Psalm 112:1

Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Benson Commentary

Psalm 112:1. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord — With the disposition of a dutiful child toward a kind and gracious father, not with that of a refractory slave toward a tyrannical and severe master, that reverences and fears to offend him. As the fear of God is man’s only wisdom, Psalm 111:10, so it is his only way to true happiness. That delighteth greatly in his commandments — Who makes it his chief care, business, and delight, to meditate on, understand, and obey God’s commandments. It is here intimated, that zeal and fervency in God’s service are essential to true piety.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

112:1-10 The blessedness of the righteous. - We have 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; which is owing entirely to his grace. Their fear is not that which love casts out, but that which love brings in. It follows and flows from love. It is a fear to offend. This is both fear and trust. The heart touched by the Spirit of God, as the needle touched with the loadstone, turns direct and speedily to God, yet still with trembling, being filled with this holy fear. Blessings are laid up for the faithful and their children's children; and true riches are bestowed on them, with as much of this world's possessions as is profitable for them. In the darkest hours of affliction and trial, the light of hope and peace will spring up within them, and seasonable relief shall turn mourning into joy. From their Lord's example they learn to be kind and full of compassion, as well as just in all their dealings; they use discretion, that they may be liberal in that manner which appears most likely to do good. Envy and slander may for a time hide their true characters here, but they shall be had in everlasting remembrance. They need not fear evil tidings. A good man shall have a settled spirit. And it is the endeavour of true believers to keep their minds stayed upon God, and so to keep them calm and undisturbed; and God has promised them both cause to do so, and grace to do so. Trusting in the Lord is the best and surest way of establishing the heart. The heart of man cannot fix any where with satisfaction, but in the truth of God, and there it finds firm footing. And those whose hearts are established by faith, will patiently wait till they gain their point. Compare all this with the vexation of sinners. The happiness of the saints is the envy of the wicked. The desire of the wicked shall perish; their desire was wholly to the world and the flesh, therefore when these perish, their joy is gone. But the blessings of the gospel are spiritual and eternal, and are conferred upon the members of the Christian church, through Christ their Head, who is the Pattern of all righteousness, and the Giver of all grace.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Praise ye the Lord - Margin, as in Hebrew, "Hallelujah." See the notes at Psalm 106:1.

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

That feareth the Lord - In Psalm 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 Psalm 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.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

PSALM 112

Ps 112:1-10. This Psalm may be regarded as an exposition of Ps 111:10, presenting the happiness of those who fear and obey God, and contrasting the fate of the ungodly.

1. True fear produces obedience and this happiness.

The Treasury of David

1 Praise ye the Lord. Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

"Praise ye the Lord." This exhortation is never given too often; the Lord always deserves praise, we ought always to render it, we are frequently forgetful of it, and it is always well to be stirred up to it. The exhortation is addressed to all thoughtful persons who observe the way and manner of life of men that fear the Lord. If there be any virtue, if there be any praise, the Lord should have all the glory of it, for we are his workmanship. "Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord." According to Psalm 111:10, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom"; this man, therefore, has begun to be wise, and wisdom has brought him present happiness, and secured him eternal felicity. Jehovah is so great that he is to be feared and had in reverence of all them that are round about him, and he is at the same time so infinitely good that the fear is sweetened into filial love, and becomes a delightful emotion, by no means engendering bondage. There is a slavish fear which is accursed; but that godly fear which leads to delight in the service of God is infinitely blessed. Jehovah is to be praised both for inspiring men with godly fear and for the blessedness which they enjoy in consequence thereof. We ought to bless God for blessing any man, and especially for setting the seal of his approbation upon the godly. His favour towards the God-fearing displays his character and encourages gracious feelings in others, therefore let him be praised. "That delighteth greatly in his commandments." The man not only studies the divine precepts and endeavours to observe them, but rejoices to do so: holiness is his happiness, devotion is his delight, truth is his treasure. He rejoices in the precepts of godliness, yea, and delights greatly in them. We have known hypocrites rejoice in the doctrines, but never in the commandments. Ungodly men may in some measure obey the commandments out of fear, but only a gracious man will observe them with delight. Cheerful obedience is the only acceptable obedience; he who obeys reluctantly is disobedient at heart, but he who takes pleasure in the command is truly loyal. If through divine grace we find ourselves described in these two sentences, let us give all the praise to God, for he hath wrought all our works in us, and the dispositions out of which they spring. Let self-righteous men praise themselves, but he who has been made righteous by grace renders all the praise to the Lord. THE ARGUMENT

This Psalm containeth a description of a good man’s gracious disposition and carriage; as also of his blessed condition, even in this life as well as in the next.

The blessedness of them that fear the Lord in this life, and in that to come, Psalm 112:1-9; for which the wicked envy them, and are grieved, Psalm 112:10.

The fear of God, as it is man’s only wisdom, Psalm 111:10, so it is his only way to true happiness.

That delighteth greatly in his commandments; who makes it his chief delight, care, and business to study and obey God’s commandments. He intimates that zeal and fervency in God’s service is essential to true piety.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire 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; See Gill on Psalm 111:10.

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, Psalm 119:97.

Geneva Study Bible

Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that {a} feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

(a) He means that reverent fear which is in the children of God, which causes them to delight only in the word of God.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

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.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 1. - Praise ye the Lord. Again a "heading," or "introduction" (see the comment on Psalm 111:1). Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord. Connect this with Psalm 111:10. The closing thought of Psalm 111. is taken up and expanded in Psalm 112. That delighteth greatly in his commandments (comp. Psalm 1:2; Psalm 119:16, 17, 24, 70, 77, etc.). "True obedience can only come from pleasure in the commandments of God" (Hengstenberg). Psalm 112:1

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

As in the preceding Psalm. Psa 112:1 here also sets forth the theme of that which follows. What is there said in Psalm 112:3 concerning the righteousness of God, Psalm 112:3 here says of the righteousness of him who fears God: this also standeth fast for ever, it is indeed the copy of the divine, it is the work and gift of God (Psalm 24:5), inasmuch as God's salutary action and behaviour, laid hold of in faith, works a like form of action and behaviour to it in man, which, as Psalm 112:9 says, is, according to its nature, love. The promise in Psalm 112:4 sounds like Isaiah 60:2. Hengstenberg renders: "There ariseth in the darkness light to the upright who is gracious and compassionate and just." But this is impossible as a matter of style. The three adjectives (as in Psalm 111:4, pointing back to Exodus 34:6, cf. Psalm 145:8; Psalm 116:5) are a mention of God according to His attributes. חנּוּן and רחוּם never take the article in Biblical Hebrew, and צדּיק follows their examples here (cf. on the contrary, Exodus 9:27). God Himself is the light which arises in darkness for those who are sincere in their dealings with Him; He is the Sun of righteousness with wings of rays dispensing "grace" and "tender mercies," Malachi 4:2. The fact that He arises for those who are compassionate as He is compassionate, is evident from Psalm 112:5. טוב being, as in Isaiah 3:10; Jeremiah 44:17, intended of well-being, prosperity, טּוב אישׁ is here equivalent to אשׁרי אישׁ, which is rendered טוּביהּ דּגברא in Targumic phrase. חונן signifies, as in Psalm 37:26, Psalm 37:21, one who charitably dispenses his gifts around. Psalm 112:5 is not an extension of the picture of virtue, but, as in Psalm 127:5, a promissory prospect: he will uphold in integrity (בּמשׁפּט, Psalm 72:2, Isaiah 9:7, and frequently), or rather ( equals בּמּשׁפּט) in the cause (Psalm 143:2, Proverbs 24:23, and frequently), the things which depend upon him, or with which he has to do; for כּלכּל, sustinere, signifies to sustain, i.e., to nourish, to sustain, i.e., endure, and also to support, maintain, i.e., carry through. This is explanatorily confirmed in Psalm 112:6 : he stands, as a general thing, imperturbably fast. And when he dies he becomes the object of everlasting remembrance, his name is still blessed (Proverbs 10:7). Because he has a cheerful conscience, his heart too is not disconcerted by any evil tidings (Jeremiah 49:23): it remains נכון, erect, straight and firm, without suffering itself to bend or warp; בּטח בּה, full of confidence (passive, "in the sense of a passive state after a completed action of the person himself," like זכוּר, Psalm 103:14); סמוּך, stayed in itself and established. The last two designations are taken from Isaiah 26:3, where it is the church of the last times that is spoken of. Psalm 91:8 gives us information with reference to the meaning of ראה בצריו; עד, as in Psalm 94:13, of the inevitable goal, on this side of which he remains undismayed. 2 Corinthians 9:9, where Paul makes use of Psalm 112:9 of the Psalm before us as an encouragement to Christian beneficence, shows how little the assertion "his righteousness standeth for ever" is opposed to the New Testament consciousness. פּזּר of giving away liberally and in manifold ways, as in Proverbs 11:24. רוּם, Psalm 112:9, stands in opposition to the egoistical הרים in Psalm 75:5 as a vegetative sprouting up (Psalm 132:17). The evil-doer must see this, and confounded, vex himself over it; he gnashes his teeth with the rage of envy and chagrin, and melts away, i.e., loses consistency, becomes unhinged, dies off (נמס, 3d praet. Niph. as in Exodus 16:21, pausal form of נמס equals נמס). How often has he desired the ruin of him whom he must now see in honour! The tables are turned; this and his ungodly desire in general come to nought, inasmuch as the opposite is realized. On יראה, with its self-evident object, cf. Micah 7:10. Concerning the pausal form וכעס, vid., Psalm 93:1. Hupfeld wishes to read תּקות after Psalm 9:19, Proverbs 10:28. In defence of the traditional reading, Hitzig rightly points to Proverbs 10:24 together with Proverbs 10:28.