mh_parser/vol_split/19 - Psalms/Chapter 112.xml

<div2 id="Ps.cxiii" n="cxiii" next="Ps.cxiv" prev="Ps.cxii" progress="60.85%" title="Chapter CXII">
<h2 id="Ps.cxiii-p0.1">P S A L M S</h2>
<h3 id="Ps.cxiii-p0.2">PSALM CXII.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Ps.cxiii-p1">This psalm is composed alphabetically, as the
former is, and is (like the former) entitled "Hallelujah," though
it treats of the happiness of the saints, because it redounds to
the glory of God, and whatever we have the pleasure of he must have
the praise of. It is a comment upon the <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.111.10" parsed="|Ps|111|10|0|0" passage="Ps 111:10">last verse</scripRef> of the foregoing psalm, and fully
shows how much it is our wisdom to fear God and do his
commandments. We have here, I. The character of the righteous,
<scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.1" parsed="|Ps|112|1|0|0" passage="Ps 112:1">ver. 1</scripRef>. II. The blessedness
of the righteous. 1. There is a blessing entailed upon their
posterity, <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.2" parsed="|Ps|112|2|0|0" passage="Ps 112:2">ver. 2</scripRef>. 2. There
is a blessing conferred upon themselves. (1.) Prosperity outward
and inward, <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.3" parsed="|Ps|112|3|0|0" passage="Ps 112:3">ver. 3</scripRef>. (2.)
Comfort, <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.4" parsed="|Ps|112|4|0|0" passage="Ps 112:4">ver. 4</scripRef>. (3.)
Wisdom, <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.5" parsed="|Ps|112|5|0|0" passage="Ps 112:5">ver. 5</scripRef>. (4.)
Stability, <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.6-Ps.112.8" parsed="|Ps|112|6|112|8" passage="Ps 112:6-8">ver. 6-8</scripRef>. (5.)
Honour, <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p1.8" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.6 Bible:Ps.112.9" parsed="|Ps|112|6|0|0;|Ps|112|9|0|0" passage="Ps 112:6,9">ver. 6, 9</scripRef>. III.
The misery of the wicked, <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p1.9" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.10" parsed="|Ps|112|10|0|0" passage="Ps 112:10">ver.
10</scripRef>. So that good and evil are set before us, the
blessing and the curse. In singing this psalm we must not only
teach and admonish ourselves and one another to answer to the
characters here given of the happy, but comfort and encourage
ourselves and one another with the privileges and comforts here
secured to the holy.</p>
<scripCom id="Ps.cxiii-p1.10" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112" parsed="|Ps|112|0|0|0" passage="Ps 112" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Ps.cxiii-p1.11" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.1-Ps.112.5" parsed="|Ps|112|1|112|5" passage="Ps 112:1-5" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.112.1-Ps.112.5">
<h4 id="Ps.cxiii-p1.12">The Character of the
Righteous.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.cxiii-p2">1 Praise ye the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxiii-p2.1">Lord</span>. Blessed <i>is</i> the man <i>that</i>
feareth the <span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxiii-p2.2">Lord</span>, <i>that</i>
delighteth greatly in his commandments.   2 His seed shall be
mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed.
  3 Wealth and riches <i>shall be</i> in his house: and his
righteousness endureth for ever.   4 Unto the upright there
ariseth light in the darkness: <i>he is</i> gracious, and full of
compassion, and righteous.   5 A good man showeth favour, and
lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxiii-p3">The psalmist begins with a call to us to
praise God, but immediately applies himself to praise the people of
God; for whatever glory is acknowledged to be on them it comes from
God, and must return to him; as he is their praise, so they are
his. We have reason 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, both which are owing entirely to the grace of God. Now here
we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxiii-p4">I. A description of those who are here
pronounced blessed, and to whom these promises are made.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxiii-p5">1. They are well-principled with pious and
devout affections. Those have the privileges of God's subjects, not
who cry, <i>Lord, Lord,</i> but who are indeed well affected to his
government. (1.) They are such as stand in awe of God and have a
constant reverence for his majesty and deference to his will. The
happy man is he <i>that fears the Lord,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.1" parsed="|Ps|112|1|0|0" passage="Ps 112:1"><i>v.</i> 1</scripRef>. (2.) They are such as take a
pleasure in their duty. He <i>that fears the Lord,</i> as a Father,
with the disposition of a child, not of a slave, <i>delights
greatly in his commandments,</i> is well pleased with them and with
the equity and goodness of them; they are written in his heart; it
is his choice to be under them, and he calls them an easy, a
pleasant, yoke; it is his delight to be searching into and
conversing with God's commandments, by reading, hearing, and
meditation, <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.1.2" parsed="|Ps|1|2|0|0" passage="Ps 1:2">Ps. i. 2</scripRef>. He
delights not only in God's promises, but in his precepts, and
thinks himself happy under God's government as well as in his
favour. It is a pleasure to him to be found in the way of his duty,
and he is in his element when he is in the service of God. Herein
he delights greatly, more than in any of the employments and
enjoyments of this world. And what he does in religion is done from
principle, because he sees amiableness in religion and advantage by
it.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxiii-p6">2. They are honest and sincere in their
professions and intentions. They are called <i>the upright</i>
(<scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p6.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.2 Bible:Ps.112.4" parsed="|Ps|112|2|0|0;|Ps|112|4|0|0" passage="Ps 112:2,4"><i>v.</i> 2, 4</scripRef>), who are
really as good as they seem to be, and deal faithfully both with
God and man. There is no true religion without sincerity; that is
gospel-perfection.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxiii-p7">3. They are both just and kind in all their
dealings: <i>He is gracious, full of compassion, and righteous</i>
(<scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.4" parsed="|Ps|112|4|0|0" passage="Ps 112:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>), dares not do
any wrong to any man, but does to every man all the good he can,
and that from a principle of compassion and kindness. It was said
of God, in the foregoing psalm (<scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p7.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.4" parsed="|Ps|112|4|0|0" passage="Ps 112:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>), He <i>is gracious, and full of
compassion;</i> and here it is said of the good man that he is so;
for herein we must be <i>followers of God as dear children;</i> be
merciful as he is. He is <i>full of compassion, and</i> yet
<i>righteous;</i> what he does good with is what he came honestly
by. God hates robbery for burnt-offerings, and so does he. One
instance is given of his beneficence (<scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p7.3" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.5" parsed="|Ps|112|5|0|0" passage="Ps 112:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>): He <i>shows favour and
lends.</i> Sometimes there is as much charity in lending as in
giving, as it obliges the borrower both to industry and honesty. He
is <i>gracious and lends</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p7.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.37.26" parsed="|Ps|37|26|0|0" passage="Ps 37:26">Ps.
xxxvii. 26</scripRef>); he does it from a right principle, not as
the usurer lends for his own advantage, nor merely out of
generosity, but out of pure charity; he does it in a right manner,
not grudgingly, but pleasantly, and with a cheerful
countenance.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxiii-p8">II. The blessedness that is here entailed
upon those that answer to these characters. Happiness, all
happiness, to <i>the man that feareth the Lord.</i> Whatever men
think or say of them, God says that they are blessed; and his
saying so makes them so.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxiii-p9">1. The posterity of good men shall fare the
better for his goodness (<scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p9.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.2" parsed="|Ps|112|2|0|0" passage="Ps 112:2"><i>v.</i>
2</scripRef>): <i>His seed shall be mighty on earth.</i> Perhaps he
himself shall not be so great in the world, nor make such a figure,
as his seed after him shall for his sake. Religion has been the
raising of many a family, if not so as to advance it high, yet so
as to fix it firmly. When good men themselves are happy in heaven
their seed perhaps are considerable on earth, and will themselves
own that it is by virtue of a blessing descending from them. <i>The
generation of the upright shall be blessed;</i> if they tread in
their steps, they shall be the more blessed for their relation to
them, <i>beloved for the Father's sake</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p9.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.11.28" parsed="|Rom|11|28|0|0" passage="Ro 11:28">Rom. xi. 28</scripRef>), for so runs the covenant—<i>I
will be a God to thee, and to thy seed;</i> while <i>the seed of
evil-doers shall never be renowned.</i> Let the children of godly
parents value themselves upon it, and take heed of doing any thing
to forfeit the blessing entailed upon the generation of the
upright.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxiii-p10">2. They shall prosper in the world, and
especially their souls shall prosper, <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p10.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.3" parsed="|Ps|112|3|0|0" passage="Ps 112:3"><i>v.</i> 3</scripRef>. (1.) They shall be blessed with
outward prosperity as far as is good for them: <i>Wealth and riches
shall be in</i> the upright man's <i>house,</i> not in his heart
(for he is none of those in whom the love of money reigns), perhaps
not so much in his hand (for he only begins to raise the estate),
but in his house; his family shall grow rich when he is gone. But,
(2.) That which is much better is that they shall be blessed with
spiritual blessings, which are the true riches. His <i>wealth shall
be in his house,</i> for he must leave that to others; but <i>his
righteousness</i> he himself shall have the comfort of to himself,
it <i>endures for ever.</i> Grace is better than gold, for it will
outlast it. He shall have wealth and riches, and yet shall keep up
his religion, and in a prosperous condition shall <i>still hold
fast his integrity,</i> which many, who kept it in the storm, throw
off and let go in the sunshine. <i>Then</i> worldly prosperity is a
blessing when it does not make men cool in their piety, but they
still persevere in that; and when this endures in the family, and
goes along with the wealth and riches, and the heirs of the
father's estate inherit his virtues too, that is a happy family
indeed. However, the good man's <i>righteousness endures for
ever</i> in the <i>crown of righteousness which fades not
away.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxiii-p11">3. They shall have comfort in affliction
(<scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p11.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.4" parsed="|Ps|112|4|0|0" passage="Ps 112:4"><i>v.</i> 4</scripRef>): <i>Unto the
upright there arises light in the darkness.</i> It is here implied
that good men may be in affliction; the promise does not exempt
them from that. They shall have their share in the common
calamities of human life; but, <i>when they sit in darkness, the
Lord shall be a light to them,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p11.2" osisRef="Bible:Mic.7.8" parsed="|Mic|7|8|0|0" passage="Mic 7:8">Mic.
vii. 8</scripRef>. They shall be supported and comforted under
their troubles; their spirits shall be lightsome when their outward
condition is clouded. <i>Sat lucis intus—There is light enough
within.</i> During the Egyptian darkness the Israelites had
<i>light in their dwellings.</i> They shall be in due time, and
perhaps when they least expect it, delivered out of their troubles;
when the night is darkest the day dawns; nay, at
<i>evening-time,</i> when night was looked for, <i>it shall be
light.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxiii-p12">4. They shall have wisdom for the
management of all their concerns, <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.5" parsed="|Ps|112|5|0|0" passage="Ps 112:5"><i>v.</i> 5</scripRef>. He that does good with his
estate shall, through the providence of God, increase it, not by
miracle, but by his prudence: <i>He shall guide his affairs with
discretion,</i> and his God <i>instructs him to discretion</i> and
<i>teaches him,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p12.2" osisRef="Bible:Isa.28.26" parsed="|Isa|28|26|0|0" passage="Isa 28:26">Isa. xxviii.
26</scripRef>. It is part of the character of a good man that he
will use his discretion in managing his affairs, in getting and
saving, that he may have to give. It may be understood of the
affairs of his charity: He <i>shows favour and lends;</i> but then
it is with discretion, that his charity may not be misplaced, that
he may give to proper objects what is proper to be given and in due
time and proportion. And it is part of the promise to him who thus
uses discretion that God will give him more. Those who most use
their wisdom see most of their need of it, and <i>ask it of
God,</i> who has promised to <i>give it liberally,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p12.3" osisRef="Bible:Jas.1.5" parsed="|Jas|1|5|0|0" passage="Jam 1:5">Jam. i. 5</scripRef>. <i>He will guide his words
with judgment</i> (so it is in the original); and there is nothing
in which we have more occasion for wisdom than in the government of
the tongue; blessed is he to whom God gives that wisdom.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Ps.cxiii-p12.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.6-Ps.112.10" parsed="|Ps|112|6|112|10" passage="Ps 112:6-10" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Ps.112.6-Ps.112.10">
<h4 id="Ps.cxiii-p12.5">The Blessedness of the Righteous; The Misery
of the Wicked.</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Ps.cxiii-p13">6 Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the
righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance.   7 He shall
not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the
<span class="smallcaps" id="Ps.cxiii-p13.1">Lord</span>.   8 His heart <i>is</i>
established, he shall not be afraid, until he see <i>his desire</i>
upon his enemies.   9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the
poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be
exalted with honour.   10 The wicked shall see <i>it,</i> and
be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the
desire of the wicked shall perish.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxiii-p14">In these verses we have,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxiii-p15">I. The satisfaction of saints, and their
stability. It is the happiness of a good man that <i>he shall not
be moved for ever,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p15.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.6" parsed="|Ps|112|6|0|0" passage="Ps 112:6"><i>v.</i>
6</scripRef>. Satan and his instruments endeavour to move him, but
his foundation is firm and he shall never be moved, at least <i>not
moved for ever;</i> if he be shaken for a time, yet he settles
again quickly.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxiii-p16">1. A good man will have a settled
reputation, and that is a great satisfaction. A good man shall have
a good name, a name for good things, with God and good people:
<i>The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p16.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.6" parsed="|Ps|112|6|0|0" passage="Ps 112:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>); in this sense <i>his
righteousness</i> (the memorial of it) <i>endures for ever,</i>
<scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p16.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.9" parsed="|Ps|112|9|0|0" passage="Ps 112:9"><i>v.</i> 9</scripRef>. There are
those that do all they can to sully his reputation and to load him
with reproach; but his integrity shall be cleared up, and the
honour of it shall survive him. Some that have been eminently
righteous are <i>had in a lasting remembrance</i> on earth;
wherever the scripture is read their good deeds are <i>told for a
memorial</i> of them. And the memory of many a good man that is
dead and gone is still blessed; but in heaven their remembrance
shall be truly everlasting, and the honour of their righteousness
shall there endure for ever, with the reward of it, in the <i>crown
of glory that fades not away.</i> Those that are forgotten on
earth, and despised, are remembered there, and honoured, and
<i>their righteousness found unto praise, and honour, and glory</i>
(<scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p16.3" osisRef="Bible:1Pet.1.7" parsed="|1Pet|1|7|0|0" passage="1Pe 1:7">1 Pet. i. 7</scripRef>); then, at
furthest, shall the horn of a good man <i>be exalted with
honour,</i> as that of the unicorn when he is a conqueror. Wicked
men, now in their pride, <i>lift up their horns on high,</i> but
they shall all be <i>cut off,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p16.4" osisRef="Bible:Ps.75.5 Bible:Ps.75.10" parsed="|Ps|75|5|0|0;|Ps|75|10|0|0" passage="Ps 75:5,10">Ps. lxxv. 5, 10</scripRef>. The godly, in their
humility and humiliation, have <i>defiled their horn in the
dust</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p16.5" osisRef="Bible:Job.16.15" parsed="|Job|16|15|0|0" passage="Job 16:15">Job xvi. 15</scripRef>);
but the day is coming when it <i>shall be exalted with honour.</i>
That which shall especially turn to the honour of good men is their
liberality and bounty to the poor: <i>He has dispersed, he has
given to the poor;</i> he has not suffered his charity to run all
in one channel, or directed it to some few objects that he had a
particular kindness for, but he has dispersed it, <i>given a
portion to seven and also to eight,</i> has <i>sown beside all
waters,</i> and by thus scattering he has increased: and this is
<i>his righteousness,</i> which <i>endures for ever.</i> Alms are
called <i>righteousness,</i> not because they will justify us by
making atonement for our evil deeds, but because they are good
deeds, which we are bound to perform; so that if we are not
charitable we are not just; we <i>withhold good from those to whom
it is due.</i> The honour of this endures for ever, for it shall be
taken notice of in the great day. <i>I was hungry, and you gave me
meat.</i> This is quoted as an inducement and encouragement to
charity, <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p16.6" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.9.9" parsed="|2Cor|9|9|0|0" passage="2Co 9:9">2 Cor. ix. 9</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxiii-p17">2. A good man shall have a settled spirit,
and that is a much greater satisfaction than the former; for <i>so
shall a man have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.
Surely he shall not be moved,</i> whatever happens, not moved
either from his duty or from his comfort; for <i>he shall not be
afraid; his heart is established,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.7-Ps.112.8" parsed="|Ps|112|7|112|8" passage="Ps 112:7,8"><i>v.</i> 7, 8</scripRef>. This is a part both of the
character and of the comfort of good people. It is their endeavour
to keep their minds stayed upon God, and so to keep them calm, and
easy, and undisturbed; and God has promised them both cause to do
so and grace to do so. Observe, (1.) It is the duty and interest of
the people of God not to <i>be afraid of evil tidings,</i> not to
be afraid of hearing bad news; and, when they do, not to be put
into confusion by it and into an amazing expectation of worse and
worse, but whatever happens, whatever threatens, to be able to say,
with blessed Paul, <i>None of these things move me,</i> neither
will I <i>fear, though the earth be removed,</i> <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.46.2" parsed="|Ps|46|2|0|0" passage="Ps 46:2">Ps. xlvi. 2</scripRef>. (2.) The fixedness of the heart
is a sovereign remedy against the disquieting fear of evil tidings.
If we keep our thoughts composed, and ourselves masters of them,
our wills resigned to the holy will of God, our temper sedate, and
our spirits even, under all the unevenness of Providence, we are
well fortified against the agitations of the timorous. (3.)
Trusting in the Lord is the best and surest way of fixing and
establishing the heart. By faith we must cast anchor in the
promise, in the word of God, and so return to him and repose in him
as our rest. The heart of man cannot fix any where, to its
satisfaction, but in the truth of God, and there it finds firm
footing. (4.) Those whose hearts are established by faith will
patiently wait till they have gained their point: <i>He shall not
be afraid, till he see his desire upon his enemies,</i> that is,
till he come to heaven, where he shall see Satan, and all his
spiritual enemies, trodden under his feet, and, as Israel saw the
Egyptians, dead on the sea-shore. <i>Till he look upon his
oppressors</i> (so Dr. Hammond), till he behold them securely, and
look boldly in their faces, as being now no longer under their
power. It will complete the satisfaction of the saints, when they
shall look back upon their troubles and pressures, and be able to
say with St. Paul, when he had recounted the persecutions he
endured (<scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p17.3" osisRef="Bible:2Tim.3.11" parsed="|2Tim|3|11|0|0" passage="2Ti 3:11">2 Tim. iii. 11</scripRef>),
<i>But out of them all the Lord delivered me.</i></p>
<p class="indent" id="Ps.cxiii-p18">II. The vexation of sinners, <scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Ps.112.10" parsed="|Ps|112|10|0|0" passage="Ps 112:10"><i>v.</i> 10</scripRef>. Two things shall fret
them:—1. The felicity of the righteous: <i>The wicked shall
see</i> the righteous in prosperity and honour and shall <i>be
grieved.</i> It will vex them to see their innocency cleared and
their low estate regarded, and those whom they hated and despised,
and whose ruin they sought and hoped to see, the favourites of
Heaven, and advanced to have <i>dominion over them</i> (<scripRef id="Ps.cxiii-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Ps.49.14" parsed="|Ps|49|14|0|0" passage="Ps 49:14">Ps. xlix. 14</scripRef>); this will make them
<i>gnash with their teeth and pine away.</i> This is often
fulfilled in this world. The happiness of the saints is the envy of
the wicked, and that envy is the <i>rottenness of their bones.</i>
But it will most fully be accomplished in the other world, when it
shall make damned sinners <i>gnash with their teeth,</i> to see
<i>Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in him bosom,</i> to see <i>all
the prophets in the kingdom of God and themselves thrust out.</i>
2. Their own disappointment: <i>The desire of the wicked shall
perish.</i> Their desire was wholly to the world and the flesh, and
they ruled over them; and therefore, when these perish, their joy
is gone, and their expectations from them are cut off, to their
everlasting confusion; their hope is as a spider's web.</p>
</div></div2>