1. Happy is the man that feareth Jehovah] This Psalm takes up and expands the last verse of the preceding Psalm. The secret and source of all true happiness and prosperity is the fear of Jehovah, which leads to a cheerful and thorough obedience to His commandments.

that delighteth] A reminiscence of Psalm 1:2. Cp. Psalm 40:8; Psalm 119:35; Psalm 119:97. It is the same word as in Psalm 111:2.

2. His seed &c.] His posterity shall be powerful in the land. Cp. Psalm 25:13; Psalm 37:9; Psalm 37:11. Gibbôr generally means valiant in war, but is here used for the sake of the acrostic, in the wider sense of powerful by wealth and position.

the generation of the upright] Lit. a generation of upright men, the descendants of the man who fears Jehovah, parallel to and synonymous with his seed.

3. Wealth &c.] Cp. Proverbs 3:16; Proverbs 8:18.

his righteousness standeth fast for ever] Here and in Psalm 112:9 the words which are used in Psalm 111:3 of God are applied to the godly man. They may be understood to mean that the character of the godly man is a reflection of the character of God: but the parallelism suggests that here, as in Psalm 24:5 (where righteousness answers to blessing), righteousness is nearly equivalent to the reward of righteousness (cp. Ezekiel 18:20; Isaiah 58:8). The unbroken prosperity of the godly is the verdict of approval which God pronounces upon his character and conduct. Cp. Isaiah 65:23.

4. It is possible to understand this verse of Jehovah, He ariseth as a light in the darkness to the upright, being gracious, &c. But it seems clear from the general tenor of the Psalm that the epithets applied to God in Psalm 111:4 are here applied to the godly man. Cp. Matthew 5:48; Luke 6:36[71]. The verse may be rendered

[71] The LXX here has ἐλεήμων καὶ οἰκτίρμων, the words used in Matthew 5:7, Luke 6:36 : cp. Hebrews 2:17; James 5:11.

There ariseth a light in the darkness for the upright,

(For him that is) gracious, compassionate, and righteous.

Cp. Psalm 97:11; and the striking parallel in Isaiah 58:10, where the dawn of prosperity after the night of trouble is promised as the reward of merciful conduct. But ‘the upright’ is plural, while throughout the Psalm the godly man is spoken of in the singular (Psalm 112:2 is not an exception, for the plural there refers to his descendants), and the construction is harsh. It seems best therefore to render,

He ariseth as a light in the darkness for the upright,

Being gracious, compassionate, and righteous.

The ‘upright’ are the poor but godly whom he befriends in their need (Psalm 112:5; Psalm 112:9), reflecting the attributes of God in his dealings with his fellow-men.

5. A good man sheweth favour] Well is it with the man that dealeth graciously. The A.V. is ungrammatical, and misses the connexion with the preceding verse. Cp. Psalm 37:21; Psalm 37:26.

he will guide his affairs with discretion] Or, who manages his affairs with rectitude (Heb. judgement). So Symm., οἰκονομῶν τὰ πράγματα αὐτοῦ μετὰ κρίσεως. He takes care to injure no one in the conduct of his business. Cp. Psalm 111:7. R.V. and most commentators render, he shall maintain his cause in judgement. But the thought thus introduced is incongruous. Why should the just and liberal man be brought into court at all?

6. For (giving the reason for Well is it of Psalm 112:5) he shall never be moved. He will enjoy firm and unshaken prosperity. Cp. Psalm 15:5; Psalm 55:22; Proverbs 10:30.

the righteous &c.] Cp. Proverbs 10:7; Sir 44:1-15. The line corresponds to Psalm 111:4 a. As God has made Himself remembered by His marvellous works, so the godly man is held in remembrance for his acts of mercy.

7. Since he has a clear conscience and a quiet trust, he is not tortured by presentiments of evil, like the wicked man, Job 15:20 ff.; Proverbs 10:24.

fixed] i.e. steadfast, as Psalm 57:7.

8. established] Cp. Psalm 111:8; Isaiah 26:3, where the word for trusting used in Psalm 112:7 also occurs.

until &c.] If he is attacked he is confident that in due time his cause, which is the cause of God and right, will triumph. Cp. Psalm 91:8.

9. He hath dispersed] Of liberal, open-handed, distribution of wealth, in Proverbs 11:24.

his righteousness &c.] As in Psalm 112:3. “How little these words are contrary to the Christian consciousness is shewn by St Paul’s citation of them in 2 Corinthians 9:9, where he applies them for the encouragement of Christian beneficence” (Delitzsch).

his horn &c.] Cp. 1 Samuel 2:1; and see note on Psalm 92:10.

10. The wicked looks on in impotent rage and is consumed with vexation. While “the desire of the righteous is granted” (Proverbs 10:24), his desire comes to nought. The end of the Psalm, like the beginning, is an echo of Psalms 1.