His seed shall be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright shall be blessed.
Psalm 112 blesses the man who fears the Lord. Verse 2 shows how far that blessing runs: past the man himself, to his children, and to all who share his character.
Verse 2 grows straight out of verse 1. The fear it starts from is not dread:
We have first the description of the man that fears Jehovah. His fear is a fruitful fear and not a slavish one: he has great delight in the commandments in which he walks. "His seed shall be mighty in the earth" — the sphere of blessing in the Old Testament — "the generation of the upright is blessed."
The writers quote older translations of the verse. Where they read "seed" or "descendants" and "earth," the ESV has "offspring" and "land."
The blessing here belongs to an earthly order. One writer names what still holds for the Christian:
The blessing contemplated in the psalm is of an earthly and Jewish order, rather than the heavenly blessing of the Christian. However, whether for the earthly or heavenly saint, the practical enjoyment of either blessing springs from a life lived in the fear of God.
One writer gives the Hebrew word behind "mighty" and names the day that tests the promise:
The man described in Psalm 112 fears the Lord, whether through his circumstances or apart from them. That is his character, and he delights greatly in His commandments. This is true in itself, but it is tried and made good in the evil day. The man who fears Him will not only be blessed himself: his seed will be gibbor (powerful) in the earth. They will be the great ones, "Princes in all lands." The generation — the company, the class, of the upright ones — will be blessed.
The second half of the verse widens the circle. "Generation" here is not a bracket of dates:
Parkhurst notes that "generation" is also used for people of like quality and disposition, even though they are not of one place or one age. "God is with the generation of the righteous" (Psalm 14:5). We also read of "the generation of the upright," "the generation of those who seek Him," "the generation of His wrath," and others.
Commentators agree the scene is earthly. One writer marks off what it is not:
This is not the Christian, who is already blessed in heavenly places, enjoying full favour yet suffering on earth, and waiting for Him who will have us with Himself in the Father's house. It is a picture, drawn in advance, of the righteous Israelite in the kingdom.
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Read against Israel's history, the promise of mighty descendants marks a reversal:
Then "his descendants will be mighty on earth" (v. 2), instead of sliding into self-will as they have under Moses' law. They are called "the upright" and as such will be blessed.
Verses 2 and 3 tie godliness to visible wealth. One writer marks what changed after Christ's rejection:
It had been taught in the Old Testament that outward prosperity should mark the upright man. Ps. 112:2-3. In the kingdom in its new phase, following Christ's rejection, the possession of riches is no sign of divine favour. This was a needful lesson for the Jew.
One writer asks who ever filled this picture, and what that leaves the Christian to do:
Some special features give this Psalm a Jewish cast (compare verses 2, 3 and 8). Along with them, it sets before us a lovely portrait of the moral and actual happiness of the man of faith… Jesus alone could fill the outline of the picture given here. Like every other description of truth and moral beauty, of holiness or faith, it has its perfect display in the righteous One alone… The Christian's calling is to walk in Him and as He walked. He counted it more blessed to give than to receive.
- Fear — The blessing starts in a fear that delights, not one that dreads. Commentators call it fruitful, not slavish.
- Seed — What begins in one man does not stop with him: his offspring are gibbor, powerful, "the great ones."
- Generation — The word reaches wider than one age group. It means people of the same quality and disposition, in any place or time.
- Kingdom — The scene is earthly. It sketches the righteous Israelite in the coming kingdom, with descendants who are mighty instead of self-willed.
- Caution — Since Christ's rejection, riches prove nothing about God's favour. Earthly or heavenly, blessing is enjoyed by the one who lives in the fear of God.
Wealth and riches [shall be] in his house; and his righteousness abideth for ever.
Psalm 112 is the twin of Psalm 111. The first psalm describes the Lord; the second describes the man who fears Him. Verse 3 hands the same words about righteousness from God to His servant. So does the promise of wealth belong to every believer, or to a particular people under God's rule on earth?
The words about righteousness that lasts forever are not new here. Psalm 111:3 says them of the Lord first.
Put Psalms 111 and 112 side by side, and you see how those who belong to Christ take their character from Him. The first psalm speaks of Christ, the second of the one who trusts in Him. The first psalm ends by telling us that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." The second begins by telling us how blessed, or happy, is the man who "fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments." In verse 3 of the first, Christ's "righteousness endures forever." In verse 3 of the second, the psalm says the same of the believer's righteousness. It must be so, because Christ is his righteousness. God has made Him his righteousness as well as his wisdom.
The verse joins wealth and righteousness in one line. So what does that righteousness look like in a life?
Next, just as the last psalm showed the two-fold character of light and love in Jehovah, so this psalm shows it in the one who walks in His way. "Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever." In the middle of a dark world light arises for the upright; and the only upright one is he that is "gracious and merciful" as well as "righteous." Indeed our Lord has fully shown us in the parable of the thankless servant (Matt. 19) that for those who are debtors to mercy not to show it is not even righteous.
The house in view is not the Christian's. The psalm shows life under God's government of the earth, after He steps in to deliver.
"Praise the Lord." First comes the Lord's own intervention. Next comes the character of the man who fears Him, and the blessing he has under God's government. This is not the Christian. The Christian is even now blessed in heavenly places, enjoying full favour, yet suffering on earth, and waiting for Him who will have us with Himself in the Father's house. This is a sketch, given in advance, of the righteous Israelite in the kingdom.
Miss that shift and money becomes a test of God's approval. The story of the rich man and Lazarus corrects that.
It had been taught in the Old Testament that outward prosperity should mark the upright man. Ps. 112:2-3. In the kingdom in its new phase, following Christ's rejection, the possession of riches is no sign of divine favour. This was a needed lesson for the Jew. It was very difficult for a rich man to be saved, but the poor had the gospel preached to them. The poor man was carried into Abraham's bosom, and the rich man fell into destruction. Another world reverses the conditions of this one.
Setting the promises of earthly blessing aside does not empty the psalm. Its principles still hold for anyone who obeys God when obedience costs.
Psalm 112. I leave aside, of course, the promises of temporal blessing, which apply directly to the Jewish people and system… but some principles are worth noting. These psalms press one especially: the wisdom of obeying God along the path of trial. Much was there (there always is) to say that faithfulness was folly and ruin. God warns them, and in that is the path of wisdom. It lasts in its effects when the wicked disappear. His righteousness endures forever.
The words of verse 3 return in verse 9. The New Testament quotes verse 9 when it teaches Christians to give.
As we give we are sowing not only grace but righteousness also. Psalm 112:9 is quoted. It describes the man who is marked out as "good," and "upright," and one who "fears the Lord." He gives out of what he has to those in need, and his kind giving is not called grace but righteousness that will remain forever… If we do not give, but rather hoard up or spend on ourselves and our pleasures what is given to us, we are positively unrighteous.
- Source. The righteousness that lasts forever is the Lord's first (Psalm 111:3), then the man's (112:3). He takes his character from Christ, who is his righteousness.
- Shape. This man is gracious and merciful, not just upright. Those who owe everything to mercy are not even righteous if they withhold it.
- Setting. The full house belongs to God's government of the earth. It sketches the righteous Israelite in the kingdom, not the Christian's portion.
- Correction. Since Christ's rejection, riches are no proof of God's favour. The next world reverses the conditions of this one.
- Outflow. The New Testament quotes verse 9 to Christians: giving to those in need is righteousness that remains forever. Hoarding is not neutral. It is unrighteous.