Psalm 112: The Generous Righteous Person

"Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous."

"A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion. Surely he shall not be moved for ever… He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD… He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour. The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away."

Wealth that is given away

The blessed person's wealth is described in terms of what he does with it: lending without exploiting (compare Exodus 22:25), giving to the poor, managing justly. Paul quotes v. 9, "He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor," when urging generosity (2 Corinthians 9:9).

A portrait, not a guarantee

Like Psalm 1 and Proverbs, Psalm 112 paints the ideal life of the God-fearer, with wealth and security. Job, Ecclesiastes and Psalm 73 show that the Bible also knows righteous people who suffer. The psalm is a wisdom portrait, not a promise of prosperity to every individual.

Acrostic and heading

Like Psalm 111, Psalm 112 is a half-line acrostic (the library's Hebrew verses begin alef, gimel, he, zayin, tet, kaf, mem, samekh, pe, resh). The library's Vulgate heading adds "reversionis Aggaei et Zachariae," "of the return of Haggai and Zechariah," a Greek heading linking it with the prophets of the return from exile.