Psalm 112:6

Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(6) See Psalm 15:5; Proverbs 10:7.

Benson Commentary

Psalm 112:6-8. He shall not be moved for ever — Though he may, for a season, be afflicted, yet he shall not be utterly and eternally destroyed, as wicked men shall be. The righteous — Hebrew, צדיק, the righteous man; shall be in everlasting remembrance — Though, while he lives, he may be exposed to the censures, slanders, and contradictions of sinners; yet, after his death, his memory shall be precious and honourable, both with God and men, his very enemies not excepted. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings — At the report of approaching calamities and the judgments of God, at which the wicked are so dismayed and affrighted. His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord — Casting all his care upon God, and securely relying upon his providence and promise. His heart is established, &c. — This confidence is the prop and support of his soul; until he see his desire, &c. — Till he look upon his oppressors, as Dr. Hammond renders it: that is, till he see them all subdued, and made his footstool: till he come to heaven, where he shall see Satan and all his spiritual enemies put under his feet, as Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the sea-shore. It will complete the satisfaction and comfort of the saints, when they shall look back upon their conflicts, pressures, and troubles, and be able to say, with St. Paul, when he had recounted the persecutions he had endured, Out of them all the Lord hath delivered me.

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

Surely he shall not be moved for ever - Luther, "For he shall remain always." He shall be fixed, stable, firm, prosperous. He shall not be driven from place to place. He shall have a permanent home. He shall have a steady reputation. He shall have a constant influence. He shall be a firm, establislied, prosperous man. Of course this is to be taken in the general, and should not be pressed to mean that it will be, in the most literal sense, and always, true, for a good man "may" be "unfortunate in business," and suffer with others; he may be sick; he may see reason to change his residence; he will certainly die. But still it is true that religion "tends" to produce this permanency, and that in this respect there is a marked difference between people who are truly pious, and those who are not.

The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance - In Proverbs 10:7, it is said that "the name of the wicked shall rot;" and the meaning here is, that the way to secure a grateful remembrance among people after we are dead is to be righteous - to do something that shall deserve to be remembered. It cannot mean that a man who is righteous will "never" be forgotten, or that his name and deeds will never pass from the recollection of mankind - for that would not be true; but that people will delight to cherish the memory of the righteous; that they will be disposed to do justice to their character after they are dead; that the benevolent and the upright will be remembered when the names of the wicked shall be forgotten. The world has no interest in keeping up the memory of bad people, and as soon as it can be done hastens to forget them. Wicked people are remembered only when their deeds are enormous, and then their memory is cherished only to admonish and to warn. The world has no interest in keeping up the memory of Benedict Arnold, or Alexander VI, or Caesar Borgia except to warn future generations of the guilt and baseness of treason and profligacy; it "has" an interest in never suffering the names of Howard, of Wilberforce, of Henry Martyn, to die, for those names excite to noble feelings and to noble efforts wherever they are known. Such names are to be had "in everlasting remembrance."

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

6. not be moved—(compare Ps 13:4; 15:5).

Matthew Poole's Commentary

Shall not be moved for ever; though he may for a season be afflicted, yet he shall not be utterly and eternally destroyed, as wicked men shall. Shall be in everlasting remembrance; though whilst he lives he may be exposed to the censures, and slanders, and contradictions of sinners, yet after death his memory will be precious and honourable, both with God and with all men, his very enemies not excepted.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Surely he shall not be moved for ever,.... Out of the heart of God, and from his love and affections; out of the covenant of grace, and from an interest in it; out of the hands of Christ, or off of him the foundation; out of the house and family of God; out of a state of grace and righteousness, into condemnation: and though he may be distressed by afflictions, yet not destroyed; and though he may be so shaken, as to fall from some degree of steadfastness in the faith, and into sin, yet not so as to perish everlastingly: the saint's perseverance is a sure and certain truth, and to be depended upon.

The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance; with good men, and especially such whose names are recorded in Scripture: and even others are remembered after death; and for a long time after, their pious characters, sayings, actions, sufferings, works, and writings; and with God, who remembers his love to them, his covenant with them, his promises to them; has a book of remembrance for their thoughts, words, and actions; which will be remembered and spoken of at the last day, when forgotten by them; see Proverbs 10:9 &c.

Geneva Study Bible

Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

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.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 6. - Surely he shall not be moved forever. God's blessing shall abide with him, and make his happiness sure and stable. (On stability as a necessary element in happiness, see Aristotle, 'Eth. Nic.,' 1. 10. § 7, 8.) The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance; i.e. everlastingly remembered by God. Psalm 112:6

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.