Holy Bible

Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in His commandments . Psalm 112 Genuine piety Homilist. I. ITS CHARACTERISTICS. A truly good man — 1. Feareth the Lord. 2. Delights greatly in His commandments. 3. Is upright. 4. Is merciful. What a noble character! Heaven multiply such. II. ITS ADVANTAGES. He is blessed — 1. In his posterity. 2. In his possessions. 3. In his influence. 4. In his calamities. 5. In his steadfastness. 6. In his memory. 7. With fearlessness of soul. 8. With exaltation. 9. To the confusion of the wicked. ( Homilist. ) Wealth and riches shall be in his house. Psalm 112:3 Prosperity and its qualifications J. W. Burn. I. WHAT IS PROSPERITY? To be prosperous is to have that which will promote the well-being of man's whole nature and which has that end secured. Material, moral, and intellectual wealth and its results. II. WHAT IS CALCULATED TO PRODUCE IT? The psalmist, our Lord, and St. Paul are at one as to the qualification. "Righteousness" — the harmony of a man's whole nature with the will of God. 1. When that is the case, a man is moderate, temperate, observant of natural laws, and (supposing of course no constitutional ailment) therefore healthy. 2. He holds in check the feverish desire to succeed, and thus godliness with contentment becomes great gain. 3. He holds those passions in check which cloud the understanding and impair the vision. 4. He respects the rights of others. Hence, those whose rights you respect, will respect yours. 5. He will be frugal of his time, his money, etc., in recognition of God's claims upon both, and, as God's steward, will put them out to usury, and strive to be prosperous, that he may advance God's interests in the world. III. WHAT OBJECTIONS CAN BE URGED AGAINST ALL THIS? 1. That the righteous are not better off than others. But(1) Do those who are called righteous answer to the law of righteousness in its entirety?(2) Without controversy it is all true respecting communities. All history proves that they prosper in proportion to their righteousness.(3) It is so by the common consent of the world. How often do we hear the expression that such an one is "worth his weight in gold." 2. That men prosper who violate the laws of righteousness. But(1) Are these men prosperous?(2) Supposing them to have all that heart could wish, "what shall it profit a man?" etc. (3) Supposing it true of an individual, when was it ever true of a nation? ( J. W. Burn. ) Treasure in the house H. W. Beecher. The treasures in the house of the righteous — i.e , in the Christian home — though very great, are not duly appreciated, even by those who possess them. I heard a good man say once, as we passed the home of a millionaire, "It, doesn't seem right that such a man as he is should be rolling in wealth, while I have to work hard for my daily bread." I made no reply. But when we reached the home of the grumbler, and a troop of rosy children ran out to meet us, I caught one in my arms, and, holding him up, said, "John, how much will you take for this boy?" And he answered, while the moisture gathered in his eyes, "That boy, my namesake! I wouldn't sell him for his weight in gold." "Why, John, he weighs forty pounds at least, and forty pounds of gold would make you many times a millionaire. And you would probably ask as much for each of the others. So, according to your own admission, you are immensely rich. Yes, a great deal richer than that cold, selfish, childless millionaire whom you were envying as we came along. Nothing would tempt you to change places with him. Then you ought to be grateful instead of grumbling. You are the favourite of fortune, or, rather, of Providence, and not he." ( H. W. Beecher. ) Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness. Psalm 112:4 The influence of religion in affliction T. Raffles, D.D. I. DESCRIBE THE NATURE OF REAL RELIGION. II. TRACE ITS GENERAL INFLUENCE IN AFFLICTION. 1. It informs the sufferer of the source whence affliction springs — from a Father and a Friend — a God who has engaged every attribute of His nature to promote the highest interests and everlasting happiness of the creature He afflicts. Can it, fail of its design? — His power controls it. 2. It acquaints him with the design of affliction, if this momentary pain produce everlasting ease; if this night of sorrow be followed by an endless day of joy; who but must welcome the fleeting anguish, the temporary gloom? 3. It apprises him of the limited duration of affliction. 4. It affords him communion with God in his affliction. III. ILLUSTRATE THE INFLUENCE OF RELIGION IN AFFLICTION, BY AN APPEAL TO SOME SPECIFIC CASES. 1. Disease. Here is no fretfulness, no complaining, no petulance. Affliction has so refined the sufferer, that he seems already half immortal, and his pinions are plumed for glory, ere he receives the commission to take his flight. 2. Bereavement. Religion gives a partner to that widowed mother, more tender and kind than he could ever prove, over whose grave she weeps in all the agony of woe. It gives a father to those orphan children, full of sympathy and love. 3. Poverty. Religion has dignity with which to invest the poor man, which wealth can never purchase, nor rank confer. 4. Death. "I have," said the dying Romaine, "the peace of God in my conscience, and the love of God in my heart. Jesus is more precious than rubies, and all that can be desired on earth is not to be compared with Him." ( T. Raffles, D.D. ) Light in darkness F. Young. 1. "Light "and "darkness," figuratively, denote life and death, knowledge and ignorance, virtue and vice, joy and sorrow. 2. There are four things in the text. (1) Certain characters — "the upright." (2) Their seasons of darkness — "the darkness." (3) Light in those seasons — "there ariseth light." (4) The time when the light comes — "in the darkness." 3. Who are "the upright"? (Psalm 97:11; 43:8). 4. The "upright" have their seasons of darkness. Sickness, poverty, debt, family trials, etc. To some, the whole of life is, in a measure, a season of "darkness" ( Proverbs 14:10 ). 5. To "the upright," "light" comes in such seasons of "darkness." There is the cloud, but there is also "the bright light on the cloud." Innocence can shed "light" in the seasons of slander and mis-judgment. A desire to know the truth, and to follow it, with a quiet consciousness of the necessary limits of our knowledge, is so much "light" in seasons of doubt and mystery. Repentance, faith, confession, and reparation, bring "light," when our own sins bring "darkness." 6. Notice particularly that the "light" is said to arise "in the darkness." It was so with Christ in Gethsemane ( Luke 22:43 ); and with St. Paul when the "thorn in the flesh" troubled him ( 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 ). In neither case was the "darkness" entirely removed. There was "darkness," but there was also "light in the darkness." 7. All persons, whether "upright" or otherwise, have their seasons of "darkness," of one kind or another. All, too, have "light" from some source or other, for man as naturally seeks relief from what is painful, as he seeks for food when he is hungry. But from whence come the "darkness," and the "light" too? ( Isaiah 1:10, 11 ). 8. "Darkness" there must be: no being can escape it. And when the "darkness" comes, and while the "darkness" continues, there may be "light." Where, from, and to whom? ( Psalm 4:6 ). ( F. Young. ) Light in darkness W. M. Statham, M. A. The Christian often has to walk in the night. Clouds and gloom are round about him. Physical weakness, mental infirmity, relative anxiety, and spiritual distress, — these are part of his earthly lot. I. UPRIGHT MEN SHOULD BRAVELY WALK ON IN DARKNESS. That is heroic: but it is difficult. The heart seeks for recognition of its rectitude. Flowers love sunshine, and so do the spirits of men. Job seems to have missed the greetings in the market-place as much as anything. There is a tone of peculiar poignancy in his grief about that. I do not wonder at it. We all like to be loved: we all like to be thought right. It is much easier to walk on against sleet, hail, wind, right in your teeth, than it is to move forward against the prejudice, the peevishness, or the misconception of others. When the sluggish waters of the Ouse rolled at the feet of Bunyan's prison, with the blind child clasping his feet, and a dim light falling on the Bible on his rude table, — he bravely bore on through the persecutor's night. When the dark fortress of Wartburg shut its gates on Luther , he bore worse ills than bodily sickness, — he fought in fancy with darkest forms of evil. II. UPRIGHT MEN ARE LIVING FOR ALL THE COMING AGES WHEN THEY ARE WAITING FOR THE LIGHT. The worthies of the old world live now: being dead they speak to us: and, in a special sense, they affect us in two ways. 1. They lead us to recognize the law of right. We are often endangered by the sophisms of expediency. "Wait," — says Policy, it will be time to-morrow to leave Egypt, and make an enemy of the powerful Pharaoh; do not smite the idols now, — the idolatries left alone will die out! "Trust in God, and do the right," — says Conscience. Obey and suffer. Never mind the darkness, — the day-star will soon arise. You are not living for yourselves alone, — the beacon-light of your conduct will guide the after-ages of the world. 2. They lead us to recognize the fidelity of God to His promises. They claimed no strength of their own, apart from the inspiration of God. In the calm heights, where God dwells, they had full communion with Him, and there the fevered heart was comforted and cooled. III. UPRIGHT MEN ARE NOT WHOLLY DEPENDENT ON OUTWARD LIGHT. This is refreshing to them as well as to others. I mean, of course, by outward light, that which arises from visible associations. We might as well try to pluck a star from the heavens, or imagine that the storms can waft out the light of the sun, as to suppose that the God-light within us can be dimmed or quenched. No! "The path of the just is as the shining light," etc. IV. UPRIGHT MEN BRING FORTH BEAUTIFUL GRACES IN THE DARKNESS. Naturalists will tell you that there are few night-blowing flowers; they are very rare, for as a rule night opens no petals, but shuts up the bloom. It is otherwise in grace. Many of the sweetest and most fragrant graces of the spiritual nature blossom in the night season of affliction and trial. And why is this? Because God is able to make all grace abound to us in seasons when nature has withdrawn from us her most cheering beams. V. UPRIGHT MEN MAY HAVE THEIR MINDS CLOUDED WITH DOUBT. Probably they will. The more upright they are the more anxious will they be to have the foundation of God which standeth sure. Some of the devoutest minds have had seasons of mental trial merging almost into agony. We can see the outward forms that men's opinions at last have shaped themselves into, but any acquaintance with the thought-struggles of , of Anselm , of the great thinkers of the Middle Ages, — whether they were Nominalists or Realists in their philosophy, — shows us that in the search for truth there are forests to be traversed that sometimes hide the light. But where there is simplicity of mind, sincerity of heart, spirituality of soul, God leads the mind that trusts in Him out into the perfect day. ( W. M. Statham, M. A. ) Light in the darkness A. Raleigh, D.D. There is, of course, some specific reference and application intended here, such as will harmonize with the general drift of the psalm. But we cannot fail to notice that this is a general proposition — a broad assertion which covers the whole of life for the persons of whom it is said. And I want now to show how true the text is; and how, being true, it practically works, and holds good, in the different spheres of human existence. I. MATTERS OF FAITH — those revealed truths which are to be apprehended by us, and accepted, and turned to perpetual use for guidance, health, salvation. Concerning those truths we may be said to begin in the darkness. And we get into the "light" — not in an easy, natural, irresistible manner, but — by hints and suggestions at first, by help of broken gleams, and through falling shadows; through doubts and uncertainties, and frequent misconception; by gropings, and hesitations, and discoveries: held often in the restriction of our own narrowness, circumscribed always by necessary limits, liable always to mistakes, and at no time holding the complete and perfect truth. The doubts that may arise, in particular minds, and at particular stages of the development of some human souls, are not to be numbered, can hardly indeed be described, they are so delicate and changeful. Yet to a sensitive mind, to a mind full of spiritual anxiety, they are very distressing. How are you to make light arise in the darkness? And how are you to have the assurance that it is light, and not some fatal splendour as transient as it is misleading? Now, here the principle of this text is of direct application, and of priceless force and value: "Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness." Sincerity: an honest desire to know the truth: readiness to make any sacrifice in order to the knowledge: obedience to the truth so far as it is known already — these will bring the light when nothing else will bring it. "Light is sown for the righteous;" and the harvest from God's sowing never fails. First conceptions and lower knowledge is the seed of the higher; and that again of higher still. Mistakes and misconceptions fall off and die if only there be the fruitful ground of "an honest and good heart." II. MATTERS OF EXPERIENCE. Say then that the chief intellectual difficulties are now solved; or say that they have never existed, and that "the Gospel," in much of its Divine simplicity, stands clearly before the apprehension, and, as far as the intellect is concerned in the operation, is received in the faith — what will then be the inward condition? Why, a true faith ought to produce a true feeling. And the feeling ought to be a happy one. Faith in "glad tidings" ought to make glad hearts. But at this point be sure you do not mistake. Be sure you seek heart-light "lawfully." It is fruit, and not root. It is consequence, not cause. Seek first the righteousness of the inward kingdom, and the light will come out of that. III. MATTERS OF PRACTICE. Religion in its organized forms in this world, and in its practical operations, is not exempted from the ordinary laws and vicissitudes of human life. Societies and Christian Churches have their times of darkness, their trials, their disappointments. They fall upon the best methods they can think of to extend the cause — the very truth of God — among men. And you would think that God is almost bound by the terms of His own covenant to lift an endeavour like that quite above the ordinary plane of things, and into a realm of visible clearness and certainty. But no. God has time enough, and He takes it. He takes it, and teaches His people to take it; to take — not "their time," which is indolent unfaithfulness, but His time. He educates by trial, by delay, by defeat. "Light is sown for the righteous," but, like all living seed, it takes a while to spring. The days of sowing are sometimes chill and dark. The bright harvest days will make amends for all. ( A. Raleigh, D.D. ) Light in the darkness to the upright Abp. Sharp. I. THE CHARACTER OF THE PERSON TO WHOM THIS PROMISE IS MADE, The "upright man" is the honest man, the man of integrity. 1. He hath a serious and hearty sense of God and religion upon his spirit, and is above all things careful to preserve and increase that sense. 2. In his civil conversation —(1) As a private person, the general rule by which he frames his whole conversation, is such a prudent and diligent care of himself, and his own good, as is not only consistent with, but doth effectually tend to promote the good and happiness of all others that he deals with.(2) As a magistrate. The great thing he proposes to himself, in taking any office upon him, is the glory of God and the public good. II. THE ADVANTAGES AND PRIVILEGES THAT SUCH A MAN ENJOYS IN EVIL AND DANGEROUS TIMES. "Light in the darkness." 1. By "light," we may understand light for his guidance and direction; and then the sense is, That in critical and perilous times, the upright man, of all others, will be best enabled to order and manage his affairs. 2. By "light," we may understand safety and defence, as the word is sometimes taken in Scripture; and then the sense is, That in evil times the upright man walks most free from danger; he of all others may expect security and protection in a common calamity. 3. By "light," we may understand peace and joy (as that likewise is another usual sense of the word), and then the meaning is, That in evil times, let things happen as they will, though it should be the fortune of the upright mail to be oppressed in the crowd; yet this happiness he will always have, that his mind will be at perfect ease and peace. Nothing shall ever discompose him, but in the midst of his sufferings his heart shall be replenished with perpetual Comfort. ( Abp. Sharp. ) The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. Psalm 112:6 The reputation of good men after death J. Tillotson. I. WHENCE IT COMES TO PASS, THAT GOOD MEN ARE VERY OFTEN DEFRAUDED OF THEIR JUST PRAISE AND REPUTATION WHILST THEY ARE ALIVE. 1. From what cause it proceeds.(1) Good men themselves are many times the cause of it. For the best men are imperfect; and present and visible imperfections do very much lessen and abate the reputation of a man's goodness.(2) The principal cause is from others. From the hatred and opposition of bad men to holiness and virtue. From the envy of those who perhaps have some degree of goodness themselves.(3) There is something in the very presence and nearness of goodness and virtue, which is apt to lessen it. Perhaps familiarity and conversation does insensibly beget something of contempt; but whatever the reason of it be, we find the thing most certainly true in experience. 2. For what reasons the providence of God permits it thus to be.(1) To keep good men humble, and, as the expression is in Job, "to hide pride from men."(2) This life is not the proper season of reward, but of work and service. II. WHAT SECURITY GOOD MEN HAVE OF A GOOD NAME AFTER DEATH. 1. From the providence of God.(1) In respect of the equity of it. God, who will not be behindhand with any man, concerns Himself to secure to good men the proper reward of their piety and virtue.(2) In regard of the example of it. It is a great argument to virtue, and encouragement to men to act their part well, to see good men applauded, when they go off the stage. 2. The other part of the account of this truth is to be given from the nature of the thing: because death removes and takes away the chief obstacle of a good man's reputation. For then his defects are out of sight, and men are contented that his imperfections should be buried in his grave with him. III. INFERENCES BY WAY OF APPLICATION. 1. To vindicate the honour which the Christian Church hath for many ages done to the first teachers and martyrs of our religion; I mean more especially to the holy apostles of our Lord and Saviour; to whose honour the Christian Church hath thought fit to set apart solemn times, for the commemoration of their piety and suffering, and to stir up others to the imitation of them. 2. Let this consideration, that "the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance," be an encouragement to us to piety and goodness. This, to a generous nature, that is sensible of honour and reputation, is no small reward and encouragement. 3. Whenever we pretend to do honour to the memory of good men, let us charge ourselves with a strict imitation of their holiness and virtue. ( J. Tillotson. ) Everlasting remembrance of the good Homilist. I. IT IS SEEN IN THE FAVOURS WHICH HEAVEN CONFERS UPON REMOTE POSTERITY FOR THEIR SAKE. God blesses children's children, unborn generations, for the sake of a holy ancestor. David may be selected as an example of this ( 1 Kings 11:11-13 ; 1 Kings 15:4 ; 2 Kings 8:19 ). II. IN THE GOOD WHICH THE ALMIGHTY ACCOMPLISHES BY THEIR INSTRUMENTALITY THROUGH DISTANT TIMES. 1. By their biography. 2. By their literary productions. III. IN THE CONNECTION OF THEIR LABOURS WITH THE INDESTRUCTIBLE CONSCIOUSNESS OF MEN. The saved and the lost will remember their counsel, their reproofs, their exhortations, their sermons, their prayers, for ever and ever. IV. IN THE BLESSINGS WHICH THE ALMIGHTY WILL IMPART TO THEM THROUGH ALL ETERNITY. The subject teaches —(1) The immense value of a righteous man in society. His usefulness is as permanent as the stars.(2) The best method of achieving lasting fame. Usefulness alone can give it. ( Homilist. ) The religious aspect of history Dean Stanley. It is now more than six hundred years ago since one of the earliest fathers of English history, an inmate of the venerable Abbey of St. Albans, which nurtured the first school of English historical learning, recounted, at the commencement of his work, how he was vexed by questions, some put by envious detractors, some arising from serious perplexity, whether the record of times that were dead and gone was worthy of the labour and study of Christian men. He replied, with a lofty consciousness of the greatness of his task, first by an appeal to the highest instincts of man, and then added, as a further and complete sanction of these instincts, the words of the psalmist, "The just shall be had in everlasting remembrance." These are simple and familiar words; but the old chronicler of St. Albans was right in saying that they contain the principle which vindicates and sanctifies all historical research. "If thou," he said to his readers, "if thou forgettest and despisest the departed of past generations, who will remember thee?" "It was to keep alive," so he added, "the memory of the good, and teach us to abhor the bad, that all the sacred historians have striven from Moses down to the 'deep-souled' chroniclers of the years in which we ourselves are living." 1. "Everlasting remembrance" — "eternal memory" — "a memorial that shall endure from generation to generation." This is what history aims to accomplish for the ages of the past. As we are reminded both by Scripture and by experience of the noble, the inextinguishable desire implanted within us to understand and to bring near to us the wonders of the firmament, so in like manner we may be assured that there lies deep in the human heart a desire not less noble, not less insatiable, to understand and to bring near to us the wonders of the ages that are dead and buried ( Psalm 77:5, 10, 11 ; Psalm 78:2-4 ). As the celestial spheres are mapped out by the natural student to guide the mariner, and "for times, and for seasons, and for days, and for years," so the spheres of earthly events are mapped out by the historical student, and the monuments of glory and the beacons of danger are set along the shores of the past, to direct us through the trackless ocean of the future. Happy, thrice happy he who has the ears to hear those voices of the dead which others cannot hear — who has the eyes to see those visions of the ancient times which to others are dim and dark. History may be fallible and uncertain, but it is our only guide to the great things that God has wrought for the race of man in former ages; it is the only means through which "we can hear, and" through which "our fathers can declare to us the noble works which He has done in their days, and in the old time before them." 2. And not only the religion of the natural man, but the whole structure of the Bible is a testimony to the sacredness and the value of historical learning. Unlike all other sacred books, the sacred books both of the Old and New Testament are, at least half in each, not poetical, or dogmatical, but historical. Doctrine, precept, warning, exhortation, all are invested with double charms when clothed in the flesh and blood of historical facts. If there has been an "everlasting remembrance " of One supremely Just, in whom the Divine Mind was made known to man in a special and transcendent degree, it is because that Just One, the Holy and the True, "became flesh and dwelt amongst us," and became (so let us speak with all reverence and all truth) the subject of historical description, of historical research, of historical analysis, of historical comparison. The sacred historians of the Jewish Commonwealth — still more the simple, homely, but profound historians of the New Testament whom we call the Evangelist, — are the most impressive of all preachers. 3. And this power is not confined to the history of the Jewish people, or of the Christian Church. It extends to the history of "the nations" — of "the Gentiles," as they are called in the Bible. "The just," without reserve, in whatever nation, and of whatever creed, "is to be had in everlasting remembrance." "Whatsoever things are true," etc., in whatsoever race, or under whatsoever form, — these things are the legitimate, the sacred, subjects which the Father of all good gifts has charged the historians of the world to read and to record wheresoever they can be discerned. ( Dean Stanley. ) The reputation of the righteous J. Finlayson, D.D. The desire of reputation is part of the social constitution which God has given us; and, when properly directed, has a powerful tendency to promote our moral perfection. But we desire not the esteem of our contemporaries alone. Extending our prospects through a wider sphere, we seek to be approved by the spirits of the just who adorned the ages that are past; and look forward, with fond expectation, to the reverence that awaits us, after this mortal frame shall have mouldered into dust. But though the desire of reputation be natural to man, and though it operates with peculiar force in the noblest minds; yet it is not to be followed as the guide of our conduct. It is valuable only when it acts in subordination to the principles of virtue, and gives additional force to their impression. Separated from these principles, it becomes a source of corruption and depravity. Instead of animating the soul to generous deeds, it descends to foster the swellings of vain glory, and to beget the meanness of ostentation, or the vileness of hypocrisy. When the love of praise is perverted to such unworthy purposes, it seldom accomplishes its end. For though the artifices of deceit may succeed for a while, and obtain for the undeserving a temporary applause, yet the constitution of things has placed an insuperable bar between the practice of iniquity and a durable reputation. To the virtuous alone belongs the reward of lasting glory; and the Almighty will not suffer a stranger to intermeddle with their joy. For them Providence has prepared the approbation of the age in which they live, and their memorial descends to warm the admiration of succeeding times. Light is sown for the upright; the memory of the just is blessed; and the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. Death removes the chief causes of uncharitable judgment, and enables us to estimate the value of departed worth, free from the influence of prejudice and passion. The little jealousies which darken the reputation of the living seldom pursue them beyond the limits of the grave. Envy ceases when their merit has ceased to be an obstacle to our ambition. Their imperfections are buried with their bodies in the tomb, and soon forgotten; while their better qualities, recalled often to our thoughts, and heightened by the inconveniences which their departure occasions, live in the remembrance of their neighbours, and receive the tribute of just approbation. We are even willing to repay them by an excess of praise for the injury we did them while alive. ( J. Finlayson, D.D. ) The immortality of influence W. L. Watkinson. We think that when a man dies he has done with the world, and that the world has done with him. That view, how, ever, needs revision. There is much about a man that cannot be put into a coffin. Keats left for his epitaph, "Here lies one whose name was writ in water." The names of men are generally so writ, but the life and character are impressed on society deeply, indelibly. We cannot properly speak of the immortality of bad influence; yet that influence spreads and persists to a distressing extent. But we can speak confidently about the immortality of the influence of the good. Abel being dead yet speaketh; we are not told that Cain does. It is a reassuring thing to know that the good which men do is not buried with their bones. Not only do remarkable saints influence posterity beneficially; all saints do so, although it may be in a less degree. We find it easy to believe that the men influence posterity whose deeds are emblazoned in history, whose books are in the libraries, whoso monuments are in the minster, but we are slow to believe in the posthumous life of the obscure and unknown. Yet the immortality of influence is just as true in regard to the humble as to the illustrious. Nature perpetuates the memory of the frailest and most fugitive life, of the simplest and most insignificant action and event. The rolling pebble, the falling leaf, and the rippling water of millions of years ago left their sign in the rocks. The minute creatures of the primeval world built up the strata on which we live, and affecting traces of their being and action are palpable everywhere. All this is going on still; every flash of lightning is photographed, every whisper vibrates for ever, every movement in the physical world leaves an imperishable record. Let us not, then, be anxious lest we should be forgotten. A secret law renders the lowliest life immortal. This gives a new view of the duration of life. We plaintively speak of human life as a dream, a flower, a shade. But the doctrine of the immortality of influence puts the subject in another light. We gain a new view of the seriousness of life. Confined to threescore years life appears insignificant; yet in the light of immortality of influence it appears unspeakably solemn. There is no circle to our influence but the horizon; we are alive to the coming of the Son of Man. We must wait for the last day before we are finally judged. Why? Because men do not close their account with the world at their death; our influence reaches to the last day, and therefore only then can the full and final verdict be given. ( W. L. Watkinson. ) He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord . Psalm 112:7 Heartsease Those who have laid hold on Christ Jesus, and are resting in the Father's love and power, have no reason to be disquieted: should all hell be unmuzzled, and all earth be unhinged, they may rejoice with a joy undamped by carnal fear or earthly sorrow. I. EVIL TIDINGS MAY COME TO THE BEST OF MEN — to those whoso hearts are fixed and are trusting in the Lord. 1. Let us remember the frail tenure upon which we hold our temporal mercies: how soon may evil tidings come concerning them. We rightly class our families first in our possessions. Our dear relations are but loaned to us, and the hour when we must return them to the lender's hand may be even at the door. The like is certainly true of our worldly goods. Do not riches take to themselves wings and fly away? And though we have heard some almost profanely say that they have clipped the wings of their riches, so that they cannot fly, yet may the bird of prey rend them where they are, and the rotting carcase of the wealth which the owners cannot enjoy, may be a perpetual curse to them. Full often gold and silver canker in the coffer, and fret the soul of their claimant. This world at best is but a sandy foundation, and the wisest builder may well look for an end to the most substantial of its erections. Evil tidings may also come to us in another respect: we may suddenly find our health decay. That strength which now enables us to perform our daily business with delight, may so fail us that the slightest exertion may cause us pain. Certain expositors refer this passage to slander and reproach, and they translate it, " He shall not be afraid of evil hearing." It is one of the sharpest trials of the Christian's life to be misunderstood, misrepresented, and belied. The more prominent you are in Christ's service, the more certain are you to be the butt of calumny. In all these things, however, we ought to expect evil tidings. 2. Evil tidings will also come to us concerning spiritual matters, and babes in grace will be g

Benson Commentary Psalm 112:1 Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. Psalm 112:1 . Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord — With the disposition of a dutiful child toward a kind and gracious father, not with that of a refractory slave toward a tyrannical and severe master, that reverences and fears to offend him. As the fear of God is man’s only wisdom, Psalm 111:10 , so it is his only way to true happiness. That delighteth greatly in his commandments — Who makes it his chief care, business, and delight, to meditate on, understand, and obey God’s commandments. It is here intimated, that zeal and fervency in God’s service are essential to true piety. Psalm 112:2 His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the upright shall be blessed. Psalm 112:2-3 . His seed shall be mighty upon the earth — The divine blessing shall rest upon his posterity; and they shall fare the better, and be more powerful and prosperous, for the sincere piety and virtue of their godly progenitors. “Religion,” says Henry, “has been the raising of many a family, if not so as to advance it high, yet so as to found it firm. When good men themselves are happy in heaven, their seed, perhaps, are considerable on earth, and will themselves own it is by virtue of a blessing descending from their forefathers.” The generation of the upright shall be blessed — If they tread in the steps of their upright parents, and other pious ancestors, they shall be more blessed for their relation to them; for so is the covenant, I will be a God to thee, and to thy seed. They shall be blessed with outward prosperity as far as will be good for them, for, as Dr. Hammond observes, “as long as God hath the disposing of the good things of this world, it is unreasonable to imagine that any subtleties or projects of ours, which have impiety in them, and thereby forfeit all title to God’s benedictions, should be near so successful toward our present worldly interests, as a strict piety and constant adherence to the ways of God.” Wealth and riches shall be in his house — Possessed by him while he lives, and continued in his family after his death, if God sees this will be for his and their present and eternal good: for godliness hath the promise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come. “The true wealth, however, of Christians, is of another kind; their riches are such as neither moth can corrupt nor thief steal. Grace and glory are in the house of Christ, and everlasting righteousness is the portion of his children.” Psalm 112:3 Wealth and riches shall be in his house: and his righteousness endureth for ever. Psalm 112:4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. Psalm 112:4-5 . Unto the upright there ariseth light in darkness — Although he may be subject to many of the troubles and calamities of life, as others are, yet they will be far from making him unhappy, for God will give him all the needful support and comfort in the midst of them, sanctifying them to him, and causing them, in many ways, to work together for his good, and in due time will grant him a happy issue out of them; whereas the wicked sink under their burdens, and their present miseries usher in their eternal destruction. He is gracious, &c. — The good or upright man, of whom he speaks, both in the foregoing and following words: he exercises meekness, sweetness, and gentleness to those that provoke him; forgives offences, pities the instruments of his trouble, and shows mercy to persons in want and misery; while he acts justly and righteously toward all, and will not be prevailed upon, by any temptation, to do any thing dishonest, cruel, or unkind. A good man showeth favour, and lendeth — Gives freely to some, and kindly lends to others, as need, and the difference of men’s conditions, may require. He will guide his affairs — Will maintain and manage his property, or domestic affairs, with discretion — Hebrew, with judgment, so as it is meet and fit, and God requires that they should be managed; not getting his estate unjustly, nor casting it away prodigally, nor withholding it uncharitably from such as need it. Psalm 112:5 A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion. Psalm 112:6 Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance. Psalm 112:6-8 . He shall not be moved for ever — Though he may, for a season, be afflicted, yet he shall not be utterly and eternally destroyed, as wicked men shall be. The righteous — Hebrew, ???? , the righteous man; shall be in everlasting remembrance — Though, while he lives, he may be exposed to the censures, slanders, and contradictions of sinners; yet, after his death, his memory shall be precious and honourable, both with God and men, his very enemies not excepted. He shall not be afraid of evil tidings — At the report of approaching calamities and the judgments of God, at which the wicked are so dismayed and affrighted. His heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord — Casting all his care upon God, and securely relying upon his providence and promise. His heart is established, &c. — This confidence is the prop and support of his soul; until he see his desire, &c. — Till he look upon his oppressors, as Dr. Hammond renders it: that is, till he see them all subdued, and made his footstool: till he come to heaven, where he shall see Satan and all his spiritual enemies put under his feet, as Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the sea-shore. It will complete the satisfaction and comfort of the saints, when they shall look back upon their conflicts, pressures, and troubles, and be able to say, with St. Paul, when he had recounted the persecutions he had endured, Out of them all the Lord hath delivered me. Psalm 112:7 He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD. Psalm 112:8 His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until he see his desire upon his enemies. Psalm 112:9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour. Psalm 112:9 . He hath dispersed — His goods, freely and liberally. He hath given to the poor — To such as he knew to be really in want, and especially to the poor members of Christ. His righteousness — His liberality, or the reward of it; endureth for ever — That is, either, 1st, His charity is not a transient or occasional act; it is his constant course, of which he is not weary, but perseveres in it to the end of his life. Or, 2d, What he gives is not lost, as covetous or ungodly men judge of what is given to the poor, but, indeed, is the only part of his estate which will abide with him unto all eternity. His horn shall be exalted, &c. — Though he may now be reproached by the wicked, yet his innocence shall be cleared, and his name and honour gloriously exalted, especially when Jesus shall say to him and others of his saints, at the great day, I was hungry, and ye gave me meat, &c. “Then, when the thrones of the mighty shall be cast down. and the sceptres of tyrants broken in pieces, shall he lift up his head and be exalted, to partake of the glory of his Redeemer, the author of his faith, and the pattern of his charity, who gave himself for us, and is now seated at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens.” — Horne. Psalm 112:10 The wicked shall see it , and be grieved; he shall gnash with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish. Psalm 112:10 . The wicked shall be grieved — At the felicity of the righteous, partly from envy at the happiness of others, and partly from their peculiar hatred of godly men. It will vex them to see the innocence of such cleared, and their low state regarded; to behold those, whom they hated and despised, and whose ruin they sought and hoped to witness, now made the favourites of heaven, and advanced to have dominion over them. This will make them gnash with their teeth, and melt away — “The sight of Christ in glory with his saints,” says Dr. Horne, “will, in an inexpressible manner, torment the crucifiers of the one, and the persecutors of the others; as it will show them the hopes and wishes of their adversaries all granted to the full, and all their own desires and designs for ever at an end; it will excite an envy which must prey upon itself, produce a grief which can admit of no comfort, give birth to a worm which can never die, and blow up those fires which nothing can quench. Benson Commentary on the Old and New Testaments Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.

Expositor's Bible Commentary Psalm 112:1 Praise ye the LORD. Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his commandments. Psalm 112:1-10 "BE ye perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect," might be inscribed on this picture of a godly man, which, in structure and substance, reflects the contemplation of God’s character and works contained in the preceding psalm. The idea that the godly man is, in some real sense, an image of God runs through the whole, and comes out strongly, at several points, in the repetition of the same expressions in reference to both. The portrait of the ideal good man, outlined in this psalm, may be compared with those in Psalm 15:1-5 ; Psalm 24:1-10 . Its most characteristic feature is the prominence given to beneficence, which is regarded as eminently a reflection of God’s. The foundation of righteousness is laid in Psalm 112:1 in devout awe and inward delight in the commandments. But the bulk of the psalm describes the blessed consequences, rather than the essential characteristics, of godliness. The basis of righteousness and beneficence to men must be laid in reverence and conformity of will towards God. Therefore the psalm begins with proclaiming that, apart from all external consequences, these dispositions carry blessedness in themselves. The close of the preceding psalm had somewhat overpassed its limits, when it declared that "the fear of Jehovah" was the beginning of wisdom and that to do His commandments was sound discretion. This psalm echoes these sayings, and so links itself to the former one. It deepens them by pointing out that the fear of Jehovah is a fountain of joy as well as of wisdom, and that inward delight in the Law must precede outward doing of it. The familiar blessing attached in the Old Testament to godliness, namely, prosperous posterity, is the first of the consequences of righteousness which the psalm holds out. That promise belongs to another order of things from that of the New Testament; but the essence of it is true still, namely, that the only secure foundation for permanent prosperity is in the fear of Jehovah. "The generation of the upright" ( Psalm 112:2 ) does not merely mean the natural descendants of a good man-"It is a moral rather than a genealogical term" (Hupfeld)-as is usually the case with the word "generation." Another result of righteousness is declared to be "wealth and riches" ( Psalm 112:3 ), which again, must be taken as applying more fully to the Old Testament system of Providence than to that of the New. A parallelism of the most striking character between God and the godly emerges in Psalm 112:3 b, where the same words are applied to the latter as were used of the former, in the corresponding verse of Psalm 111:1-10 . It would be giving too great evangelical definiteness to the psalmist’s words, to read into them the Christian teaching that man’s righteousness is God’s gift through Christ, but it unwarrantably eviscerates them of their meaning, if we go to the other extreme, and, with Hupfeld, suppose that the psalmist put in the clause under stress of the exigencies of the acrostic structure, and regard it as a "makeshift" and "stop gap." The psalmist has a very definite and noble thought. Man’s righteousness is the reflection of God’s; and has in it some kindred with its original, which guarantees stability not all unlike the eternity of that source. Since Psalm 112:3 b thus brings into prominence the ruling thought of the two psalms, possibly we may venture to see a fainter utterance of that thought, in the first clause of the verse, in which the "wealth and riches" in the righteous man’s house may correspond to the "honour and majesty" attendant on God’s works ( Psalm 111:3 a). Psalm 112:4 blends consequences of righteousness and characterisation of it, in a remarkable way. The construction is doubtful. In a, "upright" is in the plural, and the adjectives in b are in the singular number. They are appended abruptly to the preceding clause; and the loose structure has occasioned difficulty to expositors, which has been increased by the scruples of some, who have not given due weight to the leading thought of correspondence between the human and Divine, and have hesitated to regard Psalm 112:4 b, as referring to the righteous man, seeing that in Psalm 111:4 b refers to God. Hence efforts have been made to find other renderings. Delitzsch would refer the clause to God, whom he takes to be meant by "light" in the previous clause, while Hitzig, followed by Baethgen, would translate, "As a light, he (the righteous) rises in darkness for the upright," and would then consider "gracious," etc., as in apposition with "light," and descriptive of the righteous man’s character as such. But the very fact that the words are applied to God in the corresponding verse of the previous psalm suggests their application here to the godly man, and the sudden change of number is not so harsh as to require the ordinary translation to be abandoned. However dark may be a good man’s road, the very midnight blackness is a prophecy of sunrise; or, to use another figure, "If winter comes, can spring be far behind?" {Compare Psalm 97:11 } The fountain of pity in human hearts must be fed from the great source of compassion in God’s, if it is to gush out unremittingly and bless the deserts of sorrow and misery. He who has received "grace" will surely exercise grace. "Be ye merciful, even as your Father is merciful". { Luke 6:36 } Psalm 112:5 blends characteristics and consequences of goodness in reverse order from that in Psalm 112:4 . The compassionate man of Psalm 112:4 b does not let pity evaporate, but is moved by it to act and to lend (primarily money, but secondarily) any needful help or solace. Benevolence which is not translated into beneficence is a poor affair. There is no blessing in it or for it; but it is well with the man who turns emotions into deeds. Lazy compassion hurts him who indulges in it, but that which "lends" gets joy in the act of bestowing aid. The result of such active compassion is stated in Psalm 112:5 b as being that such a one will "maintain his causes in judgment," by which seems to be meant the judgment of earthly tribunals. If compassion and charity guide a life, it will have few disputes, and will contain nothing for which a judge can condemn. He who obeys the higher law will not break the lower. Psalm 112:6-8 dwell mainly on one consequence of righteousness, namely, the stability which it imparts. While such a man lives, he shall be unmoved by shocks, and after he dies, his memory will live, like a summer evening’s glow which lingers in the west till a new morning dawns. In Psalm 112:7 the resemblance of the godly to God comes very beautifully to the surface. Psalm 111:7 deals with God’s commandments as "trustworthy." The human parallel is an established heart. He who has learned to lean upon Jehovah! (for such is the literal force of "trusting" here), and has proved the commandments utterly reliable as basis for his life, will have his heart steadfast. The same idea is repeated in Psalm 112:8 with direct quotation of the corresponding verse of Psalm 111:1-10 . In both the word for "established" is the same. The heart that delights in God’s established commandments is established by them, and, sooner or later, will look in calm security on the fading away of all evil things and men, while it rests indeed, because it rests in God. He who builds his transient life on and into the Rock of Ages wins rocklike steadfastness, and some share in the perpetuity of his Refuge. Lives rooted in God are never uprooted. The two final verses are elongated, like the corresponding ones in Psalm 111:1-10 . Again, beneficence is put in the forefront, as a kind of shorthand summing up of all virtues. And, again, in Psalm 112:9 the analogy is drawn out between God and the godly. "He has sent redemption to His people"; and they, in their degree, are to be communicative of the gifts of which they have been made recipient. Little can they give, compared with what they have received; but what they have they hold in trust for those who need it, and the sure test of having obtained "redemption" is a "heart open as day to melting charity." In the former psalm, Psalm 112:9 b declared that God has "ordained His covenant forever" and here the corresponding clause reaffirms that the good man’s righteousness endures forever. The final clauses of both verses also correspond, in so far as, in the former psalm, God’s Name is represented as "holy and dread" -i.e., the total impression made by His deeds exalts Him-and in the latter, the righteous man’s "horn" is represented as "exalted in glory" or honour -i.e., the total impression made by his deeds exalts him. Paul quotes the two former clauses of Psalm 112:9 in 2 Corinthians 9:9 as involving the truth that Christian giving does not impoverish. The exercise of a disposition strengthens it; and God takes care that the means of beneficence shall not be wanting to him who has the spirit of it. The later Jewish use of "righteousness" as a synonym for alms giving has probably been influenced by this psalm, in which beneficence is the principal trait in the righteous man’s character, but there is no reason for supposing that the psalmist uses the word in that restricted sense. Psalm 112:10 is not parallel with the last verse of Psalm 111:1-10 , which stands, as we have seen, somewhat beyond the scope of the rest of that psalm. It gives one brief glimpse of the fate of the evildoer, in opposition to the loving picture of the blessedness of the righteous. Thus it too is rather beyond the immediate object of the psalm of which it forms part. The wicked sees, in contrast with the righteous man’s seeing in Psalm 112:8 . The one looks with peace on the short duration of antagonistic power, and rejoices that there is a God of recompenses; the other grinds his teeth in envious rage, as he beholds the perpetuity of the righteous. He "shall melt away," i.e., in jealousy or despair. Opposition to goodness, since it is enmity towards God, is self-condemned to impotence and final failure. Desires turned for satisfaction elsewhere than to God are sure to perish. The sharp contrast between the righteousness of the good man, which endures forever, in his steadfast because trustful heart, and the crumbling schemes and disappointed hopes which gnaw the life of a man whose aims go athwart God’s will, solemnly proclaims an eternal truth. This Psalm, like Psalm 1:1-6 , touches the two poles of possible human experience, in its first and last words, beginning with "happy the man" and ending with "shall perish." The Expositor's Bible Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com . Used by Permission.