1 Praise Yah! Blessed is the man who fears Yahweh, who delights greatly in his commandments. 2 His seed will be mighty in the land. The generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house. His righteousness endures forever. 4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright, gracious, merciful, and righteous. 5 It is well with the man who deals graciously and lends. He will maintain his cause in judgment. 6 For he will never be shaken. The righteous will be remembered forever. 7 He will not be afraid of evil news. His heart is steadfast, trusting in Yahweh. 8 His heart is established. He will not be afraid in the end when he sees his adversaries. 9 He has dispersed, he has given to the poor. His righteousness endures forever. His horn will be exalted with honor. 10 The wicked will see it, and be grieved. He shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away. The desire of the wicked will perish.
The author of this psalm, as of the preceding, is unknown, and equally with that it is impossible now to ascertain the time or the occasion of its composition. It is a psalm of the same structure as that, with the same number of verses; like that, it is alphabetical in its form, and composed in the same manner - the first eight verses with two clauses each, beginning with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet - and the last two verses with "three" clauses, beginning, in like manner, with three letters of the alphabet in succession. This peculiarity of structure makes it highly probable that it was composed by the same author.
It is further to be noticed that this psalm "begins" where the other "ends," with the happiness or blessedness of "fearing God," and is designed to set forth that blessedness, or to show what are the advantages of true religion. This fact makes it further probable that the two psalms were composed by the same author.
This psalm is very simple in its structure. It sets forth the advantages or benefits of the fear of the Lord, or of religion in respect
(a) to the posterity of the man, Psalm 112:2;
(b) in securing wealth, Psalm 112:3;
(c) in the light which springs up in darkness, Psalm 112:4;
(d) in the discretion with which such a man is enabled to manage his affairs, Psalm 112:5;
(e) in the firmness and composure of his mind in times of danger and trouble, Psalm 112:6-8;
(f) in his being so prosperous, and so exalted, that he will become an object of envy to the wicked, Psalm 112:9-10.
The blessedness of the man that fears the Lord, both as it regards himself and his family, Psalm 112:1-3; his conduct to his family, his neighbors, and the poor, Psalm 112:4-9; the envy of the wicked at his prosperity, Psalm 112:10.
This is another of the acrostic or alphabetical Psalm, under the title Hallelujah. It is formed exactly as the preceding in the division of its verses. It has ten verses in the whole: the first eight contain each two hemistichs, beginning with a consecutive letter of the alphabet; the ninth and tenth verses, three each, making twenty-two in the whole. It is understood to have been written after the captivity, and probably by Zechariah and Haggai: to them it is ascribed by the Vulgate.
INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 112
This psalm, also, very probably, was written by David, and is composed as the former, in an alphabetical order. The inscription of it in the Syriac version is,
"When David in it commanded Solomon his son, saying, Keep the commandments of, the Lord, and worship him: likewise the calling of the Gentiles and the righteousness of Christ.''
The subject matter of the psalm are the character, conduct, usefulness, and happiness of a good man.
The blessedness of the righteous.
Alphabetical Song in Praise of Those Who Fear God
The alphabetical Hallelujah Psalm 111:1-10, which celebrated the government of God, is now followed by another coinciding with it in structure (CTYXOC KB, i.e., 22 στίχοι, as the Coptic version correctly counts), which celebrates the men whose conduct is ordered after the divine pattern.
*More commentary available by clicking individual verses.