children
ran out to meet us, I caught one in my arms, and, holding him up, said, “John, how
much will you take for this boy?” And he answered, while the moisture gathered in his
eyes, “That boy, my namesake! I wouldn’t sell him for his weight in gold.” “Why, John,
he weighs forty pounds at least, and forty pounds of gold would make you many times a

24. millionaire. And you would probably ask as much for each of the others. So, according to
your own admission, you are immensely rich. Yes, a great deal richer than that cold,
selfish, childless millionaire whom you were envying as we came along. Nothing would
tempt you to change places with him. Then you ought to be grateful instead of
grumbling. You are the favourite of fortune, or, rather, of Providence, and not he.” (H.
W. Beecher.)
4 Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
for those who are gracious and compassionate
and righteous.
BAR ES, "Unto the upright - The just; the pious; the man who fears God.
There ariseth light in the darkness - This is a new form of the blessing which
follows the fear of the Lord, or another of the benefits which spring from true religion,
and by which the pious man is distinguished from other people. The distinction is not
that days of darkness will not come upon him as well as upon others, for he may be sick
as others are, he may be bereaved as others are, he may lose his property as others do -
since there are general laws that affect mankind in these respects. God has not promised
that he will interpose to save his people from these things, but that he will save them in
them. The peculiarity in regard to those who fear God is, that these things will not
always continue; that they shall not be overwhelmed by them; that it will not be
uninterrupted and unmitigated gloom; that the sky shall not be always overcast.
Compare Psa_97:11, note; Job_11:17, note.
He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous - These words are
designed to be applied to the “upright” man, and are intended more fully to designate his
character, and to show “why” light shall spring up to him when he is in darkness. It is
because his character is “really” pure and holy, so that whatever cloud may come over it
for a time, however it may be temporarily obscured, however he may be calumniated by
men, or however God may for a time seem to forsake him and to treat him as if he were a
bad man, yet ultimately his character will appear as it really is. Light will come in upon
the darkness. The clouds will break away. The prejudices against him will be dispersed.
Full justice will be done to his character both by man and by God, and the world will see
that he is a just and pious man. See the notes at Psa_37:5-6. Every man will ultimately
be seen as he is; every man will attain the position, and have the reputation which he
“ought” to have.
CLARKE, "There ariseth light in the darkness - The upright are always happy;

25. and when tribulations come, God lifts up the light of his countenance upon him, and
causes all occurences to work together for his good.
He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous - He enjoys the favor of
God; that grace makes him compassionate; and in the general tenor of his conduct he is
righteous. From these principles he shows favor (Psa_112:5) to him that needs it; that is,
to the real poor he gives of his substance; and others he obliges by lending, they not
being utterly in want, but standing in need only of a little present help. But he takes heed
to whom he gives and to whom he lends; that in the first case his bounty may be well
applied, and in the second he may not oblige the person who only seeks, under the
notion of a loan, to appropriate the money borrowed. To prevent evils of this kind he
acts prudently, and guides his affairs with discretion, Psa_112:5.
GILL, "Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness,.... Upright ones
are sometimes in the darkness of affliction, under divine desertions, without spiritual
joy, and in an uncomfortable condition; when on a sudden light arises to them, like
break of day, or the morning light: they have deliverance from affliction, and enjoy
prosperity; the light of God's countenance is lifted up on them; the sun of righteousness
arises upon them with healing in his wings; and spiritual joy and comfort are
communicated unto them. It may denote the comforts the people of God have amidst
their afflictions and troubles, even while they are in them; and the light they enjoy, while
darkness is round about others, like the children of Israel in Egypt: or the suddenness of
deliverance from adversity, temporal or spiritual; weeping endures for a night, joy comes
in the morning, and at evening time it is light, Psa_30:5.
He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous; that is, the Lord is so.
Thus the Arabic version,
"the Lord God is merciful and bountiful;''
and the Ethiopic version,
"merciful and compassionate is the Lord, and righteous is our King.''
And because God is the God of all grace, and is able to make it abound to his people, and
is compassionate to them in distress, and is just and faithful to his promises; therefore
he causes light to arise to them in darkness; and which, on such account, they may
believe and expect; see Mic_7:8. Some understand this of the upright man and of his
character; that he is "gracious", kind, and bountiful; that he is "full of compassion",
tenderhearted, and shows mercy to distressed objects; and is righteous, through Christ,
and lives soberly and righteously. This sense agrees both with what goes before, and
follows after.
HE RY, " They are both just and kind in all their dealings: He is gracious, full of
compassion, and righteous (Psa_112:4), dares not do any wrong to any man, but does to
every man all the good he can, and that from a principle of compassion and kindness. It
was said of God, in the foregoing psalm (Psa_112:4), He is gracious, and full of
compassion; and here it is said of the good man that he is so; for herein we must be
followers of God as dear children; be merciful as he is. He is full of compassion, and yet
righteous; what he does good with is what he came honestly by. God hates robbery for

26. burnt-offerings, and so does he. One instance is given of his beneficence (Psa_112:5): He
shows favour and lends. Sometimes there is as much charity in lending as in giving, as it
obliges the borrower both to industry and honesty. He is gracious and lends (Psa_
37:26); he does it from a right principle, not as the usurer lends for his own advantage,
nor merely out of generosity, but out of pure charity; he does it in a right manner, not
grudgingly, but pleasantly, and with a cheerful countenance.
II. The blessedness that is here entailed upon those that answer to these characters.
Happiness, all happiness, to the man that feareth the Lord. Whatever men think or say
of them, God says that they are blessed; and his saying so makes them so.
1. The posterity of good men shall fare the better for his goodness (Psa_112:2): His
seed shall be mighty on earth. Perhaps he himself shall not be so great in the world, nor
make such a figure, as his seed after him shall for his sake. Religion has been the raising
of many a family, if not so as to advance it high, yet so as to fix it firmly. When good men
themselves are happy in heaven their seed perhaps are considerable on earth, and will
themselves own that it is by virtue of a blessing descending from them. The generation
of the upright shall be blessed; if they tread in their steps, they shall be the more blessed
for their relation to them, beloved for the Father's sake (Rom_11:28), for so runs the
covenant - I will be a God to thee, and to thy seed; while the seed of evil-doers shall
never be renowned. Let the children of godly parents value themselves upon it, and take
heed of doing any thing to forfeit the blessing entailed upon the generation of the
upright.
2. They shall prosper in the world, and especially their souls shall prosper, Psa_112:3.
(1.) They shall be blessed with outward prosperity as far as is good for them: Wealth and
riches shall be in the upright man's house, not in his heart (for he is none of those in
whom the love of money reigns), perhaps not so much in his hand (for he only begins to
raise the estate), but in his house; his family shall grow rich when he is gone. But, (2.)
That which is much better is that they shall be blessed with spiritual blessings, which are
the true riches. His wealth shall be in his house, for he must leave that to others; but his
righteousness he himself shall have the comfort of to himself, it endures for ever. Grace
is better than gold, for it will outlast it. He shall have wealth and riches, and yet shall
keep up his religion, and in a prosperous condition shall still hold fast his integrity,
which many, who kept it in the storm, throw off and let go in the sunshine. Then worldly
prosperity is a blessing when it does not make men cool in their piety, but they still
persevere in that; and when this endures in the family, and goes along with the wealth
and riches, and the heirs of the father's estate inherit his virtues too, that is a happy
family indeed. However, the good man's righteousness endures for ever in the crown of
righteousness which fades not away.
3. They shall have comfort in affliction (Psa_112:4): Unto the upright there arises light
in the darkness. It is here implied that good men may be in affliction; the promise does
not exempt them from that. They shall have their share in the common calamities of
human life; but, when they sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light to them, Mic_7:8.
They shall be supported and comforted under their troubles; their spirits shall be
lightsome when their outward condition is clouded. Sat lucis intus - There is light
enough within. During the Egyptian darkness the Israelites had light in their dwellings.
They shall be in due time, and perhaps when they least expect it, delivered out of their
troubles; when the night is darkest the day dawns; nay, at evening-time, when night was
looked for, it shall be light.
JAMISO , "light — figurative for relief (Psa_27:1; Psa_97:11).

27. the upright — are like God (Luk_6:36; Psa_111:4).
CALVI , "4Light ariseth The Hebrew verb ‫,זרח‬ zarach, may be taken
intransitively, as I have inserted it in the text, or transitively, as in the marginal
reading; in either way the signification is the same. Whichsoever of these
translations you adopt, the words are susceptible of a twofold interpretation; either,
that as the sun shines on one part of the earth, and all the other parts of it are
enveloped in darkness, so God exempts the righteous from the common calamities of
human life; or, as day succeeds night, so God, though he permit the hearts of his
servants to be in heaviness for a season, will cause a time of calmness and clearness
to return to them. If the latter exposition is adopted, then, by darkness, or by the
cloudy, and rainy, or stormy season, the prophet means the afflictions to which God
subjects his servants for the trial of their patience. The former interpretation
appears to be more appropriate, That, when the whole world is overwhelmed with
troubles, God’s grace shines upon the faithful, who feel comfortable and happy,
because he is propitious towards them. It is thus that their condition is properly
distinguished from that which forms the common lot of other men. For the ungodly,
however they may exult in prosperity, are, nevertheless, blind in the midst of light,
because they are strangers to God’s paternal kindness; and, in adversity, they are
plunged into the darkness of death; and, consequently, they never enjoy a season of
calm repose. On the contrary, the godly, upon whom the favor of God constantly
shines, though liable to the ills incident to humanity, are never overwhelmed with
darkness, and hence the propriety of what is here stated, light ariseth to them in
darkness If we give to the Hebrew verb an active signification, then, in one respect,
the construction of the words will be preferable. For I have no doubt that the
prophet intends, as applicable to God, the epithets, gracious, merciful, and just
Therefore, if we read it as a neuter verb, light ariseth, then the latter clause of the
verse will be the reason for the statement made in the former clause. As to the
exposition, that the righteous and humane do not diffuse darkness over the world,
as the unrighteous and wicked do; that they do not extract smoke from light, but
light from smoke; it must be viewed as nothing else than a perversion of the
prophet’s language.
SPURGEO , "Ver. 4. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness. He does
not lean to injustice in order to ease himself, but like a pillar stands erect, and he
shall be found so standing when the ungodly, who are as a bowing wall and a
tottering fence, shall lie in ruins. He will have his days of darkness, he may be sick
and sorry, poor and pining, as well as others; his former riches may take to
themselves wings and fly away, while even his righteousness may be cruelly
suspected; thus the clouds may lower around him, but his gloom shall not last for
ever, the Lord will bring him light in due season, for as surely as a good man's sun
goes down it shall rise again. If the darkness be caused by depression of spirit, the
Holy Ghost will comfort him; if by pecuniary loss or personal bereavement, the
presence of Christ shall be his solace; and if by the cruelty and malignity of men, the
sympathy of his Lord shall be his support. It is as ordinary for the righteous to be
comforted as for the day to dawn. Wait for the light and it will surely come; for even

28. if our heavenly Father should in our last hours put us to bed in the dark, we shall
find it morning when we awake.
He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. This is spoken of God in the
fourth verse of the hundred and eleventh Psalm, and now the same words are used
of his servant: thus we are taught that when God makes a man upright, he makes
him like himself. We are at best but humble copies of the great original; still we are
copies, and because we are so we praise the Lord, who hath created us anew in
Christ Jesus. The upright man is "gracious, "that is, full of kindness to all around
him; he is not sour and churlish, but he is courteous to friends, kind to the needy,
forgiving to the erring, and earnest for the good of all. He is also "full of
compassion"; that is to say, he tenderly feels for others, pities them, and as far as he
can assists them in their time of trouble. He does not need to be driven to
benevolence, he is brimful of humanity; it is his joy to sympathize with the
sorrowing. He is also said to be "righteous": in all his transactions with his fellow
men he obeys the dictates of right, and none can say that he goes beyond or defrauds
his neighbour. His justice is, however, tempered with compassion, and seasoned
with graciousness. Such men are to be found in our churches, and they are by no
means so rare as the censorious imagine; but at the same time they are far scarcer
than the breadth of profession might lead us to hope. Lord, make us all to possess
these admirable qualities.
EXPLA ATORY OTES A D QUAI T SAYI GS.
Ver. 4. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness. The arising of light out
of darkness, although one of the most common, is one of the most beautiful, as it is
one of the most beneficent natural phenomena. The sunrise is a daily victory of light
over darkness. Every morning the darkness flees away. Heavy sleepers in the city
are not apt to be very well acquainted with the rising sun. They know the tender
beauties of the dawning, and the glories of sunrise by poetical description, or by the
word of others. The light has fully come, and the day has long begun its work,
especially if it be summer time, before ordinary citizens are awake; and, unless on
some rare occasions, the millions of men who, every day, see more or less the fading
of the light into the dark, never see the rising of the light out of the dark again; and,
perhaps, seldom or never think with what thankfulness and joy it is hailed by those
who need it—by the sailor, tempest tossed all night, and driven too near the
sandbank or the shore; by the benighted traveller lost in the wood, or in the wild,
who knows not south from north until the sun shall rise; by the night watcher in the
sick room, who hears, and weeps to hear, through the weary night, the moaning of
that old refrain of sorrow, "Would God it were morning!" What intensity of
sorrow, fear, hope, there may be in that expression, "more than they that watch for
the morning; I say, more than they that watch for the morning"! ow I make no
doubt that there is at least somewhat of that more intense meaning carried up into
the higher region of spiritual experience, and expressed by the text, "Unto the
upright there ariseth light in the darkness." ...Sincerity: an honest desire to know
the truth: readiness to make any sacrifice in order to the knowledge: obedience to
the truth so far as it is known already—these will bring the light when nothing else
will bring it. —Alexander Raleigh, in "The Little Sanctuary and other
Meditations, " 1872.
Ver. 4. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness. The great lesson taught

29. by this simile is the connection which obtains between integrity of purpose and
clearness of perception, insomuch that a duteous conformity to what is right, is
generally followed up by a ready and luminous discernment of what is true. It tells
us that if we have but grace to do as we ought, we shall be made to see as we ought.
It is a lesson repeatedly affirmed in Scripture, and that in various places both of the
Old and ew Testament: "The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth
more and more unto the perfect day"; "The righteousness of the upright shall
deliver them"; "Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in
heart"; or still more specifically, "To him that ordereth his conversation aright will
I shew the salvation of God." —Thomas Chalmers, 1780-1847.
Ver. 4. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: that is, comfort in
affliction. He hath comforted others in affliction, and been light to them in their
darkness, as is showed in the latter end of the fourth verse, and in the fifth, and
therefore by way of gracious retaliation, the Lord will comfort him in his affliction,
and command the light to rise upon him in his darkness. —Joseph Caryl.
Ver. 4. Light. Darkness. While we are on earth, we are subject to a threefold
"darkness"; the darkness of error, the darkness of sorrow, and the darkness of
death. To dispel these, God visiteth us, by his Word, with a threefold "light"; the
light of truth, the light of comfort, and the light of life. —George Horne.
Ver. 4. Gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous — attributes usually
applied to God, but here said of "the upright." The children of God, knowing in
their own experience that God our Father is "gracious, full of compassion, and
righteous, "seek themselves to be the same towards their fellow- men from
instinctive imitation of him (Matthew 5:45; Matthew 5:48; Ephesians 5:8; Lu 6:36).
—A. R. Fausset.
COFFMA , "Verse 4
"Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness;
He is gracious, and merciful, and righteous.
Well is it with the man that dealeth graciously and lendeth;
He shall maintain his cause in judgment.
For he shall never be moved;
The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance."
The character of the righteous man is here said to be, "Gracious, full of compassion,
and righteous. 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."[4] athaniel Hawthorne's tale of Little
Ernest and the Great Stone Face is a literary development of the same truth.
"The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance" (Psalms 112:6). Mary's
anointing the feet of Jesus and the widow's two mites are examples of the everlasting

30. 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).
ELLICOTT, "Verse 4
(4) Ariseth . . .—The Hebrew verb is commonly used of the sunrise. (Comp. Psalms
97:11; Isaiah 58:8.) For the good man the darkest night of trouble and sorrow will
have a dawn of hope.
He is gracious . . .—The Authorised Version is right in making this a description of
the upright man’s character. The construction certainly at first appears strange,
since “the upright” is in the plural, while the epithets in this clause resume the
singular of Psalms 112:3. This may be best explained by treating the first clause of
this verse as a familiar proverbial saying, which the poet introduces, as a quotation,
without changing the number to suit his own construction.
5 Good will come to those who are generous and
lend freely,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
BAR ES, "A good man showeth favor - He has the means to show favor to
others, or to promote their welfare, and he is disposed to do this. It is the characteristic
of a good man - of a heart that is truly pious - to do good to others; to promote their
welfare here, and to assist them in their endeavor to secure happiness in the world to
come.
And lendeth - The original word here - ‫לוה‬ lâvâh - means to join oneself to anyone; to
cleave to him; then, to form the union which is constituted between debtor and creditor,
borrower and lender. Here it is used in the latter sense, and it means that a good man
will accommodate another - a neighbor - with money, or with articles to be used
temporarily and returned again. A man who always “borrows” is not a desirable
neighbor; but a man who never lends - who is never willing to accommodate - is a
neighbor that no one would wish to live near - a crooked, perverse, bad man. True
religion will always dispose a man to do acts of kindness in any and every way possible.
He will guide his affairs - The word used here means literally to hold, contain; to
hold up, or sustain; to nourish, to furnish the means of living. Gen_45:11; Gen_47:12;
Gen_50:21. Here it means that he would uphold or manage his business.

31. With discretion - Margin, “judgment;” so the Hebrew. He would do it prudently,
sensibly, economically, wisely. This is, or should be, one of the characteristics of a good
man. Religion prompts to this; religion will aid a man in doing this; religion will tend to
check everything of a contrary nature. A man who neglects his “affairs,” who pays no
attention to his business, who is indifferent whether he is successful or fails, is a man
who gives “just so evidence” that he is a stranger to true religion.
GILL, "A good man showeth favour, and lendeth,.... Without usury, hoping for
nothing again: he pities those that labour under difficulties, for want of a little money;
and he generously lends it till they are able to pay him again; which oftentimes is of as
much service as if it was given; see Psa_37:21. A good man is not only a man that has the
good work of grace in him, and is ready to every good work; but one that is munificent,
bountiful, and liberal; in which sense the word is used in Rom_5:7 and so in Latin
writers (n).
He will guide his affairs with discretion; his civil and domestic affairs: he will act
the part of a good economist; so that he may be able to support his family with credit
and reputation, and have something to give to the relief of those in want. Some restrain
this to his acts of charity. He lends to some, and gives to others: he takes care that they
to whom he gives are proper objects of charity; he gives to persons seasonably, and in
proportion to his own ability and their wants. It may be rendered, "he shall guide his
words with judgment" (o); take care of what he says, and before whom; and that it be at
a proper time and place; and especially when speaking of spiritual and religious things.
HE RY, "They shall have wisdom for the management of all their concerns, Psa_
112:5. He that does good with his estate shall, through the providence of God, increase it,
not by miracle, but by his prudence: He shall guide his affairs with discretion, and his
God instructs him to discretion and teaches him, Isa_28:26. It is part of the character of
a good man that he will use his discretion in managing his affairs, in getting and saving,
that he may have to give. It may be understood of the affairs of his charity: He shows
favour and lends; but then it is with discretion, that his charity may not be misplaced,
that he may give to proper objects what is proper to be given and in due time and
proportion. And it is part of the promise to him who thus uses discretion that God will
give him more. Those who most use their wisdom see most of their need of it, and ask it
of God, who has promised to give it liberally, Jam_1:5. He will guide his words with
judgment (so it is in the original); and there is nothing in which we have more occasion
for wisdom than in the government of the tongue; blessed is he to whom God gives that
wisdom.
JAMISO , "Generosity, sound judgment in business, and confidence in God, form a
character which preserves from fear of evil and ensures success against enemies. While a
man thus truly pious is liberal, he increases in substance.
CALVI , "5A good man This is the commonly received interpretation of the
passage. I am disposed, however, to prefer another, That it shall be well with those
who are gracious and communicative; because this is more in accordance with the