Psalms 112:1-10
1 Praisea ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that 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 shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever.
4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
5 A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.b
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 LORD.
8 His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire 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 it, and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.
Pss. CXI. and CXII. These are sister Pss. as is shown by their structure. Each contains nine verses. Each verse has two lines, each line beginning with a letter of the alphabet in due succession. We have thus eighteen lines, so that we get eighteen letters of the acrostic in all. To get twenty-one lines in each, corresponding to the number of letters in the alphabet, the author or authors added at the end of each Ps. a verse with three lines, which is precisely the number wanted. The Hallelujah at the beginning of each is a later liturgical addition which destroys the acrostic. Psalms 111 is chiefly occupied with the greatness and goodness of Yahweh. Psalms 112 finds its theme chiefly in the corresponding truth, viz. the happiness of the godly.
CXI. Psalms 111:2. Sought out: to be sought out would be better.
Psalms 111:4. to be remembered: i.e. in the ceremonial worship.
Psalms 111:5. prey (mg.) instead of meat is due to the difficulty of the acrostic.
Psalms 111:9. Yahweh gave His people deliverance from Egypt and the covenant or Law.
Psalms 111:10. not the beginning, but the best.
Psalms 112:9. righteousness: the salvation which man receives (cf. Psalms 24:5). In Psalms 111:3 righteousness is that which God does.