properly · verb, piel imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
affairs
דְּבָרָ֣יוde.va.Rav
H1697
a word · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine singular
discretion
בְּמִשְׁפָּֽטbe.mish.Pat
H4941
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 37:21 The wicked borroweth, and payeth not again: but the righteous sheweth mercy, and giveth.
Proverbs 2:20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
Ephesians 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Deuteronomy 15:7-10 If there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren within any of thy gates in thy land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt n…
Psalms 37:25-26 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
Proverbs 24:30-34 I went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
John 6:12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.
Philippians 1:9 And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment;
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 112:1-5
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,
I. A description of those who are here pronounced blessed, and to whom these promises are made.
1. They are well-principled with pious and devout affections. Those have the privileges of God's subjects, not who cry, Lord, Lord, but who are indeed well…
A good man showeth favour, and lendeth,.... Without usury, hoping for nothing again: he pities those that labour under difficulties, for want of a little money; and he generously lends it till they are able to pay him again; which oftentimes is of as much service as if it was given; see Psalm 37:21. A good man is not only a man that has the good work of grace in him, and is ready to every good work; but one that is munificent, bountiful, and liberal; in which sense the word is used in Romans 5:7 and so in Latin writers (n).
He will guide his affairs with discretion; his civil and domestic affairs: he will act the part of a good economist; so that he may be able to support his family with cr…
Psalm 112:4-8
4. Light ariseth [343] in darkness to the righteous: he is gracious, merciful, and just. 5. A good man [344] showeth pity, and lendeth: he manages his affairs uprightly. 6. Surely he shall not be moved for ever: the just shall be held in perpetual remembrance. 7. He shall not be afraid when he hears evil tidings: his heart is fixed, because he confides in Jehovah. 8. His heart is established, he shall not be afraid, until [345] he see his desire [346] upon his enemies.
4 Light ariseth The Hebrew verb zrch, zarach, may be taken intransitively, as I have inserted it in the text, or transitively, as in the marginal reading; in either way the signification is the same. Whichsoeve…
The Church Fathers
Be thou sweet, be merciful and lend. For the Lord is just in this manner, that He judges without mercy him who has not shown mercy; [James 2:13] but, "Sweet is the man who is merciful and lends" [Psalm 112:5]: God will not spew him out of His mouth as if he were not sweet. "Forgive," He says, "and you shall be forgiven; give, and it shall be given unto you." [Luke 6:37-38] Whilst you forgive that you may be forgiven, you are merciful; while you give that it may be given unto you, you lend. For though all be called generally mercy where another is assisted in his distress, yet there is a difference where you spend neither money, nor the toil of bodily labour, but by forgiving what each man has sinned against you, you gain free pardon for your own sins also....He who is unwilling to give to the poor, seeks riches; listen to what is written, "You shall have treasure in heaven." [Matthew 19:21] You will not then lose honour by forgiving: for it is a very laudable triumph to conquer anger. You will not grow poor by giving; for a heavenly treasure is a more safe possession. The former verse, "Riches and plenteousness shall be in his house," was pregnant with this verse.
Delightful is the man who shows mercy and lends. Because the Lord is merciful and compassionate, let the righteous man too imitate his Lord: let him also be merciful. Delightful is the man who shows mercy and lends. Does someone suppose that he is speaking about gold and about silver and about money? The righteous have so far been without anything to lend to others that they themselves received their food from others. So then, if I have nothing to give, am I no longer righteous? If I do not give alms, shall I not be counted in the number of the righteous? How many of the saints gave alms, yet fell from their holiness. The perfect gave no alms: they had nothing from which to give. Not to give alms is the crime of one who possesses: but as for the one who has nothing from which to give alms, he is free. However much he was willing to give, that much he gave, because he gave by his intention. Nevertheless the saints too have something from which to give alms. Peter also says: 'Silver and gold I have; but what I have, this I give to you, in the name of the Lord Jesus rise up and walk.' Which is greater, to give money, or to make a crippled man whole? Delightful is the man who shows mercy and lends. What are these alms? What is this that the righteous man lends? The second verse shows it. He shall order his words in judgment. He did not say, he shall order his gold and his silver or his money in judgment: but, he shall order his words in judgment. This is mercy, if a holy man teaches others who are not holy. He shall order his words in judgment. We have understood, then, what are the riches that are lent. But this that he says, he shall order his words in judgment, is that which is said in the Gospel, that we should not cast our pearls before swine: that is, that he may know what to bestow on each one, that each may know what he is able to receive, and what he is not able. Whence the holy man says: 'In my heart I have hidden your sayings, that I may not sin against you.' I did not give them to whomever I pleased: I did not send your holy thing to dogs, nor did I give pearls to swine. Great, therefore, is the danger for teachers, in being able to pour out the words of the Lord.
Dictionary and topics
Creditor · MERCIFUL — MERCIFUL
Faith · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Kindness · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Lending · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Liberality · 1:2-4; — 1:2-4;
Poor · DUTY TO — DUTY TO
Prudence · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Righteousness · FRUITS OF — FRUITS OF
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
As in the preceding Psalm. Psa 112:1 here also sets forth the theme of that which follows. What is there said in Psa 112:3 concerning the righteousness of God, Psa 112:3 here says of the righteousness of him who fears God: this also standeth fast for ever, it is indeed the copy of the divine, it is the work and gift of God (Psa 24:5), inasmuch as God's salutary action and behaviour, laid hold of in faith, works a like form of action and behaviour to it in man, which, as Psa 112:9 says, is, according to its nature, love. The promise in Psa 112:4 sounds like Isa 60:2. Hengstenberg renders: "There ariseth in the darkness light to the upright who is gracious and compassionate and just." But this…
The godly imitate God by being generous, compassionate, and righteous (51:1; 111:1-10; 2 Cor 9:9). They lend money to the poor without charging interest (Pss 15:5; 112:9; Exod 22:25).
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 112:5
A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion.
A good man sheweth favour, and lendeth. Having passed beyond stern integrity into open handed benevolence he looks kindly upon all around him, and finding himself in circumstances which enable him to spare a little of his wealth he lends judiciously where a loan will be of permanent service. Providence has made him able to lend, and grace makes him willing to lend. He is not a borrower, for God has lifted him above that necessity; neither is he a hoarder, for his new nature saves him from that temptation; but he wisely uses the talents committed to him. He will guide his affairs with discretion. Those who neg…
