Bible Commentaries

WHO IS BLESSED?

‘Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord.’

Psalms 112:1

I. The fear and the love of God are inseparably united, and have an internal connection, in the truly pious.—The reward of this blessed and holy union is great. Its blessing extends to their descendants, and is powerfully displayed in themselves. Not only earthly prosperity, but a life well-pleasing to God, and the opportunity thereby gained of becoming a power on earth, and of exercising an influence that overcomes the world, form a mind, a position, and a greatness of action that are heroic. They are thus maintained as a blessing from God in pious generations, the light never failing to rise again even in the night of affliction.

II. The love of our neighbour is connected in the closest manner with love to God, and he who has experienced in himself and his family the mercy of the Eternal is both inclined and enabled to show mercy to others, and thereby gains a new support, strengthening his heart in God, widening his active influence among men, securing his happiness for all time; while the wicked are destroyed outwardly and inwardly, and go to ruin with their possessions and fortune, as well as with their efforts and aspirations.

III. All human righteousness has its root in the righteousness of God.—It is not merely man striving to copy God; it is God’s gift and God’s work. There is a living connection between the righteousness of God and the righteousness of man, and therefore the imperishableness of the one pertains to the other also.

Illustrations

(1) ‘An alphabetical psalm like the last. This psalm is immediately connected with the last verse of the preceding one, and may be considered as a commentary on it.’

(2) ‘The subject—the blessedness of the righteous man—bears the same relation to the preceding which the moon does to the sun; for whilst the first declares the glory of God, the second speaks of the reflection of Divine brightness in men born from above.’

(3) ‘The 111th psalm contains the character of God; the 112th of the holy—a gentle, steadfast, generous nature.’