Psalms 112 - Introduction

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, Psalms 112:2;

(b) in securing wealth, Psalms 112:3;

(c) in the light which springs up in darkness, Psalms 112:4;

(d) in the discretion with which such a man is enabled to manage his affairs, Psalms 112:5;

(e) in the firmness and composure of his mind in times of danger and trouble, Psalms 112:6;

(f) in his being so prosperous, and so exalted, that he will become an object of envy to the wicked, Psalms 112:9.