PSALM 112 COMME�TARYEDITED 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.

halleluiah. THIS psalm is composed after the same manner as the former, and הללויהseems 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 Hedid, 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.

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.

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

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

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:

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

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 1PSALM 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

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.

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 112:1I. 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.

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. ַח�ּון and ַרחּום never take the article in Biblical Hebrew, and

follows their ַצִ�יק 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

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, ּוב�ִאיׁש� is here equivalent to in טּוֵבי��ְ�ַגְבָרא which is rendered ,ֽ�ְׁשֵרי�ִאיׁש

Targumic phrase. חּוֵנן 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� Psa_72:2, Isa_9:7, and ,ְ�ִמְׁשָ

frequently), or rather in the cause (Psa_143:2, Pro_24:23, and frequently), the (ַ�ִ ְׁשָ�ט =)

things which depend upon him, or with which he has to do; for ְלֵ"ל"ִ, 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 ָנכּון, erect,

straight and firm, without suffering itself to bend or warp; ה�ֻטַח�ְ�ָ, full of confidence (passive, “in the sense of a passive state after a completed action of the person himself,”

like ָזכּור, Psa_103:14); ָסמּוְך�, 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 ַעד ;ָר(ה�ְבָצָריו, 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. ר,ַ�ִ of giving away liberally and in

manifold ways, as in Pro_11:24. רּום, Psa_112:9, stands in opposition to the egoistical

in Psa_75:5 ָהִרים 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 (3 ,ָנָמסd

praet. Niph. as in Exo_16:21, pausal form of ָנֵמס = ָנַמס). 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 ִיְרֶאה,

with its self-evident object, cf. Mic_7:10. Concerning the pausal form ְוָכָעס, vid., Psa_

93:1. Hupfeld wishes to read ְקַות/ִ 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.

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.

CLARKE, "His seed shall be mighty - zaro, his posterity. So the word should זרעוalways 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

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

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 2-92. 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.]

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

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, thathis 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? —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

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 GODLYPsalms 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

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 justSmell 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.

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

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.

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

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

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;

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

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).

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

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

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

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 - lâvâh לוה - 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.

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

purport of the prophet’s language. It is his intention to show how greatly the ungodly are deceived, when they aspire after happiness by nefarious and unlawful practices; seeing that the favor of God is the source and cause of all good things. Hence it becomes necessary to supply the relative who. He proceeds, therefore, to put us on our guard as to the deception which those practice upon themselves, who hasten to enrich themselves by sordid parsimony and oppressive extortion; inasmuch as the faithful, by their clemency and kindness, open up a channel, through which the favor of God flows to them: for the term טוב, tob, though in the masculine gender, signifying good, is often taken as if it were neuter, to denote that which is good. He puts lending as if it were the fruit of mercy; for the usurer also lends, but it is that, under the false pretense of assisting the distressed, he may plunder them. It is, then, the truly liberal, who, from compassion, and not with the design of ensnaring the poor, grant relief to them, that God makes prosperous. The term דבים , debarim, in the end of the verse, signifies words; but, along with David Kimchi, the most correct expositor among the Rabbins, I take it to mean affairs. Words is a very tame translation, (347) not to say, that, if this had been the prophet’s intention, he would have expressed himself in more simple terms. The translation which I have given is the proper one, that the righteous will manage their affairs with prudence and discernment; so that, in their domestic affairs, they will neither be too lavish nor sordidly parsimonious; but, in every thing, they will study to combine frugality with economy, without giving way to luxury. And, in all their mercantile transactions; they will always be guided by the principles of equity and morality.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 5. A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth. Having passed beyond stern integrity into open handed benevolence he looks kindly upon all around him, and finding himself in circumstances which enable him to spare a little of his wealth he lends judiciously where a loan will be of permanent service. Providence has made him able to lend, and grace makes him willing to lend. He is not a borrower, for God has lifted him above that necessity; neither is he a hoarder, for his new nature saves him from that temptation; but he wisely uses the talents committed to him.He will guide his affairs with discretion. Those who neglect their worldly business must not plead religion as an excuse, for when a man is truly upright he exercises great care in managing his accounts, in order that he may remain so. It is sometimes hard to distinguish between indiscretion and dishonesty; carelessness in business may become almost as great an evil to others as actual knavery; a good man should not only be upright, but he should be so discreet that no one may have the slightest reason to suspect him of being otherwise. When the righteous man lends he exercises prudence, not risking his all, for fear he should not be able to lend again, and not lending so very little that the loan is of no service. He drives his affairs, and does not allow them to drive him; his accounts are straight and clear, his plans are wisely laid, and his modes of operation carefully selected. He is prudent, thrifty, economical, sensible, judicious, discreet. Men call him a fool for his religion, but they do not find him so when they come to deal with him. "The beginning of wisdom" has made him wise, the guidance of heaven has taught him to guide his affairs, and with half an eye one can see that he is a man of sound sense. Such

persons greatly commend godliness. Alas, some professedly good men act as if they had taken leave of their senses; this is not religion, but stupidity. True religion is sanctified common sense. Attention to the things of heaven does not necessitate the neglect of the affairs of earth; on the contrary, he who has learned how to transact business with God ought to be best able to do business with men. The children of this world often are in their generation wiser than the children of light, but there is no reason why this proverb should continue to be true.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GS.Ver. 5. A good man sheweth favour, etc. Consider that power to do good is a dangerous ability, unless we use it. Remember that it is God who giveth wealth, and that he expects some answerable return of it. Live not in such an inhuman manner as if �abal and Judas were come again into the world. Think frequently and warmly of the love of God and Jesus to you. You will not deny your crumbs to the miserable, when you thankfully call to mind that Christ gave for you his very flesh and blood. Consider as one great end of poverty is patience, so one great end of wealth is charity. Think how honourable it is to make a present to the great King of the world; and what a condescension it is in his all sufficiency to do that good by us, which he could so abundantly do without us. —Thomas Tenison, 1636-1715.Ver. 5. Lendeth. The original word here, hwl, lavah, means to join oneself to any one; 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 neighbour—with money, or with articles to be used temporarily and returned again. A man who always borrows is not a desirable neighbour; but a man who never lends—who never is willing to accommodate—is a neighbour 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. —Albert Barnes.Ver. 5. Charity though it springs in the heart should be guided by the head, that it may spread itself abroad to the best advantage.He will guide his affairs with discretion, and no affairs are so properly the good man's own as the dispensation and stewardship of those blessings which God has entrusted him with, for "it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful." —Michael Cox, 1748.Ver. 5. He will guide his affairs with discretion. Just as a steward, servant, or agent in any secular concern has to feel that his mind is his master's, as well as his hands, and that his attention, thought, tact, and talent, should be vigorously and faithfully given to the interests of his employer; so the Christian stewardship of money, demands on the part of God's servant, in respect to every form of its use and disposal, the exercise of reflection; a reference to conscience; the recollection of responsibility to God; attention to the appeals of humanity as addressed to the ear of justice and love. Everything is to be weighed as in the balance of the sanctuary; a decision formed; and then energy, skill, schemes, and plans wisely constructed, prudential limitations or beneficent liberality as may seem best. Spending, saving, giving, or lending, all being done so as best to meet what may be felt to be the Master's will, and what may best evince at once the wisdom and the fidelity of his servant. —Thomas Binney, in "Money: a Popular Exposition in Rough �otes, " 1865.

Ver. 5. Discretion. There is a story, concerning divers ancient Fathers, that they came to St. Anthony, enquiring of him, what virtue did by a direct line lead to perfection, that so a man might shun the snares of Satan. He bade every one of them speak his opinion; one said, watching and sobriety; another said, fasting and discipline; a third said, humble prayer; a fourth said, poverty and obedience; and another, piety and works of mercy; but when every one had spoken his mind, his answer was, That all these were excellent graces indeed, but discretion was the chief of them all. And so beyond doubt it is; being the very Auriga virtutum, the guide of all virtuous and religious actions, the moderator and orderer of all the affections; for whatsoever is done with it is virtue, and what without it is vice. An ounce of discretion is said to be worth a pound of learning. As zeal without knowledge is blind, so knowledge without discretion is lame, like a sword in a madman's hand, able to do much, apt to do nothing. Tolle hanc et virtus vitium erit. He that will fast must fast with discretion, he must so mortify that he does not kill his flesh; he that gives alms to the poor, must do it with discretion, Omni petenti non omnia petenti —to every one that doth ask, but not everything that he doth ask; so likewise pray with discretion, observing place and time; place, lest he be reputed a hypocrite; time, lest he be accounted a heretic. Thus it is that discretion is to be made the guide of all religious performances. —Quoted by John Spencer, 1658.

COKE, "Psalms 112:5. A good man sheweth favour, &c.— A man that sheweth favour and lendeth, shall do well. He shall support his matters in judgment, Psalms 112:6. For he shall never be shaken, &c. Mudge: who observes, that it seems agreeable to the language to make טוב tob, good, the predicate in the first clause; "a generous man shall look cheerful, and enjoy himself;" and in the second, it is natural to say that he shall support his matters in judgment. Absalom used the same expression; thy matters are right: It is a common sentiment, that the righteous shall stand in judgment; shall carry his cause, because by his goodness he has made God and man his friends. Fenwick, agreeably to his idea of the psalm, renders the clause thus:

This kind communicative man's our joy; He in the judgment will his cause maintain.

ELLICOTT, "Verse 5(5) A good man.—Rather, happy is the man who gives and lends, good being here not used in a moral sense, but meaning prosperous.

He will guide . . .—Rather, he will gain his cause: in (the) judgment. So apparently the LXX. and Vulg. Others, “he will sustain his affairs by justice.” The verb primarily means “to measure,” but in the conjugation here used has the sense of “sustains.” (See Genesis 45:11; Genesis 47:12; Genesis 1:21, where the Authorised Version has “nourish.”) The meaning is confirmed by the parallelism of the next verse.

EBC, "Psalms 112:5 blends characteristics and consequences of goodness in reverse order from that in Psalms 112:4. The compassionate man of Psalms 112:4 b does not let pity evaporate, but is moved by it to act and to lend (primarily money, but

secondarily) any needful help or solace. Benevolence which is not translated into beneficence is a poor affair. There is no blessing in it or for it; but it is well with the man who turns emotions into deeds. Lazy compassion hurts him who indulges in it, but that which "lends" gets joy in the act of bestowing aid. The result of such active compassion is stated in Psalms 112:5 b as being that such a one will "maintain his causes in judgment," by which seems to be meant the judgment of earthly tribunals. If compassion and charity guide a life, it will have few disputes, and will contain nothing for which a judge can condemn. He who obeys the higher law will not break the lower.

6 Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever.

BAR�ES, "Surely he shall not be moved for ever - Luther, “For he shall remain always.” He shall be fixed, stable, firm, prosperous. He shall not be driven from place to place. He shall have a permanent home. He shall have a steady reputation. He shall have a constant influence. He shall be a firm, establislied, prosperous man. Of course this is to be taken in the general, and should not be pressed to mean that it will be, in the most literal sense, and always, true, for a good man “may” be “unfortunate in business,” and suffer with others; he may be sick; he may see reason to change his residence; he will certainly die. But still it is true that religion “tends” to produce this permanency, and that in this respect there is a marked difference between people who are truly pious, and those who are not.

The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance - In Pro_10:7, it is said that “the name of the wicked shall rot;” and the meaning here is, that the way to secure a grateful remembrance among people after we are dead is to be righteous - to do something that shall deserve to be remembered. It cannot mean that a man who is righteous will “never” be forgotten, or that his name and deeds will never pass from the recollection of mankind - for that would not be true; but that people will delight to cherish the memory of the righteous; that they will be disposed to do justice to their character after they are dead; that the benevolent and the upright will be remembered when the names of the wicked shall be forgotten. The world has no interest in keeping up the memory of bad people, and as soon as it can be done hastens to forget them. Wicked people are remembered only when their deeds are enormous, and then their memory is cherished only to admonish and to warn. The world has no interest in keeping up the memory of Benedict Arnold, or Alexander VI, or Caesar Borgia except to warn future generations of the guilt and baseness of treason and profligacy; it “has” an interest in never suffering the names of Howard, of Wilberforce, of Henry Martyn, to die, for those

names excite to noble feelings and to noble efforts wherever they are known. Such names are to be had “in everlasting remembrance.”

GILL, "Surely he shall not be moved for ever,.... Out of the heart of God, and from his love and affections; out of the covenant of grace, and from an interest in it; out of the hands of Christ, or off of him the foundation; out of the house and family of God; out of a state of grace and righteousness, into condemnation: and though he may be distressed by afflictions, yet not destroyed; and though he may be so shaken, as to fall from some degree of steadfastness in the faith, and into sin, yet not so as to perish everlastingly: the saint's perseverance is a sure and certain truth, and to be depended upon.

The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance; with good men, and especially such whose names are recorded in Scripture: and even others are remembered after death; and for a long time after, their pious characters, sayings, actions, sufferings, works, and writings; and with God, who remembers his love to them, his covenant with them, his promises to them; has a book of remembrance for their thoughts, words, and actions; which will be remembered and spoken of at the last day, when forgotten by them; see Pro_10:9 &c.

HE�RY, "I. The satisfaction of saints, and their stability. It is the happiness of a good man that he shall not be moved for ever, Psa_112:6. Satan and his instruments endeavour to move him, but his foundation is firm and he shall never be moved, at least not moved for ever; if he be shaken for a time, yet he settles again quickly.

1. A good man will have a settled reputation, and that is a great satisfaction. A good man shall have a good name, a name for good things, with God and good people: The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance (Psa_112:6); in this sense his righteousness (the memorial of it) endures for ever, Psa_112:9. There are those that do all they can to sully his reputation and to load him with reproach; but his integrity shall be cleared up, and the honour of it shall survive him. Some that have been eminently righteous are had in a lasting remembrance on earth; wherever the scripture is read their good deeds are told for a memorial of them. And the memory of many a good man that is dead and gone is still blessed; but in heaven their remembrance shall be truly everlasting, and the honour of their righteousness shall there endure for ever, with the reward of it, in the crown of glory that fades not away. Those that are forgotten on earth, and despised, are remembered there, and honoured, and their righteousness found unto praise, and honour, and glory (1Pe_1:7); then, at furthest, shall the horn of a good man be exalted with honour, as that of the unicorn when he is a conqueror. Wicked men, now in their pride, lift up their horns on high, but they shall all be cut off, Psa_75:5, Psa_75:10. The godly, in their humility and humiliation, have defiled their horn in the dust (Job_16:15); but the day is coming when it shall be exalted with honour. That which shall especially turn to the honour of good men is their liberality and bounty to the poor: He has dispersed, he has given to the poor; he has not suffered his charity to run all in one channel, or directed it to some few objects that he had a particular kindness for, but he has dispersed it, given a portion to seven and also to eight, has sown beside all waters, and by thus scattering he has increased: and this is his righteousness, which endures for ever. Alms are called righteousness, not because they will justify us by making atonement for our evil deeds, but because they are good deeds, which we are bound to perform; so that if we are not charitable we are not just; we withhold good from those to whom it is due. The honour of this endures for ever, for it

shall be taken notice of in the great day. I was hungry, and you gave me meat. This is quoted as an inducement and encouragement to charity, 2Co_9:9.

JAMISO�, "not be moved— (compare Psa_13:4; Psa_15:5).

CALVI�, "6Surely he shall not be moved. The Hebrew particle כי, ki, may here be taken in its natural or causal meaning, and thus be rendered for, especially if in the preceding verse we adopt the marginal reading, It shall be well with the man. For he refers in more explicit terms to that happiness of which he spake, that God sustains the compassionate and humane, so that amid all the vicissitudes of life they remain unmoved; that he makes their innocence appear, and protects them from unjust calumny. It is said they are never moved They are indeed liable to the incidents common to humanity, and even may often appear as if they were about to sink under the weight of their calamities; but their confidence remains unshaken, and by invincible patience they surmount all their adversities. With God as the defender of their righteousness, they yet do not escape from being assailed by the slanders of the ungodly, but it is enough for them that their name is blessed before God, the angels, and the whole assembly of the godly.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 6. Surely he shall not be moved for ever. God has rooted and established him so that neither men nor devils shall sweep him from his place. His prosperity shall be permanent, and not like that of the gambler and the cheat, whose gains are evanescent: his reputation shall be bright and lustrous from year to year, for it is not a mere pretence; his home shall be permanent, and he shall not need to wander from place to place as a bird that wanders from her nest; and even his memory shall be abiding, for a good man is not soon forgotten, andthe righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. They are of a most ancient family, and not mushrooms of an hour, and their grand old stock shall be found flourishing when all the proud houses of ungodly men shall have faded into nothing. The righteous are worth remembering, their actions are of the kind which record themselves, and God himself takes charge of their memorials. �one of us likes the idea of being forgotten, and yet the only way to avoid it is to be righteous before God.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GS.Ver. 6. What doth the text say?The righteous (that is the bountiful) shall be in everlasting remembrance. God remembers our good deeds, when he rewards them (as he does our prayers, when he hears them). If to remember, then, be to reward, an everlasting reward is our everlasting remembrance... �ow in those who are to be partakers of mercy, the divine wisdom requires this congruity, that they be such as have been ready to show mercy to others. —Joseph Mede, 1586-1638.Ver. 6. The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. The stately and durable pyramids of Egypt have not transmitted to posterity even the names of those buried in them. And what has even embalming done, but tossed them about, and exposed them to all the world as spectacles to the curious, of meanness, or horror? But the

piety of Abraham, of Jacob, of David and Samuel, of Hezekiah, Josiah and others, is celebrated to this very day. So when pyramids shall sink, and seas cease to roll, when sun and moon and stars shall be no more, "the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance." —John Dun, 1790.

COKE, "Psalms 112:6. For he by no means can be overthrown; But every age the Just One's praise shall tell.

And he observes, that the Hebrew word טוב tob, should be rendered a good thing: "He is a good thing, what we delight in, and esteem our joy; since he is kind, communicative, or ready to lend the gifts or talents of his grace or good Spirit."

EBC, "Psalms 112:6-8 dwell mainly on one consequence of righteousness, namely, the stability which it imparts. While such a man lives, he shall be unmoved by shocks, and after he dies, his memory will live, like a summer evening’s glow which lingers in the west till a new morning dawns. In Psalms 112:7 the resemblance of the godly to God comes very beautifully to the surface. Psalms 111:7 deals with God’s commandments as "trustworthy." The human parallel is an established heart. He who has learned to lean upon Jehovah! (for such is the literal force of "trusting" here), and has proved the commandments utterly reliable as basis for his life, will have his heart steadfast. The same idea is repeated in Psalms 112:8 with direct quotation of the corresponding verse of Psalms 111:1-10. In both the word for "established" is the same. The heart that delights in God’s established commandments is established by them, and, sooner or later, will look in calm security on the fading away of all evil things and men, while it rests indeed, because it rests in God. He who builds his transient life on and into the Rock of Ages wins rocklike steadfastness, and some share in the perpetuity of his Refuge. Lives rooted in God are never uprooted.

The two final verses are elongated, like the corresponding ones in Psalms 111:1-10. Again, beneficence is put in the forefront, as a kind of shorthand summing up of all virtues. And, again, in Psalms 112:9 the analogy is drawn out between God and the godly. "He has sent redemption to His people"; and they, in their degree, are to be communicative of the gifts of which they have been made recipient. Little can they give, compared with what they have received; but what they have they hold in trust for those who need it, and the sure test of having obtained "redemption" is a "heart open as day to melting charity." In the former psalm, Psalms 112:9 b declared that God has "ordained His covenant forever" and here the corresponding clause reaffirms that the good man’s righteousness endures forever. The final clauses of both verses also correspond, in so far as, in the former psalm, God’s �ame is represented as "holy and dread"-i.e., the total impression made by His deeds exalts Him-and in the latter, the righteous man’s "horn" is represented as "exalted in glory" or honour-i.e., the total impression made by his deeds exalts him. Paul quotes the two former clauses of Psalms 112:9 in 2 Corinthians 9:9 as involving the truth that Christian giving does not impoverish. The exercise of a disposition strengthens it; and God takes care that the means of beneficence shall not be wanting to him

who has the spirit of it. The later Jewish use of "righteousness" as a synonym for alms giving has probably been influenced by this psalm, in which beneficence is the principal trait in the righteous man’s character, but there is no reason for supposing that the psalmist uses the word in that restricted sense.

BI, "The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.

The reputation of good men after death

I. Whence it comes to pass, that good men are very often defrauded of their just praise and reputation whilst they are alive.

1. From what cause it proceeds.

(1) Good men themselves are many times the cause of it. For the best men are imperfect; and present and visible imperfections do very much lessen and abate the reputation of a man’s goodness.

(2) The principal cause is from others. From the hatred and opposition of bad men to holiness and virtue. From the envy of those who perhaps have some degree of goodness themselves.

(3) There is something in the very presence and nearness of goodness and virtue, which is apt to lessen it. Perhaps familiarity and conversation does insensibly beget something of contempt; but whatever the reason of it be, we find the thing most certainly true in experience.

2. For what reasons the providence of God permits it thus to be.

(1) To keep good men humble, and, as the expression is in Job, “to hide pride from men.”

(2) This life is not the proper season of reward, but of work and service.

II. What security good men have of a good name after death.

1. From the providence of God.

(1) In respect of the equity of it. God, who will not be behindhand with any man, concerns Himself to secure to good men the proper reward of their piety and virtue.

(2) In regard of the example of it. It is a great argument to virtue, and encouragement to men to act their part well, to see good men applauded, when they go off the stage.

2. The other part of the account of this truth is to be given from the nature of the thing: because death removes and takes away the chief obstacle of a good man’s reputation. For then his defects are out of sight, and men are contented that his imperfections should be buried in his grave with him.

III. Inferences by way of application.

1. To vindicate the honour which the Christian Church hath for many ages done to the first teachers and martyrs of our religion; I mean more especially to the holy apostles of our Lord and Saviour; to whose honour the Christian Church hath thought fit to set apart solemn times, for the commemoration of their piety and suffering, and to stir up others to the imitation of them.

2. Let this consideration, that “the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance,” be an encouragement to us to piety and goodness. This, to a generous nature, that is sensible of honour and reputation, is no small reward and encouragement.

3. Whenever we pretend to do honour to the memory of good men, let us charge ourselves with a strict imitation of their holiness and virtue. (J. Tillotson.)

Everlasting remembrance of the good

I. It is seen in the favours which Heaven confers upon remote posterity for their sake. God blesses children’s children, unborn generations, for the sake of a holy ancestor. David may be selected as an example of this (1Ki_11:11-13; 1Ki_15:4; 2Ki_8:19).

II. In the good which the Almighty accomplishes by their instrumentality through distant times.

1. By their biography.

2. By their literary productions.

III. In the connection of their labours with the indestructible consciousness of men. The saved and the lost will remember their counsel, their reproofs, their exhortations, their sermons, their prayers, for ever and ever.

IV. In the blessings which the almighty will impart to them through all eternity. The subject teaches—

(1) The immense value of a righteous man in society. His usefulness is as permanent as the stars.

(2) The best method of achieving lasting fame. Usefulness alone can give it. (Homilist.)

The religious aspect of history

It is now more than six hundred years ago since one of the earliest fathers of English history, an inmate of the venerable Abbey of St. Albans, which nurtured the first school of English historical learning, recounted, at the commencement of his work, how he was vexed by questions, some put by envious detractors, some arising from serious perplexity, whether the record of times that were dead and gone was worthy of the labour and study of Christian men. He replied, with a lofty consciousness of the greatness of his task, first by an appeal to the highest instincts of man, and then added, as a further and complete sanction of these instincts, the words of the psalmist, “The just shall be had in everlasting remembrance.” These are simple and familiar words; but the old chronicler of St. Albans was right in saying that they contain the principle which vindicates and sanctifies all historical research. “If thou,” he said to his readers, “if thou forgettest and despisest the departed of past generations, who will remember thee?” “It was to keep alive,” so he added, “the memory of the good, and teach us to abhor the bad, that all the sacred historians have striven from Moses down to the ‘deep-souled’ chroniclers of the years in which we ourselves are living.”

1. “Everlasting remembrance”—“eternal memory”—“a memorial that shall endure from generation to generation.” This is what history aims to accomplish for the ages of the past. As we are reminded both by Scripture and by experience of the noble, the

inextinguishable desire implanted within us to understand and to bring near to us the wonders of the firmament, so in like manner we may be assured that there lies deep in the human heart a desire not less noble, not less insatiable, to understand and to bring near to us the wonders of the ages that are dead and buried (Psa_77:5; Psa_77:10-11; Psa_78:2-4). As the celestial spheres are mapped out by the natural student to guide the mariner, and “for times, and for seasons, and for days, and for years,” so the spheres of earthly events are mapped out by the historical student, and the monuments of glory and the beacons of danger are set along the shores of the past, to direct us through the trackless ocean of the future. Happy, thrice happy he who has the ears to hear those voices of the dead which others cannot hear—who has the eyes to see those visions of the ancient times which to others are dim and dark. History may be fallible and uncertain, but it is our only guide to the great things that God has wrought for the race of man in former ages; it is the only means through which “we can hear, and” through which “our fathers can declare to us the noble works which He has done in their days, and in the old time before them.”

2. And not only the religion of the natural man, but the whole structure of the Bible is a testimony to the sacredness and the value of historical learning. Unlike all other sacred books, the sacred books both of the Old and New Testament are, at least half in each, not poetical, or dogmatical, but historical. Doctrine, precept, warning, exhortation, all are invested with double charms when clothed in the flesh and blood of historical facts. If there has been an “everlasting remembrance “ of One supremely Just, in whom the Divine Mind was made known to man in a special and transcendent degree, it is because that Just One, the Holy and the True, “became flesh and dwelt amongst us,” and became (so let us speak with all reverence and all truth) the subject of historical description, of historical research, of historical analysis, of historical comparison. The sacred historians of the Jewish Commonwealth—still more the simple, homely, but profound historians of the New Testament whom we call the Evangelist,—are the most impressive of all preachers.

3. And this power is not confined to the history of the Jewish people, or of the Christian Church. It extends to the history of “the nations”—of “the Gentiles,” as they are called in the Bible. “The just,” without reserve, in whatever nation, and of whatever creed, “is to be had in everlasting remembrance.” “Whatsoever things are true,” etc., in whatsoever race, or under whatsoever form,—these things are the legitimate, the sacred, subjects which the Father of all good gifts has charged the historians of the world to read and to record wheresoever they can be discerned. (Dean Stanley.)

The reputation of the righteous

The desire of reputation is part of the social constitution which God has given us; and, when properly directed, has a powerful tendency to promote our moral perfection. But we desire not the esteem of our contemporaries alone. Extending our prospects through a wider sphere, we seek to be approved by the spirits of the just who adorned the ages that are past; and look forward, with fond expectation, to the reverence that awaits us, after this mortal frame shall have mouldered into dust. But though the desire of reputation be natural to man, and though it operates with peculiar force in the noblest minds; yet it is not to be followed as the guide of our conduct. It is valuable only when it acts in subordination to the principles of virtue, and gives additional force to their impression. Separated from these principles, it becomes a source of corruption and

depravity. Instead of animating the soul to generous deeds, it descends to foster the swellings of vain glory, and to beget the meanness of ostentation, or the vileness of hypocrisy. When the love of praise is perverted to such unworthy purposes, it seldom accomplishes its end. For though the artifices of deceit may succeed for a while, and obtain for the undeserving a temporary applause, yet the constitution of things has placed an insuperable bar between the practice of iniquity and a durable reputation. To the virtuous alone belongs the reward of lasting glory; and the Almighty will not suffer a stranger to intermeddle with their joy. For them Providence has prepared the approbation of the age in which they live, and their memorial descends to warm the admiration of succeeding times. Light is sown for the upright; the memory of the just is blessed; and the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. Death removes the chief causes of uncharitable judgment, and enables us to estimate the value of departed worth, free from the influence of prejudice and passion. The little jealousies which darken the reputation of the living seldom pursue them beyond the limits of the grave. Envy ceases when their merit has ceased to be an obstacle to our ambition. Their imperfections are buried with their bodies in the tomb, and soon forgotten; while their better qualities, recalled often to our thoughts, and heightened by the inconveniences which their departure occasions, live in the remembrance of their neighbours, and receive the tribute of just approbation. We are even willing to repay them by an excess of praise for the injury we did them while alive. (J. Finlayson, D.D.)

The immortality of influence

We think that when a man dies he has done with the world, and that the world has done with him. That view, how, ever, needs revision. There is much about a man that cannot be put into a coffin. Keats left for his epitaph, “Here lies one whose name was writ in water.” The names of men are generally so writ, but the life and character are impressed on society deeply, indelibly. We cannot properly speak of the immortality of bad influence; yet that influence spreads and persists to a distressing extent. But we can speak confidently about the immortality of the influence of the good. Abel being dead yet speaketh; we are not told that Cain does. It is a reassuring thing to know that the good which men do is not buried with their bones. Not only do remarkable saints influence posterity beneficially; all saints do so, although it may be in a less degree. We find it easy to believe that the men influence posterity whose deeds are emblazoned in history, whose books are in the libraries, whoso monuments are in the minster, but we are slow to believe in the posthumous life of the obscure and unknown. Yet the immortality of influence is just as true in regard to the humble as to the illustrious. Nature perpetuates the memory of the frailest and most fugitive life, of the simplest and most insignificant action and event. The rolling pebble, the falling leaf, and the rippling water of millions of years ago left their sign in the rocks. The minute creatures of the primeval world built up the strata on which we live, and affecting traces of their being and action are palpable everywhere. All this is going on still; every flash of lightning is photographed, every whisper vibrates for ever, every movement in the physical world leaves an imperishable record. Let us not, then, be anxious lest we should be forgotten. A secret law renders the lowliest life immortal. This gives a new view of the duration of life. We plaintively speak of human life as a dream, a flower, a shade. But the doctrine of the immortality of influence puts the subject in another light. We gain a new view of the seriousness of life. Confined to threescore years life appears insignificant; yet in the light of immortality of influence it appears unspeakably solemn. There is no circle to our influence but the horizon; we are alive to the coming of the Son of Man. We must wait for the last day

before we are finally judged. Why? Because men do not close their account with the world at their death; our influence reaches to the last day, and therefore only then can the full and final verdict be given. (W. L. Watkinson.)

7 They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.

BAR�ES, "He shall not be afraid of evil tidings - Of bad news; of reverses and losses; of the destruction of his ship at sea, or his property by land; of disaster by flood, by famine, by war. His heart will so fully confide in God that he can commit all calmly into his hands. He will feel assured that all will be well; that nothing occurs but that which the wisest and the best Being in the universe sees it best should occur; and that in all which “does” take place he is able to sustain the sufferer. There is nothing so well suited to make the mind calm as trust in God. What has a man to be afraid of who does trust in him? Compare Psa_27:3; Psa_46:2; Psa_56:3-4; Heb_13:6; Pro_1:33.

His heart is fixed - Is firm; is established. See the notes at Psa_57:7.

Trusting in the Lord - This is the reason “why” his heart is “fixed” or firm. It is not any native courage or resolution; it is not any firmness of his own; it is simply because he has confidence in God, and feels assured that all things will be well.

CLARKE, "He shall not be afraid of evil tidings - He knows that God governs the world, therefore he fears not for futurity. And as to the calumnies of men, he fears them not, because his heart is fixed - determined to walk in the path of duty, whatever persecutions he may suffer, for he trusts in the Lord.

GILL, "He shall not be afraid of evil tidings,.... Either respecting things temporal; the death of friends, loss of substance, public calamities, wars and rumours of wars, commotions, confusions, convulsions, and revolutions in states, kingdoms, and nations, Psa_46:1 or things spiritual; such as are brought to him by Satan; that he is an hypocrite, and the root of the matter is not in him; for he knows him to be a liar, and the father of lies; or by his own unbelieving heart: or what will befall the churches of Christ, and the interest of religion, in the latter day; as that the outward court shall be given to the Gentiles; that the witnesses shall be slain, and an hour of temptation shall come

upon all the earth; and such a time of tribulation as has not yet been; for he knows that the saints, will be kept in it, and carried through it, and glorious times will follow. Or, "he shall not be afraid of an evil hearing" (p); of an ill report raised of himself; for he knows he must go through good report and bad report; and especially when it is a false one, and for the sake of truth and righteousness, it gives him no uneasiness: nor is he afraid of hearing the report of the law, which in some sense may be called an evil hearing or report, in opposition to the hearing of faith, or the good report of the Gospel; he is not afraid of it, when it curses, those that are under it, seeing he is redeemed by Christ from the curse of it; and therefore is not afraid of its menaces and threatenings, its curse and condemnation: nor is a good man afraid of or terrified at the tidings of death; nor will he be dismayed when the last trumpet sounds, and the dead are raised; when the heavens shall melt away with a great noise; when all shall be summoned to the judgment seat, and the wicked will hear, "Go ye cursed", he will be under no fears of hearing such a sentence.

His heart is fixed; on the love of God, and is rooted and grounded in it; and is firmly persuaded of his interest in it, and that nothing can separate him from it: it is fixed on Christ the foundation; his faith is fixed and settled in him, and so are his affections; and nothing can separate from his love to him, Rom_8:35. Or his heart is prepared (q); to meet the Lord in the way of his judgments: he expects tidings of evil things, and that he shall receive evil things, as well as good, at the hands of the Lord; and therefore is not afraid of them, or surprised at them when they come; as well as his heart is prepared by the Lord to serve him, and is ready to every good work.

Trusting in the Lord; in his covenant God and Father, who will never leave him nor forsake him; in his grace, which is sufficient for him in the worst of times; and who will supply all his wants: in his strength, to enable him to do his duty; to bear up under trials and exercises, and to do and suffer his will and pleasure; and in his power, to protect and preserve him, and keep him unto salvation; and in his faithfulness, to perform his promises, trusting in him for things temporal, spiritual, and eternal. The Targum is,

"trusting in the Word of the Lord;''

in Christ, the essential Word; looking to him as the author and finisher of faith; leaning upon him, laying the whole stress of his salvation on him; trusting in his person for acceptance, in his righteousness for justification, in his blood for pardon and cleansing, in his sacrifice for atonement, in his fulness for supply, and in his strength and power for assistance and protection; all which give him peace, and secure him from fear of evil tidings; see Isa_26:3.

HE�RY, " A good man shall have a settled spirit, and that is a much greater satisfaction than the former; for so shall a man have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another. Surely he shall not be moved, whatever happens, not moved either from his duty or from his comfort; for he shall not be afraid; his heart is established, Psa_112:7, Psa_112:8. This is a part both of the character and of the comfort of good people. It is their endeavour to keep their minds stayed upon God, and so to keep them calm, and easy, and undisturbed; and God has promised them both cause to do so and grace to do so. Observe, (1.) It is the duty and interest of the people of God not to be afraid of evil tidings, not to be afraid of hearing bad news; and, when they do, not to be put into confusion by it and into an amazing expectation of worse and worse, but whatever

happens, whatever threatens, to be able to say, with blessed Paul, None of these things move me, neither will I fear, though the earth be removed, Psa_46:2. (2.) The fixedness of the heart is a sovereign remedy against the disquieting fear of evil tidings. If we keep our thoughts composed, and ourselves masters of them, our wills resigned to the holy will of God, our temper sedate, and our spirits even, under all the unevenness of Providence, we are well fortified against the agitations of the timorous. (3.) Trusting in the Lord is the best an surest way of fixing and establishing the heart. By faith we must cast anchor in the promise, in the word of God, and so return to him and repose in him as our rest. The heart of man cannot fix any where, to its satisfaction, but in the truth of God, and there it finds firm footing. (4.) Those whose hearts are established by faith will patiently wait till they have gained their point: He shall not be afraid, till he see his desire upon his enemies, that is, till he come to heaven, where he shall see Satan, and all his spiritual enemies, trodden under his feet, and, as Israel saw the Egyptians, dead on the sea-shore. Till he look upon his oppressors (so Dr. Hammond), till he behold them securely, and look boldly in their faces, as being now no longer under their power. It will complete the satisfaction of the saints, when they shall look back upon their troubles and pressures, and be able to say with St. Paul, when he had recounted the persecutions he endured (2Ti_3:11), But out of them all the Lord delivered me.

CALVI�, "7.He shall not be afraid when he hears evil tidings This may appear to be a confirmation of the statement contained in the preceding verse, being as much as to say, That the righteous are exempted from the infamous name which the reprobate secure to themselves by their vicious conduct. I rather take the meaning to be, that the righteous, unlike unbelievers, who tremble at every even the slightest rumor, calmly and peacefully confide in God’s paternal care, amid all the evil tidings which may reach them. Whence is it that unbelievers are in constant agitation, but that they imagine they are the sport of fortune on the earth, while God remains at ease in heaven? �o wonder, then, that the rustling of the falling leaf troubles and alarms them. From such uneasiness the faithful are freed, because they neither give heed to rumors, nor does the fear of them prevent them from constantly invoking God. The children of God may also manifest symptoms of fear at the prospect of impending danger; for were they altogether regardless of calamities, such indifference would be the result, not of confidence in God, but of insensibility. But should they not be able to lay aside all fear and anxiety, yet, acknowledging God as the guardian of their life, and pursuing the tenor of their way, they intrust themselves to his preserving care, and cheerfully resign themselves to his disposal. This is that magnanimity of the righteous, under the influence of which the prophet declares they can disregard those rumors of evil which strike others with alarm. Wisely, too, do they rely upon God for support; because, encompassed on all sides with deaths innumerable, we would sink into despair were we not borne up by the confidence that we are secure under God’s protection. Genuine stability, then, is that which the prophet here describes, and which consists in reposing with unshaken confidence in God. On the other hand, that presumptuous confidence with which the ungodly are intoxicated exposes them the more, to the indignation of God, inasmuch as they overlook the frailty of human life, and in their pride of heart madly set themselves in opposition to him. Therefore, when “they shall say, Peace and safety, then shall sudden destruction come upon them,” (1 Thessalonians 5:3.) But a sense of calamities, while it alarms and disconcerts the faithful, does not make

them faint-hearted, because it does not shake their faith, by which they are rendered bold and steadfast. In a word, they are not insensible to their trials, (348) but the confidence which they place in God enables them to rise above all the cares of the present life. Thus they preserve calmness and composedness of mind, and wait patiently till the fit season arrives for taking vengeance upon the reprobate.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 7. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings. He shall have no dread that evil tidings will come, and he shall not be alarmed when they do come. Rumours and reports he despises; prophecies of evil, vented by fanatical mouths, he ridicules; actual and verified information of loss and distress he bears with equanimity, resigning everything into the hands of God.His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. He is neither fickle nor cowardly; when he is undecided as to his course he is still fixed in heart: he may change his plan, but not the purpose of his soul. His heart being fixed in solid reliance upon God, a change in his circumstances but slightly affects him; faith has made him firm and steadfast, and therefore if the worst should come to the worst, he would remain quiet and patient, waiting for the salvation of God.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GS.Ver. 7. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings. How can you affright him? Bring him word his estate is ruined; "yet my inheritance is safe, "says he. Your wife, or child, or dear friend is dead; "yet my Father lives." You yourself must die; "well, then, I go home to my Father, and to my inheritance."For the public troubles of the Church, doubtless it is both a most pious and generous temper, to be more deeply affected for these than for all our private ones; and to sympathise in the common calamities of any people, but especially of God's own people, hath been the character of men near unto him. Observe the pathetic strains of the prophet's bewailing, when he foretells the desolation even of foreign kingdoms, much more of the Lord's chosen people, still mindful of Sion, and mournful of her distresses. (Jeremiah 9:1, and the whole Book of Lamentations.) Yet even in this, with much compassion, there is a calm in a believer's mind; he finds amidst all hard news, yet still a fixed heart, trusting, satisfied in this, that deliverance shall come in due time, Psalms 102:13, and that in those judgments that are inflicted, man shall be humbled and God exalted, Isaiah 2:11; Isaiah 2:15-16; and that in all tumults and changes, and subversion of states, still the throne of God is fixed, and with that the believer's heart likewise, Psalms 93:2. So Psalms 29:10. —Robert Leighton.Ver. 7. He shall not be afraid, etc. If a man would lead a happy life, let him but seek a sure object for his trust, and he shall be safe: He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. A man that puts his confidence in God, if he hears bad news of mischief coming towards him, as suppose a bad debt, a loss at sea, accidents by fire, tempests, or earthquakes, as Job had his messenger's of evil tidings, which came thick and threefold upon him, yet he is not afraid, for his heart is fixed on God: he hath laid up his confidence in God, therefore his heart is kept in an equal poise; he can say, as Job, "The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord, "Job 1:21. His comforts did not ebb and flow with the creature, but his heart was fixed, trusting in the Lord. —Thomas Manton.Ver. 7 (first clause). The good man will not be alarmed by any report of danger,

whilst the dishonest man, conscious of his wickedness, is always in a state of fear. —George Phillips.Ver. 7. His heart is fixed, or prepared, ready, and in arms for all services; resolved not to give back, able to meet all adventures, and stand its ground. God is unchangeable; and therefore faith is invincible, for it sets the heart on him; fastens it there on the rock of eternity; then let winds blow and storms arise, it cares not. —Robert Leighton.Ver. 7. His heart is fixed —established fearlessly. So Moses, with the Red Sea before and the Egyptian foes behind (Exodus 14:13); Jehoshaphat before the Ammonite horde of invaders (2 Chronicles 20:12; 2 Chronicles 20:15; 2 Chronicles 20:17); Asa before Zerah, the Ethiopian's "thousand thousand, and three hundred chariots" (2 Chronicles 14:9-12). Contrast with the persecuted David's fearless trust, Saul's panic stricken feeling at the Philistine invasion, inasmuch as he repaired for help to a witch. How bold were the three youths in prospect of �ebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace! How fearless Stephen before the council! Basilius could say, in answer to the threats of Caesar Valens, "such bug bears should be set before children." Athanasius said of Julian, his persecutor, "He is a mist that will soon disappear." —A. R. Fausset.Ver. 7. Trusting in the Lord, I need not prove that a man can have no other sure comfort and support. For what can he confide in? His treasure? This may soon be exhausted, or it may awaken the avarice or ambition of a powerful enemy, as Hezekiah's did the king of Babylon, and so instead of being a defence, prove the occasion of his ruin. Can he confide in power? Alas, he knows that when this is grown too big to fall by any other hands, it generally falls by its own. Can he finally confide in worldly wisdom? Alas, a thousand unexpected accidents, and unobserved latent circumstances, cross and frustrate this, and render the Ahithophels not only unfortunate, but often contemptible too. —Richard Lucas, 1648-1715.

COFFMA�, "Verse 7"He shall not be afraid of evil tidings:

His heart is fixed, trusting in Jehovah.

His heart is established, he shall not be afraid,

Until he see his desire upon his adversaries."

"He shall not be afraid" (Psalms 112:7-8). "Perfect love casteth out fear" (1 John 4:18); and the man who loves God, delights in his commandments, trusts in the Lord, orders his life in the likeness of God's own character, etc. that man has no need to fear anything. He need not fear pain, suffering, misfortune, poverty, sickness, even death itself; because his is the assurance from the 23Psalm, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, etc."

"Evil tidings" (Psalms 112:7) is listed here as something of which the righteous man shall not be afraid. This does not mean that evil tidings shall not come; but that, even if they do, the rock-like stability of his heart shall not be moved. Whatever life

brings, he will be able to take it and triumph over it.

ELLICOTT, "Verse 7(7) The story of Job, when the messengers of ill succeeded one another so fast, is an illustration of the truth of this verse. “A good conscience before God” is the best “armour against fate.”

“Virtue is bold, and goodness never fearful.”—

SHAKESPERE: Measure for Measure.

BI, "He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.

Heartsease

Those who have laid hold on Christ Jesus, and are resting in the Father’s love and power, have no reason to be disquieted: should all hell be unmuzzled, and all earth be unhinged, they may rejoice with a joy undamped by carnal fear or earthly sorrow.

I. Evil tidings may come to the best of men—to those whoso hearts are fixed and are trusting in the Lord.

1. Let us remember the frail tenure upon which we hold our temporal mercies: how soon may evil tidings come concerning them. We rightly class our families first in our possessions. Our dear relations are but loaned to us, and the hour when we must return them to the lender’s hand may be even at the door. The like is certainly true of our worldly goods. Do not riches take to themselves wings and fly away? And though we have heard some almost profanely say that they have clipped the wings of their riches, so that they cannot fly, yet may the bird of prey rend them where they are, and the rotting carcase of the wealth which the owners cannot enjoy, may be a perpetual curse to them. Full often gold and silver canker in the coffer, and fret the soul of their claimant. This world at best is but a sandy foundation, and the wisest builder may well look for an end to the most substantial of its erections. Evil tidings may also come to us in another respect: we may suddenly find our health decay. That strength which now enables us to perform our daily business with delight, may so fail us that the slightest exertion may cause us pain. Certain expositors refer this passage to slander and reproach, and they translate it, “ He shall not be afraid of evil hearing.” It is one of the sharpest trials of the Christian’s life to be misunderstood, misrepresented, and belied. The more prominent you are in Christ’s service, the more certain are you to be the butt of calumny. In all these things, however, we ought to expect evil tidings.

2. Evil tidings will also come to us concerning spiritual matters, and babes in grace will be greatly alarmed. Every now and then there cometh a messenger with breathless haste, who tells us that the sages have discovered that the Bible is a fiction. But the religion of Jesus is so full of life, that her deadliest foes cannot make an end of her. We hear also at times that professors have fallen. Moreover, Satan will tell us that we are hypocrites, and conscience will remind us of sundry things which raise the suspicion that we are not soundly regenerated.

3. Moreover, the evil tidings of death will soon be brought to you by the appointed messenger The message will be given to us, “The Master is come, and calleth for

thee.”

II A Christian at no time ought to fear either in expectation of evil tidings, or when the tidings actually arrive. And why?

1. Because, if you be troubled, and distracted, what do you more than other men? Where is the dignity of that new nature which you claim to possess?

2. Again, if you should be filled with alarm, as others are, you would, doubtless, be led into the sins so common to others under trying circumstances. The ungodly, when they are overtaken by evil tidings, rebel against God; they murmur, and think that God deals hardly with them. Will you fall into that same sin? Will you provoke the Lord, as they do?

3. Further, you must not give way to these doubts and alarms and fears, for, if you do, you will be unfit to meet the trouble.

4. If you give way to fright and fear when you hear of evil tidings, how can you glorify God?

III. Fixedness of heart is the true cure for being alarmed at evil tidings.

1. The Christian’s heart is fixed as to duty. He says within himself, “It is my business so to walk as Christ also walked: it can never be right for me to do contrary to God’s will. I have set the Lord always before me, and in integrity of heart will I walk all my way, wherever that way may lead.” Such a man is prepared for anything.

2. But, more comfortable than this, the Christian’s heart is fixed as to knowledge and so prepared, he knows, for instance, that God sits in the stern-sheets of the vessel when it rocks most. He knows, too, that God is always wise, and, knowing this, he is prepared for all events. They cannot come amiss, saith he, there can be no accidents, no mistakes, nothing can occur which ought not to occur.

3. Further, there is the fixedness of resignation. When we gave ourselves to Christ, we gave Him our person, our estate, our friends, and everything. It is a good thing every morning to give all up to God, and then to live through the day, and thank Him for renewing the daily lease.

4. Better still, let me remind you of one form of fixedness which will make you outride every storm, namely, fixedness as to eternal things. “I cannot lose”—the Christian may say—“I cannot lose my best things.”

5. I believe that holy gratitude is one blessed way of fixing the soul on God and preparing it for trouble.

IV. The great instrument of fixedness of heart is faith in God. “His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.” You see that we have come hither by progressive steps. Evil tidings may come to an heir of heaven; he ought not to be afraid of them; the way to be prepared for them is to have the heart fixed and prepared, and the method of having the heart fixed is confident trustfulness in the Lord. God is never away from any of His children, but He is nearest to those who are the most sad, and sick, and troubled. If there be one sheep in the fold that is more watched over than the rest, it is the weakest sheep. “He carrieth the lambs in His bosom, and gently leadeth those that are with young.” (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Trust in God the best antidote against fear

1. The truster in the Lord shall not be afraid of tidings of wrath and condemnation from the law of God.

2. The truster in God shall not be afraid of sin’s recovering its dominion over him.

3. The truster in the Lord of hosts shall not be afraid of tidings of calamity to the Church of God.

4. The truster in God shall not be afraid to hear of public national disasters.

5. The truster in the Lord shall not be afraid of tidings of persecution for the sake of Christ.

6. The truster in the Lord shall not be afraid of the tidings of arduous duties, to which he finds himself altogether unequal.

7. The truster in the Lord shall not be afraid of tidings of personal worldly losses and afflictions.

8. The fixed truster in the Lord shall not be afraid of the evil tidings of his own death.

9. The fixed truster in God shall not be afraid of tidings of judgment.

Learn—

1. That fearful doubts and apprehensions are no part of the character of a Christian.

2. The true principle of a steady and upright practice, namely, trust in God.

3. The reason why God often makes His people to hear evil tidings; and that is, to try their trust in Him.

4. What unhappy persons are believers! If the truster in God is afraid of no evil tidings, they have reason to be afraid of everything; for the wrath of God abideth on them, and His wrath is comprehensive of all evil, both in this world and that which is to come. (A. Swanston.)

The unreasonableness of fear in the Christian

1. The anxiety of the Christian partakes of the unreasoning terror of childhood. The nervousness of little children is often extreme. What agonies of suspense! what excruciating listening! what cold sweats the little ones suffer when alone in the darkness! But, growing older, we discover how groundless and foolish this childish terror was, and that all the suffering which arose out of it was absolutely needless. In the dark night, when we were almost paralyzed by fear, how a father’s or mother’s reassuring voice scattered the ghosts, and once more restored to us sweet sleep! Shall it not be thus again as we listen to the voice of the Heavenly Father? Carlyle considers “that the extent to which we have put fear under our feet is a good measure of manhood”; and it is certainly a sign of the reality and growth of the spiritual life that we walk with increasing confidence.

2. The fear of the Christian partakes of the unreasonableness of the terror of the savage. Ignorant of the laws which govern the system of nature, the savage is the victim of the wildest and most distressing fancies. The storm, the eclipse, the lightning and thunder inspire him with boundless terror, because he interprets them

by an arbitrary and gloomy imagination. But it is entirely different with the educated European. He has come to understand the great and beautiful laws which regulate the movements of earth and sky and sea; and with perfect confidence and satisfaction, with entire admiration and delight the astronomer and meteorologist look upon the very phenomena which occasion the savage the ghastliest terror—the vast horror of the untutored mind gives place in the breast of the philosopher to a rational confidence. The anxiety of the Christian has its origin in a defective faith in the Divine government of the world, and is so far kindred with the fear of the superstitious heathen. When we once believe in our very heart that God rules, that He rules well, and that He rules perfectly for the individual as for the universe at large, we regard disturbing events with serene confidence and hopefulness; but how slowly we come to understand and rest in this wise and loving sovereignty!

3. The fear of the Christian partakes of the unreasoning alarm and anxiety that we sometimes perceive in the brute. A bit of vapour from a passing engine will create a panic in a flock of sheep or herd of cattle; they fly panting before the empty whiff of steam as if it were a wolf or leopard. Are not we equally absurd? We are haunted by imaginary fears, we are alarmed beyond expression by baseless imaginations, we see dark omens in things and events which do not and which cannot harm us. Most of us have sniffed ruin in bits of vapour, and suffered martyrdoms in frantic efforts to escape them. How much wiser it would have been to repose and feed in the green pastures into which the faithful Shepherd leads us! And we habitually give way to a causeless and useless anxiety about the things of life which is entirely irrational. The beavers at the London Zoological Gardens are fed every day and have nothing to fear from the weather, but their old instincts are strong, and they make a fussy show of storage against the winter; and the few branches which are given them only in make believe they engineer with the greatest industry and ingenuity; everything is really done by their keepers for their protection and provision, but they are unconscious of it all, and in a feeble way they store and build as if they were in the wilds and everything depended upon their forethought and toil. How much is this like our gratuitous and abortive anxiety in relation to the government of God! (Anon.)

Not afraid of evil tidings

An eminent divine, eccentric but honest, said pleasantly and religiously that he was never afraid to open his letter bag. He was in full possession, we may conclude, of the “mens conscia recti,” the upright consciousness. He lived, as he himself expressed it, with all his windows constantly wide open, that is, the world was ever welcome to fasten the prying inquisitive corner of its evil eye upon him and all his doings. Living thus honestly, as in the day, he had nought to fear from messenger or letter bag. He opened his daily letters fearlessly. That expression of Sydney Smith’s was a familiar version of our text. It expresses the enviable calm of an honest and good heart. The first who feared was Adam. Guilt caused his fear. “I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid!” “Why?” “I was naked. My soul in its disobedience was exposed to the all-seeing Eye. I was uncovered of the robe of duty and obedience, and I dreaded punishment. I feared my physician’s face.” All along the pages of history runs a stream of like fear. Poor old Jacob, waiting his sons’ second return from Egypt. The trembling mother, watching and awaiting the fate of her bulrush ark. David, lying upon the earth and listening with strained ear, to every faint whisper of the servants, as they spoke of his guilt-born child. Felix, wondering as he listened to each round period, how near and nearer judgment was coming. All these are examples of human nature afraid of evil tidings. But trusting in the

Lord God, we need fear no evil, and no tidings of evil. The black seal will then only mean, “here is another messenger to tell me my own time draws near.” The consumption, and the growing weakness, and all the other heralds of death will find us prepared with the utterance, “O God, my heart is fixed, my heart is fixed, I will even sing and give praise.” The little harmless speculation, the haps of the regiment, the delay of the ship, the story about the son or daughter, the witness to our misdeed, the enemy, the slanderer, the possible danger, the probable affliction—all, everything, whatever betide, whatever befall, whatever may threaten—can then only bring out the calm declaration, “My heart is fixed—O God, Thou knowest my heart is fixed, trusting in Thee.” There have been men, and women too, who have read with brave solemnity their own warrant of death; over whom the glittering axe has had no terrors, the fire and fagot no unworthy influence. Their heart has been fixed. Of all which this is the point. See that we have our hearts fixed upon God, our feet upon the Rock of Ages, our house built firmly, our sin’s penalty transferred surely. Then we need fear no evil tidings. (S. B. James, M.A.)

Established on God

Here is a most remarkable type of man—quite out of the line of our every-day experience. One is impelled to look back at the earlier verses of the psalm to see who “he” may be! Not afraid of evil tidings! quite a unique person, then—calm as he scans the startling telegram, serene and composed while he reads the black-edged sheet! There is a moral dignity in a character which is not easily shaken and swayed to and fro by every wind of circumstance; we would all like to be possessed of a character firmly rooted, established; therefore the text ought to have an interest for us all. In writing “evil tidings” the psalmist was thinking of what we commonly call bad news, and to enter into his meaning it is necessary to realize the world’s bad news. How much there is! The world seems full of it; so full, indeed, that the glad news of God—the good news of the kingdom of heaven—is often unheeded for this cause alone. The world’s bad news reaches us in many ways. We read it on placards and newspaper headlines. A “Stella” goes down, an express train is wrecked, a mine is flooded, or the first shot is fired and a bloody war begins! These are the common “evil tidings” of the world. We can all most fervently join in that petition of the Litany—“From lightning and tempest; from plague, pestilence, and famine; from battle and murder, and from sudden death, good Lord, deliver us!” Now, I want rather to direct your thoughts to the man who is not afraid of the world’s bad news even at its worst. “He shall not be afraid of any evil tidings.” Who is he? In the Biblical examples and teachings about the righteous man, there is a moral grandeur and dignity unsurpassed in the literatures of the world. Where else in the realm of literature should we go—even if we were not Christians—to find a more exalted and dignified description of man at his best? In the far Eastern literatures of China and India we can easily find sages, dreamers, and adepts of occult philosophy. In Greek literature we meet with heroes, poets, and philosophers in abundance. In Roman literature there is no lack of soldiers, statesmen, and lawgivers; and there are stories among them all of men who knew how to endure the extremity of suffering without making any sign of despair. But the Hebrew literature of the Old Testament flowers in the portraiture of the righteous man. For the moment we may omit any reference to the New Testament as outside the region of mere literary comparison. In reviewing these facts the question naturally arises, Why is the righteous man the flower of Hebrew literature? And the answer is inevitable: Because the Hebrew Bible is the product of men who had a sense of God, the holy and just One, the eternally righteous One! The righteous man is rooted on the rock; that is, the roots of his faith are closely entwined

round the central rock of the universe—“the Rock of Ages.” “His heart is fixed, standeth fast, trusting in the Lord.” The most modern of the world’s mystics, Maurice Maeterlinck, seems to have entered deeply into the meaning of our text. In his latest book he asks the question, “Is the sage never to suffer?” And when Maeterlinck writes “sage” he means the good, the truly wise man. “Is the sago never to suffer?” he asks. “Shall no storm ever break on the roof of his dwelling, no traps be laid to ensnare him? Shall wife and friends never fail him? Must his father not die, and his mother, his brothers, his sons—must all these not die like the rest?” And to his own questions Maeterlinck answers, “ Needs must the sage (or good man) like his neighbour be startled from sleep by blows at the door that cause the whole house to tremble. He, too, must go down and parley. But yet, as he listens, his eyes are not fixed on the bringer of evil tidings; his glance will at times be lifted over the messenger’s shoulder, will scan the dust on the horizon in search of the mighty Idea that perhaps may be near at hand.” Could we find a better commentary on our text? In this spirit—old as Abraham, yet new-born to-day—we can face all the events of the coming time, and

“Greet the Unseen with a cheer!”

No doubt the Messenger of Sorrow will knock at all our doors, for it is not his custom to pass any by; but while we listen to his message we can lift our glance over his shoulder, and seeing Jesus, who has overcome the world, we call “be of good cheer” and say, “Whatever thy news may be, there shall no evil befall us, for our heart standeth fast and trusteth in the Lord.” (A. E. Hooper.)

The fixed compass

The pattern saint of this psalm is happy as well as holy. Evil tidings, when they come, will pierce a good man’s heart; but in two things he has an advantage over those who know not God: first, he is not kept in terror before the time by the anticipation of possible calamity; and next, even when calamity overtakes him, he does not look upon it in blank despair. He knows that it is the chastening of a Father, and is sure that love is wielding the rod. “His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.” This man has a solidity and an independence which others never know. His heart is fixed. It is something to have one’s mind made up and settled. No man can be happy as long as he does not know his own mind—does not know what he would be at. On the contrary, “if thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” To have an object in view, and to go straight at it, constitutes in a great measure the difference between a useful and a wasted life. We obtain here an interesting glimpse of the true relation in which the children stand to our Father in heaven. It is a matter of the heart, more than even of the intellect. True religion is not a matter into which a man is driven against his will; it is a matter that he seeks with desire, as the hart panteth for the water-brooks. The heart goes to God; the desires of the new nature flow out in that direction: “Nearer to Thee, my God; nearer to Thee.” And then, when you come nigh in the covenant, God is not a terror, but a trust. The magnet of the ship’s compass is in this aspect very like a godly man in the course of his earthly pilgrimage. The magnet on the sea and the believing soul in this life are firmly fixed on one side, and hang loose on the other. Both alike are fastened mysteriously to the distant and unseen, but are slack and easily moved in all their material settings. Precisely because they are unattached beneath, they are free to keep by their hold on high; and precisely because of their hold on high, they do not turn round with every movement of their material supports. (W. Arnot, D.D.)

8 Their hearts are secure, they will have no fear; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.

BAR�ES, "His heart is established - Sustained; upheld. This is the same idea, though somewhat varied in form. The word means to sustain; to support; and the idea is, that there is some basis of support - some strength - which is not his own.

He shall not be afraid -When he is assailed by enemies.

Until he see his desire upon his enemies - This implies that he had nothing really to fear. He would certainly overcome his foes; and in the meantime he might look calmly on all their efforts to destroy him, for those efforts would be vain. So the believer now looks calmly on all his spiritual foes. He has nothing to fear, for he will overcome them all; he will certainly triumph; he will trample them all under his feet. He may well, therefore, endure these conflicts for a brief period, for the issue is certain, and the conflict will soon come to an end.

CLARKE, "His heart is established - samuch�libbo, “his heart is propped סמוך�לבוup;” he is buttressed up by the strength of his Maker.

GILL, "His heart is established,.... With the doctrine of grace; which is food unto it, and by which it is strengthened and nourished; it is established in the faith of Christ, both in the grace of faith, and in the doctrine of faith, even in all the doctrines of the Gospel; so that he is not as a child, tossed to and fro with every wind; his heart is established in the exercise of grace, and he is steadfast and immovable in the discharge of duty. This being the case,

he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies; until he looks them in the face boldly and confidently; or until he sees them all slain and destroyed, as the Israelites saw the Egyptians on the sea shore. We supply "his desire"; it might be put "vengeance", as in Psa_58:10, the punishment of God on wicked men, who are the enemies of the upright; and which they shall see with pleasure, because of the glory of divine justice conspicuous therein; see Rev_18:20 and even before this is brought about, while their enemies are oppressing them, insulting them, and triumphing over them,

they shall not be afraid, as knowing the time is coming when the scene will be changed, and they shall triumph in their turn.

JAMISO�, "heart is established— or, firm in right principles.

see his desire— (Psa_50:23; Psa_54:7).

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 8. His heart is established. His love to God is deep and true, his confidence in God is firm and unmoved; his courage has a firm foundation, and is supported by Omnipotence. He has become settled by experience, and confirmed by years. He is not a rolling stone, but a pillar in the house of the Lord.He shall not be afraid. He is ready to face any adversary—a holy heart gives a brave face.Until he see his desire upon his enemies. All through the conflict, even till he seizes the victory, he is devoid of fear. When the battle wavers, and the result seems doubtful, he nevertheless believes in God, and is a stranger to dismay. Grace makes him desire his enemies' good: though nature leads him to wish to see justice done to his cause, he does not desire for those who injure him anything by way of private revenge.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GS.Ver. 8. His heart is established. Happy surely, is the man whose heart is thus established. Others may be politic, he only is wise; others may be fortunate, he only is great; others may drink deeper draughts of sensual pleasure, he only can eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. He is an image of that great Being whom he trusts...and in the midst of storms, and thunders, and earthquakes sits himself serene and undisturbed, bidding the prostrate world adore the Lord of the universe. —George Gleig, 1803.Ver. 8. Until he see his desire upon his enemies. His faith will not fail, nor shrink, nor change, while one by one his enemies are brought to the knowledge of the truth and the love of Christ, and he shall see his heart's desire fulfilled upon them, even that they may be saved. —Plain Commentary.Ver. 8. Until he see his desire upon his enemies. Or, according to the original, Until he looks upon his oppressors; that is, till he behold them securely, and, as we say, confidently looks in their faces; as being now no longer under their power, but being freed from their tyranny and oppression. —Thomas Fenton.

9 They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor, their righteousness endures forever; their horn[c] will be lifted high in honor.

BAR�ES, "He hath dispersed ... - This is another characteristic of a righteous man, and another reason of the permanent honor which will be rendered to him. The meaning is, that he is liberal; he freely scatters what he has; he divides it with those who are needy and unfortunate. One part of mankind have an overplus - have more than they need for themselves and their families - and that overplus is what is designed to meet the needs of the unfortunate, the weak, the aged, the imbecile, the infirm, who have “not” enough. It is the “treasury” of God - the “reservoir” where that is gathered which is to be distributed for the needs of the helpless and the dependent. The righteous man is one who enters fully into this arrangement, and who feels that all this overplus belongs to God, and is to be appropriated as he shall direct.

His righteousness endureth for ever - His acts of charity are constant. His piety is not fitful, spasmodic, uncertain; it is steady principle; it is firm and solid; it may always be relied on. See Psa_112:3.

His horn shall be exalted with honor - See the notes at Psa_75:10.

CLARKE, "He hath dispersed - He has scattered abroad his munificence; he has given particularly to the poor; his righteousness - his almsgiving, his charity, remaineth for ever. See on Psa_112:3 (note).

His horn - His power and authority shall be exalted with honor. He shall rise to influence only through his own worth, and not by extortion or flattery.

GILL, "He hath dispersed,.... His money, as the Targum; scattered it here and there, as the sower scatters his seed; does not throw it all in one place, but some here and some there, and all with profusion and plenty. This denotes the bounty and liberality of the upright; and his wisdom and discretion in distributing his charity, and the numerous objects of it; see Pro_11:14.

He hath given to the poor; that stand in need of his charity, freely, cheerfully, and bountifully.

His righteousness endureth for ever; his liberality continues, he is not weary of well doing; he gives a portion to seven and to eight, and to as many and as often as there is a call and need for it; See Gill on Psa_112:3.

His horn shall be exalted with honour; the reproach cast upon him shall be wiped off; he shall grow more prosperous, and become more honourable among men here on earth; and in the resurrection morning shall have the dominion over the wicked, and shall appear with Christ in glory, and be with him to all eternity.

CALVI�, "9He has distributed, he hath given to the poor Once more he affirms

that the righteous never lose the fruit and the reward of their liberality. And first, by dispersing, the prophet intimates, that they did not give sparingly and grudgingly, as some do who imagine that they discharge their duty to the poor when they dole out a small pittance to them, but that they give liberally as necessity requires and their means allow; for it may happen that a liberal heart does not possess a large portion of the wealth of this world. All that the prophet means is, that they are never so parsimonious as not to be always ready to distribute according to their means. �ext he adds, they give to the poor, meaning that they do not bestow their charity at random, but with prudence and discretion meet the wants of the necessitous. We are aware that unnecessary and superfluous expenditure for the sake of ostentation is frequently lauded by the world; and, consequently, a larger quantity of the good things of this life is squandered away in luxury and ambition than is dispensed in charity prudently bestowed. The prophet instructs us that the praise which belongs to liberality does not consist in distributing our goods without any regard to the objects upon whom they are conferred, and the purposes to which they are applied, but in relieving the wants of the really necessitous, and in the money being expended on things proper and lawful. This passage is quoted by Paul, (2 Corinthians 9:9) in which he informs us that it is an easy matter for God to bless us with plenty, so that we may exercise our bounty freely, deliberately, and impartially, and this accords best with the design of the prophet. The next clause, his righteousness endureth for ever, is susceptible of two interpretations. That immoderate ambition which impels the ungodly to squander away their goods merits not the name of virtue. It may, therefore, with propriety be said, that it is a uniform course of liberality which is here praised by the prophet, according to what he formerly observed, that the righteous manage their affairs with discretion. If any prefer to refer it to the fruit of righteousness, I have no objection. And, indeed, it appears to be a repetition of the same sentence which lately came under our notice. Then the prophet shows how God by his benefits preserves the glory of that righteousness which is due to their liberality, and does not disappoint them of their reward, in that he exalteth their horn more and more, that is, their power or their prosperous condition.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 9. He hath dispersed, he hath given, to the poor. What he received, he distributed; and distributed to those who most needed it. He was God's reservoir, and forth from his abundance flowed streams of liberality to supply the needy. If this be one of the marks of a man who feareth the Lord, there are some who are strangely destitute of it. They are great at gathering, but very slow at dispersing; they enjoy the blessedness of receiving, but seldom taste the greater joy of giving. "It is more blessed to give than to receive" —perhaps they think that the blessing of receiving is enough for them.His righteousness endureth for ever. His liberality has salted his righteousness, proved its reality, and secured its perpetuity. This is the second time that we have this remarkable sentence applied to the godly man, and it must be understood as resulting from the enduring mercy of the Lord. The character of a righteous man is not spasmodic, he is not generous by fits and starts, nor upright in a few points only; his life is the result of principle, his actions flow from settled, sure, and fixed

convictions, and therefore his integrity is maintained when others fail. He is not turned about by companions, nor affected by the customs of society; he is resolute, determined, and immovable.His horn shall be exalted with honour. God shall honour him, the universe of holy beings shall honour him, and even the wicked shall feel an unconscious reverence of him. Let it be observed, in summing up the qualities of the God fearing man, that he is described not merely as righteous, but as one bearing the character to which Paul refers in the memorable verse, "For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die." Kindness, benevolence, and generosity, are essential to the perfect character; to be strictly just is not enough, for God is love, and we must love our neighbour as ourselves: to give every one his due is not sufficient, we must act upon those same principles of grace which reign in the heart of God. The promises of establishment and prosperity are not to churlish �abals, nor to niggard Labans, but to bountiful souls who have proved their fitness to be stewards of the Lord by the right way in which they use their substance.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GS.Ver. 9. When all the flashes of sensual pleasure are quite extinct, when all the flowers of secular glory are withered away; when all earthly treasures are buried in darkness; when this world, and all the fashion of it, are utterly vanished and gone, the bountiful man's state will be still firm and flourishing, and "his righteousness shall endure for ever."His horn shall be exalted with honour. A horn is an emblem of power; for it is the beast's strength, offensive and defensive: and of plenty, for it hath within it a capacity apt to contain what is put into it; and of sanctity, for in it was put the holy oil, with which kings were consecrated; and of dignity, both in consequence upon the reasons mentioned (as denoting might, and influence, and sacredness accompanying sovereign dignity) and because also it is an especial beauty and ornament to the creature which hath it; so that this expression, "his horn shall be exalted with honour, "may be supposed to import that an abundance of high, and holy, of firm and solid honour shall attend upon the bountiful person ... God will thus exalt the bountiful man's horn even here in this world, and to an infinitely higher pitch he will advance it in a future state. —Isaac Barrow, 1630-1677.Ver. 9. For ever. The Hebrew phrase in this text is not Mlwel, in seculum, which is sometimes used of a limited eternity, but del, in eternum, which seems more expressive of an endless duration, and is the very same phrase whereby the duration of God's righteousness is expressed in the foregoing psalm at the third verse. —William Berriman, 1688-1749.Ver. 9-10. These words are an enlargement of the character, begun at the first verse, of the blessed man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. The author closes that character with an amiable description of his charity, and so leaves on our minds a strong impression, that benevolence of heart when displayed in the benefaction of the hand is the surest mark and fairest accomplishment of a moral and religious mind; which, whether it rewards the worthy, or relieves the unworthy object, is the noblest imitation of the dealings of God with mankind. For he rewardeth the good if any can be called so but himself, (though the name good is but God spread out). He beareth even with the wicked and

stretcheth out his hand to save even them. —Michael Cox.

COFFMA�, "Verse 9"He hath dispersed, he hath given to the needy;

His righteousness endureth forever:

His horn shall be exalted with honor.

The wicked shall see it and be grieved;

He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away:

The desire of the wicked shall perish."

"He hath dispersed" (Psalms 112:9). "There is no virtue in merely dispersing, since `spendthrifts' `disperse,' even more lavishly than the virtuous man."[5] The only commendable type of `dispersing' is that directed to the relief of need or suffering. It is this kind of `dispersing,' of course, which the Lord commends, as indicated by the last clause of this verse. "He hath given to the needy."

"The wicked man shall see it and be grieved" (Psalms 112:10). Psalms 112:10 is the antithesis of Psalms 112:1. "The wicked shall gnash his teeth in the rage of disappointment and contemplation of the triumph of his adversary, and will melt away in impotent rage, melting, as it were, from his own heat. `The desire of the wicked will perish' is antithetical to verse lb. He will go away in utter ruin, as in Psalms 1:6."[6]

ELLICOTT, "Verse 9(9) He hath dispersed.—The conjugation of the verb indicates a frequent and customary action.

For St. Paul’s use of this verse, see �ew Test. Com. 2 Corinthians 9:9.

His horn.—For the image of the exalted horn see �ote, Psalms 75:5.

BI 9-10, "He hath given to the poor.

The excellency and reward of charity

Among the various methods of giving glory to God, it is none of the least considerable to celebrate the acts and the reward of His saints. Whilst He is acknowledged for the author of their virtue and their happiness, there will be no danger of declining by this means to superstition and idolatry; the Creator’s power and goodness will be observed resplendent in His creatures, but not the creature worshipped instead of the Creator. So thought the holy penman of this psalm, who undertakes to set forth the praises of the Lord, by declaring the blessings of the man that delights in His commandments.

I. The amiable nature of a beneficent and bounteous disposition.

1. The general notion and exercise of this virtue. “He hath given to the poor.” It appears to he a principle of nature, that all who have ability, whether of purse, of body, or of mind, are bound to consider the necessities of other people, and spare some decent proportion of their own superfluities, to supply them in such manner as their respective exigencies call for help. The voice of nature, in this as well as other matters, is confirmed by the unerring precepts of revealed religion (1Ti_6:17-18; Act_20:35; Eph_4:28).

2. Its great extent and diffusive quality. “He hath dispersed,” says the psalmist, or (in the old translation) “He hath dispersed abroad,” not confined himself to one or two such acts of charity, but repeated them with frequency, and spread them with discretion. As the husbandman takes care that his ground be first duly prepared for the improvement of his seed, and throws it not away on rocks or uncultivated deserts; so the liberal man should he careful to bestow his bounty where it may turn to use and benefit, and spread abroad with greatest profit and advantage to mankind.

3. Its duration and influence on future times. “His righteousness endureth for ever,” i.e. it shall always be had in remembrance before God (as is intimated of the alms of Cornelius), and receive such a reward from Him, as will demonstrate that his substance has not been wasted or thrown away, but discreetly improved to his own greatest advantage. This will be often seen in the increase of temporal blessings to him and his posterity (verses 2, 3; 2Co_9:8). And if this temporal increase do not always follow, yet the psalmist adds that “unto the righteous there ariseth light in the darkness,” such inward peace and tranquillity of mind as must more than counterbalance all the outward evil of adversity.

II. The happiness or reward annexed to such beneficence. “His horn shall be exalted with honour.” It is said of godliness, or the practice of religion in general, that it has the promise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come. But more particularly is that part of godliness, namely bounty to the poor, encouraged to trust in the care and goodness of Providence, even for temporal prosperity (Pro_11:24). Our Saviour represents it as the test of that reckoning He shall make with us at the last day, whether we have duly ministered to the various wants of His afflicted members, which He will esteem as done unto Himself. And therefore St. Paul has pertinently urged it as the ground why rich men should be ready to distribute, and willing to communicate, that so they may lay up in store for themselves a good foundation (or charter) against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. Then shall their horn truly be exalted with the highest honour. Not that the bare act of giving alms can ever entitle us to such a reward! But when it is given, as it is here considered, from a religious principle, it will then be accompanied with other Christian virtues, all springing from the same root of faith and obedience, which is the very condition of our laying hold on the Gospel promises, and entering into endless felicity. This is to receive honour from God, that durable, substantial honour which should chiefly be regarded. (W. Berriman, D.D.)

Thy duty and reward of bounty to the poor

Our text hath two parts, one affording us good information concerning our duty, the other yielding great encouragement to the performance thereof; for we are obliged to follow the pious man’s practice, and so doing we shall assuredly partake of his condition. The main drift is, to represent the liberal exercising of bounty and mercy to be the

necessary duty, the ordinary practice, and the proper character of a truly pious man; so that performing such acts is a good sign of true piety; and omitting them is a certain argument of ungodliness.

I. I will show with what advantage the Holy Scripture represents it to us, or presses it on us.

1. We may consider that there is no sort of duties which God hath more expressly commanded, or more earnestly inculcated, than these of bounty and mercy toward our brethren: whence evidently the great moment of them, and their high value in God’s esteem may be inferred.

2. It is indeed observable that as in every kind that which is most excellent doth commonly assume to itself the name of the whole kind; so among the parts of righteousness (which word is used to comprehend all virtue and goodness) this of exercising bounty and mercy is peculiarly called righteousness: so that righteousness and mercifulness (or alms-deeds), the righteous and bountiful person, are in Scripture expression ordinarily confounded, as it were, or undistinguishably put one for the other.

3. We may also consequently mark that in those places of Scripture where the Divine law is abridged, and religion summed up into a few particulars of main importance, these duties constantly make a part.

4. It is in like manner considerable that in the general descriptions of piety and goodness, the practice of these duties is specified as a grand ingredient of them. In this psalm, where such a description is intended, it is almost the only particular instance; and it is not only mentioned, but reiterated in divers forms of expression. In the 37th psalm it is affirmed and repeated, that “the righteous showeth mercy; he showeth mercy, and giveth; he showeth mercy, and lendeth.”

5. Also in the particular histories of good men this sort of practice is specially taken notice of, and expressed in their characters. In the story of Abraham, his benignity to strangers, and hospitableness, is remarkable among all his deeds of goodness, being propounded to us as a pattern and encouragement to the like practice. In this the conscience of Job did solace itself, as in a solid assurance of his integrity: “I delivered the poor that cried,” etc.

6. So near to the heart of piety doth Scripture lay the practice of these duties: and no wonder; for it often expressly declares charity to be the fulfilling of God’s law, as the best expression of all our duty toward God, of faith in Him, love and reverence of Him, and as either formally containing, or naturally producing all our duty toward our neighbour. And of charity, works of bounty and mercy are both the chief instances, and the plainest signs.

7. To enforce which observations, and that we may be farther certified about the weight and worth of these duties, we may consider that to the observance of them most ample and excellent rewards are assigned; that, in return for what we bestow on our poor brethren, God hath promised all sorts of the best mercies and blessings to us.

8. And correspondently grievous punishments are designed and denounced to the transgressors of these duties; they, for being such, do forfeit God’s love and favour; they can have no sure possession, nor any comfortable enjoyment of their estate; for “he,” saith St. James, “shall have judgment without mercy, who showeth no mercy.”

9. It is indeed most considerable that at the final reckoning, when all men’s actions shall be strictly scanned, and justly sentenced according to their true desert, a special regard will be had to the discharge or neglect of these duties.

II. In regard to God—

1. We may consider that, by exercising of bounty and mercy, we are kind and courteous to God Himself; by neglecting those duties, we are unkind and rude to Him: for that what of good or evil is by us done to the poor, God interprets and accepts as done to Himself.

2. We by practising those duties are just, by omitting them are very unjust toward God. For our goods, our wealth, and our estate are indeed none of them simply or properly our own; God necessarily is the true and absolute proprietary of them.

3. Showing bounty and mercy are the most proper and the principal expressions of our gratitude unto God; so that in omitting them we are not only very unjust, but highly ungrateful. We may seem abundantly to thank Him in words; but a sparing hand gives the lie to the fullest mouth: we may spare our breath, if we keep back our substance.

4. Yea, all our devotion, severed from a disposition of practising these duties, cannot have any true worth in it, shall not yield any good effect from it. Our prayers, if we are uncharitably disposed, what are they other than demonstrations of egregious impudence and folly?

5. The conscionable practice of these duties doth plainly spring from those good dispositions of mind regarding God, which are the original grounds and fountains of all true piety; and the neglect of them issueth from those vicious dispositions which have a peculiar inconsistency with piety, being destructive thereof in the very foundation and root. Faith in God is the fundamental grace on which piety is grounded; love and fear of God are the radical principles from which it grows: all which as the charitable man discovers in his practice, so they are apparently banished from the heart of the illiberal and unmerciful person.

6. Let us consider that nothing is more conformable to God’s nature, or renders us more like to Him, than beneficence and mercy; and that consequently nothing can be more grateful to Him: that nothing is more disagreeable and contrary to the essential disposition of God, than illiberality and unmercifulness; and therefore that nothing can be more distasteful to Him.

III. In regard to our neighbour.

1. He whose need craves our bounty, whose misery demands our mercy, what is he? He within himself containeth a nature very excellent; an immortal soul, and an intelligent mind, by which he nearly resembleth God Himself, and is comparable to angels: he invisibly is owner of endowments, rendering him capable of the greatest and best things.

2. That distinction which thou standest on, and which seemeth so vast between thy poor neighbour and thee, what is it? whence did it come? whither tends it? What the philosopher said of himself, “What I have is so mine, that it is every man’s,” is according to the practice of each man, who is truly and in due measure charitable; whereby that seemingly enormous discrimination among men is well moderated, and the equity of Divine providence is vindicated. But he that ravenously grasps for more than he can well use, and gripes it fast into his clutches, so that the needy in

their distress cannot come by it, doth pervert that equity which God hath established in things, defeats His good intentions (so far as he can), and brings a scandal on His providence: and so doing is highly both injurious and impious.

3. It was also one main end of this difference among us, permitted by God’s providence, that as some men’s industry and patience might be exercised by their poverty, so other men by their wealth should have ability of practising justice and charity; that so both rich and poor might thence become capable of recompenses, suitable to the worth of such virtuous performances. “Why art thou rich,” saith St. Basil, “and he poor? Surely for this; that thou mayest attain the reward of benignity, and faithful dispensation; and that he may be honoured with the great prize of patience.”

4. We should also do well to consider that a poor man, even as such, is not to be disregarded, and that poverty is no such contemptible thing as we may be prone to imagine. Shall we presume, in the person of any poor man, to abhor or contemn the very poor, but most holy and most happy Jesus, our Lord and Redeemer? No; if we will do poverty right, we must rather for His dear sake and memory defer an especial respect and veneration thereto.

5. Thus a due reflection on the poor man himself, his nature and state, will induce us to succour. But let us also consider him as related unto ourselves: every such person is our near kinsman, is our brother, is by indissoluble bands of cognation in blood, and agreement in nature, knit and united to us.

6. Farther, as the poor man is so nearly allied to us by society of common nature, so is he more strictly joined to us by the bands of spiritual consanguinity.

IV. If we reflect on ourselves, and consider either our nature, or our state here, we cannot but observe many strong engagements to the same practice.

1. The very constitution, frame, and temper of our nature directeth and inclineth us thereto; whence, by observing those duties, we observe our own nature, we improve it, we advance it to the best perfection it is capable of; by neglecting them, we thwart, we impair, we debase the same.

2. And if the sensitive part within us doth suggest so much, the rational dictates more unto us: that heavenly faculty, having capacities so wide, and so mighty energies, was surely not created to serve mean or narrow designs; it was not given us to scrape eternally in earth, or to amass heaps of clay for private enjoyment.

3. Farther, examining ourselves, we may also observe that we are in reality, what our poor neighbour appears to be, in many respects no less indigent and impotent than he: we no less, yea far more, for our subsistence depend on the arbitrary power of another, than he seemeth to rely on ours.

4. The great uncertainty and instability of our condition doth also require our consideration. We, that now flourish in a fair and full estate, may soon be in the case of that poor creature, who now sues for our relief; we, that this day enjoy the wealth of Job, may the morrow need his patience.

5. And equity doth exact no less: for were any of us in the needy man’s plight, we should believe our case deserved commiseration; we should importunately demand relief; we should be grievously displeased at a repulse; we should apprehend ourselves very hardly dealt with, and sadly we should complain of inhumanity and cruelty, if succour were refused to us.

6. We should also remember concerning ourselves, that we are mortal and frail.

V. If we contemplate our wealth itself, we may therein descry great motives to bounty.

1. Thus to employ our riches is really the best use they are capable of: not only the most innocent, most worthy, most plausible, but the most safe, most pleasant, most advantageous, and consequently in all respects most prudent way of disposing them.

2. Excluding this use of wealth, or abstracting a capacity of doing good therewith, nothing is more pitiful and despicable than it; it is but like the load or the trappings of an ass: a wise man on that condition would not choose it, or endure to be pestered with it; but would serve it as those philosophers did, who flung it away, that it might not disturb their contemplations: it is the power it affords of benefiting men, which only can season and ingratiate if to the relish of such a person: otherwise it is evidently true, which the wise man affirms (Pro_15:16).

3. Again, we may consider that to dispense our wealth liberally is the best way to preserve it, and to continue masters thereof; what we give is not thrown away, but saved from danger: while we detain it at home (as it seems to us) it really is abroad and at adventures; it is out at sea, sailing perilously in storms, near rocks and shelves, amongst pirates; nor can it ever be safe, till it is brought into this port, or insured this way: when we have bestowed it on the poor, then we have lodged it in unquestionable safety; in a place where no rapine, no deceit, no mishap, no corruption can ever by any means come at it.

4. Nay, farther, we may consider that exercising bounty is the most advantageous method of improving and increasing an estate; but that being tenacious and illiberal, doth tend to the diminution and decay thereof.

5. Farther, the contributing part of our goods to the poor will qualify us to enjoy the rest with satisfaction and comfort. The oblation of these first-fruits, as it will sanctify the whole lump of our estate, so it will sweeten it.

6. The peculiar nature of our religion specially requires it, and the honour thereof exacts it from us; nothing better suits Christianity, nothing more graces it, than liberality; nothing is more inconsistent therewith, or more disparageth it, than being miserable and sordid.

VI. Some rewards peculiar to the exercising the duties of bounty and mercy.

1. “His righteousness endureth for ever.” These words may import that the fame and remembrance of his bounty is very durable, or that the effects thereof do lastingly continue, or that eternal rewards are designed thereto; they may respect the bountiful man himself, or his posterity here; they may simply relate to an endurance in God’s regard and care; or they may with that also comprehend a continuance in the good memory and honourable mention of men. Now, in truth, according to all these interpretations, the bountiful man’s righteousness doth endure for ever.

2. “His horn shall be exalted with honour.” This may be supposed to import that an abundance of high and holy, of firm and solid honour shall attend on the bountiful person. And that so it truly shall, may from many considerations appear.

(1) Honour is inseparably annexed thereto, as its natural companion and shadow. God hath impressed on all virtue a majesty and a beauty which do command respect, and with a kindly violence extort veneration from men.

(2) An accession of honour, according to gracious promise (grounded on

somewhat of special reason, of equity and decency in the thing itself), is due from God unto the bountiful person, and is by special providence surely conferred on him.

(3) God will thus exalt the bountiful man’s horn even here in this world, and to an infinitely higher pitch He will advance it in the future state: he shall there be set at the right hand, in a most honourable place and rank, among the chief friends and favourites of the Heavenly King, in happy consortship with the holy angels and blessed saints; where, in recompense of his pious bounty, he shall, from the bountiful hands of his most gracious Lord, receive “an incorruptible crown of righteousness,” and an “unfading crown of glory.” (Isaac Barrow, D.D.)

The commendation and reward of the benevolent man

I. His conduct is commended.

1. Its disinterestedness.

2. Its judicious distinction of their recipients and their circumstances.

3. Its modesty, and the benignity of manner in which it is performed.

4. Its evangelical motive and single aim. He looks to Calvary, and sees there the grand incentive to all virtue. The influence under which he acts is not the temporary excitement of sympathetic feeling, nor the sentimental emotion of a poetic generosity, nor the feverish thirst for distinction and applause, nor the mere mechanical habit of doing as others have done; but it is a Divine influence—a motive which comes fresh into his bosom from the fount of all purity and grace, and which instigates not to a fitful, but to a persevering—not to an indolent, but to an indefatigable—not to a self-complacent, but to a self-denying exercise of that “pure religion which is to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” He who from such a principle engages in offices of brotherly kindness and charity never arrogates to himself the glory, but ascribes it all to God.

II. His reward.

1. The exercise of benevolence naturally conciliates esteem. All virtuous conduct is deemed honourable; but men ever reserve their best eulogiums for the disinterested benefactors of their kind.

2. The inspired writers in repeated instances speak of it as part at least of a good man’s singular felicity that his name shall be followed with blessings, and the remembrance of his piety be cherished when he has entered upon his everlasting rest.

3. The chief part of that reward which it pleases God to bestow upon Christian beneficence is reserved for another world. Little as we know of that future state of being upon which we enter at death, we are left in no doubt of the fact, that it will be to every man a state of misery or of happiness, according to the manner in which he shall have spent this present probationary season on earth. They, consequently, who, “by patient continuance in well-doing, are seeking for glory, honour, and immortality,” shall not find themselves disappointed at last. (E. Steane.)

10 The wicked will see and be vexed, they will gnash their teeth and waste away; the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.

BAR�ES, "The wicked shall see it, and be grieved - They shall see his prosperity; shall see the evidence that God approves his character and his conduct. The word rendered “grieved” means rather to be angry or enraged. Perhaps the word “fret” would best express the sense.

He shall gnash with his teeth - As indicative of hatred and wrath. See the notes at Psa_37:12.

And melt away - Disappear - as snow does that melts; or as a snail (see the notes at Psa_58:8); or as waters that run away (see the notes at Psa_58:7); or as wax (see the notes at Psa_68:2). Their wrath shall be of no avail, for they themselves shall soon disappear.

The desire of the wicked shall perish - He shall not be able to accomplish his desire, or to carry out his purposes. He shall be disappointed, and all his cherished plans will come to nought. This is in strong contrast with what is said in the psalm would occur to the righteous. They would be prospered and happy; they would be able to carry out their plans; they would be respected while living, and remembered when dead; they would find God interposing in their behalf in the darkest hours; they would be firm and calm in the day of danger and of trouble; they would put their trust in the Lord, and all would be well. Surely there is an advantage in our world in being a friend of God.

CLARKE, "The wicked shall see it - rasha, the wicked one. Some think Satan רשע

is meant. It is distinguished from רשעים reshaim, wicked men, in the conclusion of the verse.

Shall gnash with his teeth - Through spite and ill will.

And melt away - Through envy and hopeless expectation of similar good; for his desire in reference to himself and in reference to him who is the object of his envy, shall perish - shall come to nothing.

GILL, "The wicked shall see it,.... The glory and happiness of the upright man: so when the witnesses shall ascend to heaven, a phrase expressive of a more glorious state of the church, their enemies shall behold them, Rev_11:12.

And be grieved; at their happiness, and grudge it: the Targum is,

"and shall be angry at him;''

the upright man.

He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away; like snow water (r); or as a snail melteth, or as wax before the fire, Psa_58:7, shall pine away with grief and envy at the happiness and prosperity of the righteous; the wicked will weep and gnash their teeth, when they shall see them in the kingdom of heaven, and they themselves shut out, Luk_13:28. The desire of the wicked shall perish; they shall not have their desire, neither of good things for themselves here and hereafter, nor of evil things for the righteous.

HE�RY, " The vexation of sinners, Psa_112:10. Two things shall fret them: - 1. The felicity of the righteous: The wicked shall see the righteous in prosperity and honour and shall be grieved. It will vex them to see their innocency cleared and their low estate regarded, and those whom they hated and despised, and whose ruin they sought and hoped to see, the favourites of Heaven, and advanced to have dominion over them (Psa_49:14); this will make them gnash with their teeth and pine away. This is often fulfilled in this world. The happiness of the saints is the envy of the wicked, and that envy is the rottenness of their bones. But it will most fully be accomplished in the other world, when it shall make damned sinners gnash with their teeth, to see Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in him bosom, to see all the prophets in the kingdom of God and themselves thrust out. 2. Their own disappointment: The desire of the wicked shall perish. Their desire was wholly to the world and the flesh, and they ruled over them; and therefore, when these perish, their joy is gone, and their expectations from them are cut off, to their everlasting confusion; their hope is as a spider's web.

JAMISO�, "Disappointed in their malevolent wishes by the prosperity of the pious, the wicked are punished by the working of their evil passions, and come to naught.

CALVI�, "10.The wicked shall see it. (350) Here follows a contrast similar to that which we met with in Psalms 2:5, which renders the grace of God towards the faithful the more illustrious. His meaning is, that though the wicked may cast off all regard to piety, and banish from their minds all thoughts of human affairs being under the superintending providence of God, they shall yet be made to feel, whether they will or no, that the righteous, in compliance with God’s command, do not vainly devote themselves to the cultivation of charity and mercy. Let them harden themselves as they choose, yet he declares that the honor, which God confers upon his children, shall be exhibited to them, the sight of which shall make them gnash with their teeth, and shall excite an envy that shall consume them by inches. (351) In conclusion, he adds, that the wicked shall be disappointed of their desires They are never content, but are continually thirsting after something, and their confidence is as presumptuous as their avarice is unbounded. And hence, in their foolish

expectations, they do not hesitate at grasping at the whole world. But the prophet tells them that God will snatch from them what they imagined was already in their possession, so that they shall always depart destitute and famishing.

SPURGEO�, "Ver. 10. The tenth and last verse sets forth very forcibly the contrast between the righteous and the ungodly, thus making the blessedness of the godly appear all the more remarkable. Usually we see Ebal and Gerizim, the blessing and the curse, set the one over against the other, to invest both with the greater solemnity.The wicked shall see it, and be grieved. The ungodly shall first see the example of the saints to their own condemnation, and shall at last behold the happiness of the godly and to the increase of their eternal misery. The child of wrath shall be obliged to witness the blessedness of the righteous, though the sight shall make him gnaw his own heart. He shall fret and fume, lament and wax angry, but he shall not be able to prevent it, for God's blessing is sure and effectual.He shall gnash with his teeth. Being very wrathful, and exceedingly envious, he would fain grind the righteous between his teeth; but as he cannot do that, he grinds his teeth against each other.And melt away. The heat of his passion shall melt him like wax, and the sun of God's providence shall dissolve him like snow, and at the last the fire of divine vengeance shall consume him as the fat of rams. How horrible must that life be which like the snail melts as it proceeds, leaving a slimy trail behind. Those who are grieved at goodness deserve to be worn away by such an abominable sorrow.The desire of the wicked shall perish. He shall not achieve his purpose, he shall die a disappointed man. By wickedness he hoped to accomplish his purpose—that very wickedness shall be his defeat. While the righteous shall endure for ever, and their memory shall be always green; the ungodly man and his name shall rot from off the face of the earth. He desired to be the founder of a family, and to be remembered as some great one: he shall pass away and his name shall die with him. How wide is the gulf which separates the righteous from the wicked, and how different are the portions which the Lord deals out to them. O for grace to be blessed of the Lord! This will make us praise him with our whole heart.EXPLA�ATORY �OTES A�D QUAI�T SAYI�GS.Ver. 10. The wicked. The word evr, the wicked, is used emphatically, by the Jews, to denote him who neither gives to the poor himself, nor can endure to see other people give; while he who deserves but one part of this character is only said to have an evil eye in regard of other people's substance, or in regard of his own. —Mishna.Ver. 10. The wicked shall see it and be grieved, etc. The sight of Christ in glory with his saints, will, in an inexpressible manner torment the crucifiers of the one, and the persecutors of the other; as it will show them the hopes and wishes of their adversaries all granted to the full, and all their own "desires" and designs for ever at an end; it will excite envy which must prey upon itself, produce a grief which can admit of no comfort, give birth to a worm which can never die, and blow up those fires which nothing can quench. —George Horne.Ver. 10. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved, etc. It is the property of the Devil, not to mistake the nature of virtue, and esteem it criminal, but to hate it for this reason, because it is good, and therefore most opposite to his designs. The wicked, as

his proper emissaries, resemble him in this, and grieve to have the foulness of their vices made conspicuous by being placed near the light of virtuous example...They may, like the giants of ancient fable, attempt a romantic war with heaven; but all their preparations for that purpose must recoil with double force upon themselves, and cover them with shame and confusion...If such be the effect of their malice in the present life, that, instead of injuring those they rage against, it usually turns to their own vexation, how much more, when the scene shall open in the life to come... They shall continue then to gnash their teeth (the wretched amusement of that cursed state) as well in grief and anguish for their own torments, as in rage and envy at the abundant honour which is done the saints. —William Berriman.Ver. 10. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; that is, he shall have secret indignation in himself to see matters go so;he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away. Gnashing of teeth is caused by vexing the heart; and therefore it follows,he melts away; which notes (melting is from the heart) an extreme heat within. The sense is very suitable to that of Eliphaz (Job 5:2) "wrath slayeth the foolish, "or wrath makes him melt away, it melts his grease with chafing, as we say of a man furiously vexed. Hence that deplorable condition of the damned, who are cast out of the presence of God for ever, is described by "weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth"; which imports not only pain, but extreme vexing at, or in themselves. These finally impenitent ones shall be slain for ever with their own wrath, as well as with the wrath of God. —Joseph Caryl.Ver. 10. The wicked shall see it. The psalm which speaks of the blessedness of the saints also bears solemn testimony to the doom of the wicked. Cowper sings as if this verse was before his eyes....The same word, that like the polished sharePloughs up the roots of a believer's care,Kills, too, the flowery weeds wherever they grow,That bind the sinner's Bacchanalian brow.Oh that unwelcome voice of heavenly love,Sad messenger of mercy from above,How does it grate upon his thankless ear,Crippling his pleasures with the cramp of fear.His will and judgment at continual strife,That civil war embitters all his life;In vain he points his powers against the skies,In vain he closes or averts his eyes;Truth will intrude.Ver. 10. He shall gnash with his teeth. An enraged man snaps his teeth together, as if about to bite the object of his anger. Thus in the book Ramyanum, the giant Ravanan is described as in his fury gnashing together his "thirty-two teeth!" Of angry men it is frequently said, "Look at the beast, how he gnashes his teeth!" "Go near that fellow! not I, indeed! he will only gnash his teeth." —Joseph Roberts.Ver. 10. He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away. The effect of envy, which consumes the envious. Thus the poet: "Envy is most hateful, but has some good in it, for it makes the eyes and the heart of the envious to pine away." —John Le Clerc, 1657-1736.

COKE, "Verse 10Psalms 112:10. The wicked— That is, the devil; for the Hebrew here is singular, and so denotes that wicked one, whose power and kingdom must melt away, while he beholds with rage the exaltation of Christ and his servants; and then, the desire of wicked men also (for in the last line the word is plural) shall perish. The expression melt away, is strong, and signifies that his envy shall be like a slow fire in the bowels. The word desire is put for the things themselves which are the objects of desire; as hope or confidence are put for their objects in Job 17:15; Job 18:14.

REFLECTIO�S.—1st. The Psalmist opens this psalm with ascribing praise to God, who is to be acknowledged in all he doth for and in his believing people; for by his grace they are what they are.

1. He describes the character of the truly blessed and happy man. He feareth the Lord, and only him; he delighteth greatly in his commandments; he counts obedience his highest privilege, and God's service perfect freedom: he is upright, sincere before God in his professions, and in all his dealings with men just and true: he is gracious, full of compassion, sensibly touched with the distresses of others, and ready to relieve them, and righteous; what he bestows on the necessitous is honestly come by: he shewth favour, and lendeth; not with a view to his own advantage, but of pure charity to assist the industrious poor, hoping for nothing again; he will guide his affairs with discretion, or his words with judgment; he is careful of what he speaks, that neither hastily, falsely, nor imprudently, his tongue may offend, but that all he saith may be well weighed, and the result of sound reflection and judgment; and in the management of his affairs he acts with such prudence and oeconomy, as both to shew piety at home in the becoming provision of his own house, and to have withal a portion to spare for him that needeth.

2. The man who perseveres in this spirit and conduct, is truly blessed and happy; he is the object of God's care and protection; the blessings of grace and love are laid up for him, and God himself is his portion, and his exceeding great reward; his posterity shall partake of his blessing, exalted on earth, and mighty in the grace which is in Jesus Christ. Wealth and riches, as much as God sees will be profitable for him and them, shall be in his house; nor shall his worldly prosperity turn away his heart from God, as it is too apt to do: his righteousness endureth for ever: God will preserve him, and enable him to prosper in his soul, as his substance is increased, and never suffer him to decay or decline. If at any time a dark cloud passes over him, either of temptation in his soul, or of affliction in his body, family, or substance, God will lift up the light of his countenance upon him, and cheer his heart with fresh visits of his love, minister new strength and consolation to his soul, and make the most afflictive dispensations issue to his good.

2nd, The Psalmist goes on,

1. To instance, in other particulars, the blessedness of the man who thus perseveringly feareth the Lord. [1.] His stability is ensured. [2.] The memory of his

piety shall descend to latest ages, and his righteousness God will to all eternity remember and reward. [3.] �o dangers shall terrify, no evil tidings dismay him; neither the world with all its snares and opposition, nor Satan with all his legions, nor death with all its terrors, shall be able to shake his confidence, or deject his spirit; for his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. [4.] He shall see his desire upon his enemies; expecting in faith the salvation of God, he shall see all his spiritual foes finally destroyed, his temporal foes subdued or made his friends, and himself in all things made more than conqueror. [5.] He shall be exalted to honour, the highest honour, that which cometh from God, who will remember his labours of love, his charity, liberality, and persevering continuance in well-doing; and at the resurrection-day crown him with glory, honour, and immortality.

2. This blessedness of the righteous will be the envy and torment of the wicked; they shall see it with grief and bitter anguish, and through vexation shall pine away in their iniquities, till at last they shall be cut off from all the good things on which their desires were placed, and doomed to that place of eternal torment, where there is weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Lord, gather not my soul with sinners!

CO�STABLE, "Verse 103. The anxiety the wicked experience112:10

God"s goodness to the righteous fills the wicked with anxiety. Finally they perish.

God"s people need to remember God"s blessings to them and give God praise for these things-so that they won"t envy the wicked, whose lot is much worse.

EBC, "Psalms 112:10 is not parallel with the last verse of Psalms 111:1-10, which stands, as we have seen, somewhat beyond the scope of the rest of that psalm. It gives one brief glimpse of the fate of the evildoer, in opposition to the loving picture of the blessedness of the righteous. Thus it too is rather beyond the immediate object of the psalm of which it forms part. The wicked sees, in contrast with the righteous man’s seeing in Psalms 112:8. The one looks with peace on the short duration of antagonistic power, and rejoices that there is a God of recompenses; the other grinds his teeth in envious rage, as he beholds the perpetuity of the righteous. He "shall melt away," i.e., in jealousy or despair. Opposition to goodness, since it is enmity towards God, is self-condemned to impotence and final failure. Desires turned for satisfaction elsewhere than to God are sure to perish. The sharp contrast between the righteousness of the good man, which endures forever, in his steadfast because trustful heart, and the crumbling schemes and disappointed hopes which gnaw the life of a man whose aims go athwart God’s will, solemnly proclaims an eternal truth. This Psalm, like Psalms 1:1-6, touches the two poles of possible human experience, in its first and last words, beginning with "happy the man" and ending with "shall perish."