Psalms 112

Psalms 112:1-10

Praise for the security of those that fear Him. In the last verse the key-note of the present psalm is struck, in which we have in fact the praise of such wisdom. It is a psalm of praise for the security and blessing of those who fear Jehovah; and the alphabetic structure may remind us of the similar one in the twenty-fifth, but here (as not there) perfect. As soon as the soul is turned to God, things begin to get the impress of divine order; and while from the side of human experience (as in the twenty-fifth) this is yet imperfect, from the divine side (as here) it is not so: the structure is the exact reflection of the truth contained. In the character of the blessing the psalm is Jewish, of course; and we have to make large allowance for this in any Christian application.

1. We have first the description of the man that fears Jehovah. His fear is a fruitful fear and not a slavish one: he has great delight in the commandments in which he walks. “His seed shall be mighty in the earth,” -the sphere of blessing in the Old Testament, -“the generation of the upright is blessed.”
2. Next, as in the last psalm the two-fold character of light and love is seen in Jehovah, so here this is seen in the one who walks in His way. “Wealth and riches shall be in his house; and his righteousness endureth for ever.” Amid a dark world light arises for the upright; and the only upright one is he that is “gracious and merciful” as well as “righteous.” Indeed our Lord has fully shown us in the parable of the thankless servant (Matthew 19:1-30) that for those who are debtors to mercy not to show it is not even righteous.
3. We now see how he is fenced about and cared for: “Well is it with the man that is gracious and lendeth: he shall sustain his affairs by judgment” -not in the judgment which is coming at the hands of God, (as some interpret,) but by the judgment which he himself practises. “For he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance” -remembered by God Himself, and so kept unmoved.
4. Yet he is in a world where things do not show stability; but “he shall not be afraid of an evil report” -of bad news; because he has found stability in God: “his heart is firm, trusting in Jehovah,” the Unchangeable. This very trust too is sustained of God, until he see what he looks for as to his adversaries.
5. The principles of divine government, both as to the righteous and the wicked, are seen in the closing verses.