Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 112:1

Clarke's Commentary

PSALM CXII

The blessedness of the man that fears the Lord, both as it

regards himself and his family, 1-3;

his conduct to his family, his neighbours, and the poor, 4-9;

the envy of the wicked at his prosperity, 10.

NOTES ON PSALM CXII

This is another of the acrostic or alphabetical Psalms, under the title Hallelujah. It is formed exactly as the preceding in the division of its verses. It has ten verses in the whole: the Psalms 112:1-8 contain each two hemistichs, beginning with a consecutive letter of the alphabet; the Psalms 112:9-10; Psalms 112:9-10Psalms 112:9-10 verses, three each, making twenty-two in the whole. It is understood to have been written after the captivity, and probably by Zechariah and Haggai: to them it is ascribed by the Vulgate.

Verse Psalms 112:1. 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.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 111-112 God and his godly people

Equal in length and similar in form, these two psalms can be read as a pair. Both are acrostics (see note preceding Psalms 9:0). The former considers the greatness of God, the latter the character of his godly people.

God’s wonderful works, both in creation and in history, are a cause for praise by all his worshipping people (111:1-3). In his sovereign power he took the agriculturally productive land of Canaan from its heathen inhabitants and gave it to the Israelite people according to the covenant he had made with them (4-6). His desire is that they rule themselves according to his just law (7-8). He is the mighty and holy covenant-redeemer of his people, and they should fear him, honour him, obey him and praise him (9-10).
When people respond to God in such a way, God blesses them with a respected, upright and prosperous line of descendants (112:1-3). God looks after those who are fair in their treatment of others and generous with their money (4-6). Their lives will be enriched with a sense of security and confidence, so that they fear nothing (7-8). The satisfaction that comes from such lives is in sharp contrast to the envy and hopelessness of the wicked (9-10).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

"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" 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." 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." 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." Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown's Commentary, p. 381.

"Wealth and riches are in his house, etc." 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."Derek Kidner, Vol. II, p. 399. It is always a disaster for any community where the wealth and power of the people are concentrated in the hands of evil men.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Praise ye the Lord - Margin, as in Hebrew, “Hallelujah.” See the notes at Psalms 106:1.

Blessed is the man - Hebrew, “The blessings of the man.” See the notes at Psalms 1:1. That is, Blessed, or happy, is such a one.

That feareth the Lord - In Psalms 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 Psalms 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.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

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.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 112:1-10

Again, it begins with the Hebrew, Hallelujah.

Blessed is the man that reverences Jehovah ( Psalms 112:1 ).

Again, the man who reverences God. Not the man who reverences a guy standing in front, or a guy with a black robe, or whatever. But a guy who reverences God, that's the blessed man, that's the happy man.

that delights greatly in his commandments ( Psalms 112:1 ).

David said, "Whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law doth he meditate both day and night." David said, "O blessed or O happy is the man who delights in the law of the Lord, and in His law meditates day and night. For he'll be like a tree" ( Psalms 1:1-3 ). All right, now here again, "Happy is the man who delights greatly in His commandments." This man,

His children will be mighty upon the earth: the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house ( Psalms 112:2-3 ):

And I do not believe that that necessarily refers to physical, monetary wealth, but really, the really rich and wealthy people are those people, the really rich home and wealthy home is that home where God is honored. They are the people who have the true riches. The riches of the kingdom. Riches that don't corrupt. Riches that don't fade away. Riches that can't be ripped off. Those glorious true riches of God's kingdom. "Wealth and riches shall be in his house."

and his righteousness endureth for ever. Unto the upright he rises as a light in the darkness ( Psalms 112:3-4 ):

Would be a better translation.

for he is gracious, he's full of compassion, and righteous ( Psalms 112:4 ).

That is, our righteousness in Christ.

A good man shows favor, and he lends: he will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD ( Psalms 112:5-7 ).

We're living in days of evil tidings. At any day, you can pick up the newspaper and read of all the evil that is going on in the world. And there are some people who live in constant fear of the evil tidings that might come. But the man who has put his trust in the Lord will not fear in the day of evil tidings, because his heart is fixed.

There are some people whose hearts aren't really fixed. It isn't a true commitment. It isn't a full commitment. They've made a partial commitment of their lives to God. Part of them serves the Lord; part of them serves the flesh. They love the Lord partly. And because of that, they are very unstable in their walk and they're fearful. But the man who has fixed his heart, trusting in the Lord, I know that come what may, the Lord is with me. I know that come what may, the Lord is going to protect me.

I know that the Lord is watching out over me. I know the Lord loves me. I may not understand what's happening in the circumstances surrounding my life. But I know that God loves me and I know that God's going to see me through. I know that God has allowed it for a purpose. I know that it would not have happened unless God had allowed it to happen. And because He allowed it to happen, He has a purpose in its happening, and thus He's going to bring good out of it. Though I may not see it now. And because I've fixed my heart and commitment to God, come what may, you don't fear for calamity that may fall tomorrow. You don't fear for what may come, because you know that whatever comes is brought to you by the hand of God.

I belong to Him. Satan cannot get to me except he come through the Lord. And therefore, trusting in the Lord, my heart is fixed on Him. I have great confidence in life.

His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, he shall see his desire upon his enemies. He hath dispersed, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honor ( Psalms 112:8-9 ).

Now in contrast to this righteous man,

The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; the wicked will gnash with his teeth, and melt away ( Psalms 112:10 ):

See, the righteous will endure forever. But the wicked will gnash and melt away.

the desire of the wicked [rather than being granted] will perish ( Psalms 112:10 ).

So you have a psalm that deals with God's blessed man and then the final verse being a contrast to it with the wicked man. Psalms 1:1-6 has the same contrast. "O how happy is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But whose delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law does he meditate day and night. He'll be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, bringing forth his fruit in its season; his leaf also shall not wither; whatsoever he does shall prosper" ( Psalms 1:1-3 ). Now the wicked are not so. There's a contrast. "The wicked are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away" ( Psalms 1:4 ). Again, you have much said about the righteous but then the contrast with the wicked. And this is poetry in the mind of the Hebrew. The poetry comes in the contrasting of the thought.

Now in our minds, we're geared for poetry coming in rhyme and in rhythm. So you get a rhythm going and it rhymes. And I particularly like the Robert Service type of poetry where you rhyme two lines and every third line is in the rhyme. And there are others, the first line, the first and third, no, the first and fourth lines rhyme and the two in between rhyme.

Longfellow's Ode to Life,

Tell me not, in mournful numbers,

'Life is but an empty dream!'

For the soul is dead that slumbers,

things are not what they seem.

No, it's every other one in his.

Life is real! Life is earnest!

And the grave is not thy goal;

'Dust thou art, to dust returneth,'

Was not spoken of thy soul.

But then Robert Service,

There are strange things done 'neath the midnight sun

By the men who toil for gold;

The arctic trails, all their secret tales

That make your blood run cold.

The Northern Lights have seen queer sights,

But the queerest they ever did see

Was the night in the marge of the Lake Lebarge

When I cremated Sam McGee.

So that constitutes poetry to us. There's the rhythm. There's the rhyme. But to the Hebrew, the poetry was in the thought. And it was either in a compounding of a thought or the contrasting of a thought. So you take a thought and you begin to compound it.

"The ways of the Lord are perfect. The ways of the Lord are to be sought out. The ways of the Lord." And you are compounding on the thought. Or, you take contrasting thought, "The way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked. The way of the godly, but the way of the ungodly." And so the contrasting of thought to the Hebrew mind is poetry. There's no rhyme, there's no rhythm. And so we wouldn't call it poetry ourselves. But to them, that is what constitutes poetry. Not the rhyming of a sentence or not the rhythm, but the thought itself. They find the beauty of poetry in the thought itself.

So after all of these things about the blessed man, then you get the contrast in the final verse, "But the wicked shall see it." And in contrast to the righteous, "he will be grieved. He'll gnash with his teeth; he'll melt away. He'll perish." "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

1. The blessed condition of those who fear Yahweh 112:1

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.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 112

This wisdom psalm is also an acrostic. It focuses attention on the blessings those who fear God enjoy, especially their final exaltation.

"However, the psalm gives a realistic portrayal of wisdom as it brings out, not only the blessings of honor, children, and riches, but also the reality of adversities (’darkness,’ Psalms 112:4; ’bad news,’ Psalms 112:7; ’foes,’ Psalms 112:8)." [Note: VanGemeren, p. 706.]

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

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; :-.

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,

Psalms 119:97.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.   2 His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.   3 Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.   4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.   5 A good man showeth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.

      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,Psalms 112:1; Psalms 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, Psalms 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 (Psalms 112:2; Psalms 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.

      3. They are both just and kind in all their dealings: He is gracious, full of compassion, and righteous (Psalms 112:4; Psalms 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 (Psalms 112:4; Psalms 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 (Psalms 112:5; Psalms 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 (Psalms 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 (Psalms 112:2; Psalms 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 (Romans 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, Psalms 112:3; Psalms 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 (Psalms 112:4; Psalms 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,Micah 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.

      4. They shall have wisdom for the management of all their concerns, Psalms 112:5; Psalms 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,Isaiah 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,James 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.