Psalm 112:1 ¶ 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 sheweth favour, and lendeth: he
will guide his affairs with discretion.
John Gill reported that the Syriac version of this
Psalm says it was written by King David. He starts out by telling the hearer to
Praise the Lord Jehovah which is what LORD all caps is a reference to. He says
that the man who fears the Lord is blessed. After all, the last Psalm noted;
Psalm 111:10 The fear of
the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do
his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.
This man or woman delights in God’s commandments.
Psalm 119:97 ¶ MEM. O how
love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day…127 ¶ Therefore I love thy commandments above gold;
yea, above fine gold. 128 Therefore I
esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every
false way…165 ¶ Great peace have they
which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
Although verses 2 and 3 are a physical promise to
physical Israelites in the ancient kingdom of Israel we could view this as a
promise to the man who fears God and delights in His commandments. Blessings
will flow from obedience to God, not a paranoid, neurotic self-righteousness but
a calm, assured devotion to God through sincere prayer and devout attention to
His word and understanding of the reality that God creates or allows to happen.
Christ is a light in a dark world to the upright in
heart.
Micah 7:8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I
fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me.
Do you see the characteristics of a good
man?
Psalm 37:21 ¶ The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again:
but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth… 26
He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed.
He is also careful and not reckless or impulsive so
that he has the bounty from God to share.
Ephesians 4:28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather
let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may
have to give to him that needeth.
And speaking of spiritual things he or she considers
what they say carefully.
1Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and
be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the
hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 16 ¶ Having a good conscience; that, whereas they
speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse
your good conversation in Christ.
Psalm 112:6 ¶ Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the
righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. 7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his
heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. 8
His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his
desire upon his enemies. 9 He hath
dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his
horn shall be exalted with honour. 10
The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his
teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.
The righteous will never be forgotten by God.
Hebrews 6:10 For God is not unrighteous to forget your work
and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have
ministered to the saints, and do minister.
The righteous shall not be afraid of bad news or
circumstance because his trust is in the Lord God.
Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or
peril, or sword?
Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose
mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
Verse 9 repeats the thought of verse 5 in the
willingness of the righteous to give.
The righteous man’s power will be honored. The Holy
Spirit uses the word horn, in some contexts as a man’s or a people’s
strength.
Psalm 18:2
The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my
strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and
my high tower.
Psalm 75:4
I said unto the fools, Deal not foolishly: and to the wicked, Lift not
up the horn:
Psalm 75:5
Lift not up your horn on high: speak not with a stiff neck.
Psalm 89:17 For thou art the glory of their strength: and
in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.
The wicked cannot bear to see this and all that they
design will be brought to nought.
With Christ we can see this as the sign of His ultimate
triumph over the Devil, Death, and Hell. Christ is THE righteous and He is victorious
and everlasting.
We should take this Psalm to heart as we depend on
Christ’s righteousness and not our own for salvation in eternity. We can view
the wicked as the spiritual forces that rally against us but are doomed to
failure. The very gates, or judgments, of Hell will not prevail against it as
Jesus says in Matthew 16:18. So perhaps we can take this Psalm as not only a
declaration of the righteous man in Israel, but of Christ and of His Church
throughout the ages of the world.
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