Psalm 112
10 verses · BSBPsalms book hub →
Speaks with:Psalms 37×2Psalms 128×1Luke 1×1Psalms 119×1Genesis 17×1Proverbs 20×1
Summary
Chapter summary
The mirror acrostic of 111: the man who fears Jehovah wears the character of the God he fears. 'Blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.' Wealth and riches are in his house; 'unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness.' He is gracious, lends, guides his affairs with justice. 'He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in Jehovah.' He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor (2 Corinthians 9:9); his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted: while the desire of the wicked shall perish.
Context
Poetry · David, Asaph, Sons of Korah, others — Psalms overview
The world behind this chapter
Psalms 112The history
This is the deliberate twin of the psalm before it: the same twenty-two-line alphabet form, the same length, and the same phrases — except that what was said of God there is now said of the man who fears him. The two were meant to be sung together.
The money language is specific. Israelite law forbade charging interest to a fellow Israelite, so lending generously meant real risk with no profit. Scattering gifts to the poor also had legal shape: farmers left the field edges unharvested, dropped grain lay where it fell, and a forgotten sheaf stayed for the widow and the foreigner.
The horn lifted high comes from the strength of a bull, and it was the standard image for public honor and standing. A man with his horn exalted was a man other men listened to at the gate.
Not being afraid of bad news is a picture from a world without fast communication. News came with a runner or a caravan — a raid, a failed harvest, a death — and there was nothing to do but wait. The psalm says a settled heart can hear the messenger without falling apart.
What it meant to them
The audience was people watching dishonest men do well. The song does not deny that; it ends with the wicked grinding his teeth as he watches the generous man's name outlast him.
The offer is not wealth but stability: light in the dark, a house that holds, and a memory that does not get erased.
Sources cited
- Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions
- Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David on Psalm 112
The text of this chapter
This page carries no textual note on Psalms 112. Where this site has examined a place the manuscripts differ, the examination is in the manuscripts room. Every place this site examines →
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.