Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 112:4
Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: [he is] gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
4. It is possible to understand this verse of Jehovah, He ariseth as a light in the darkness to the upright, being gracious, &c. But it seems clear from the general tenor of the Psalm that the epithets applied to God in Psa 111:4 are here applied to the godly man. Cp. Mat 5:48; Luk 6:36 [71] . The verse may be rendered
[71] The LXX here has , the words used in Mat 5:7, Luk 6:36: cp. Heb 2:17; Jas 5:11.
There ariseth a light in the darkness for the upright,
(For him that is) gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
Cp. Psa 97:11; and the striking parallel in Isa 58:10, where the dawn of prosperity after the night of trouble is promised as the reward of merciful conduct. But ‘the upright’ is plural, while throughout the Psalm the godly man is spoken of in the singular ( Psa 112:2 is not an exception, for the plural there refers to his descendants), and the construction is harsh. It seems best therefore to render,
He ariseth as a light in the darkness for the upright,
Being gracious, compassionate, and righteous.
The ‘upright’ are the poor but godly whom he befriends in their need ( Psa 112:5 ; Psa 112:9), reflecting the attributes of God in his dealings with his fellow-men.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Unto the upright – The just; the pious; the man who fears God.
There ariseth light in the darkness – This is a new form of the blessing which follows the fear of the Lord, or another of the benefits which spring from true religion, and by which the pious man is distinguished from other people. The distinction is not that days of darkness will not come upon him as well as upon others, for he may be sick as others are, he may be bereaved as others are, he may lose his property as others do – since there are general laws that affect mankind in these respects. God has not promised that he will interpose to save his people from these things, but that he will save them in them. The peculiarity in regard to those who fear God is, that these things will not always continue; that they shall not be overwhelmed by them; that it will not be uninterrupted and unmitigated gloom; that the sky shall not be always overcast. Compare Psa 97:11, note; Job 11:17, note.
He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous – These words are designed to be applied to the upright man, and are intended more fully to designate his character, and to show why light shall spring up to him when he is in darkness. It is because his character is really pure and holy, so that whatever cloud may come over it for a time, however it may be temporarily obscured, however he may be calumniated by men, or however God may for a time seem to forsake him and to treat him as if he were a bad man, yet ultimately his character will appear as it really is. Light will come in upon the darkness. The clouds will break away. The prejudices against him will be dispersed. Full justice will be done to his character both by man and by God, and the world will see that he is a just and pious man. See the notes at Psa 37:5-6. Every man will ultimately be seen as he is; every man will attain the position, and have the reputation which he ought to have.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Psa 112:4
Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness.
The influence of religion in affliction
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
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? (Psa 97:11; Psa 43:3).
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 (Pro 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 (Luk 22:43); and with St. Paul when the thorn in the flesh troubled him (2Co 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? (Isa 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? (Psa 4:6). (F. Young.)
Light in darkness
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 Bunyans 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 persecutors 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 mens opinions at last have shaped themselves into, but any acquaintance with the thought-struggles of Augustine, 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
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 Gods 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
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.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 4. There ariseth light in the darkness] The upright are always happy; and when tribulations come, God lifts up the light of his countenance upon him, and causes all occurences to work together for his good.
He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.] He enjoys the favour of God; that grace makes him compassionate; and in the general tenor of his conduct he is righteous. From these principles he shows favour (Ps 112:5) to him that needs it; that is, to the real poor he gives of his substance; and others he obliges by lending, they not being utterly in want, but standing in need only of a little present help. But he takes heed to whom he gives and to whom he lends; that in the first case his bounty may be well applied, and in the second he may not oblige the person who only seeks, under the notion of a loan, to appropriate the money borrowed. To prevent evils of this kind he acts prudently, and guides his affairs with discretion, Ps 112:5.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness; and although he is subject to the troubles and calamities of this life, as others are, yet God will give him support and comfort in them, and a happy issue out of them, whereas the wicked sink under their burdens, and their present miseries usher in their eternal destruction.
He; either,
1. God. And so this is added as a reason why God causeth light to shine to the upright out of darkness, because the Lord is gracious, &c. Or rather,
2. The good or upright man, of whom he speaks both in the foregoing and following words. So this is either,
1. A reason why God dealeth thus with good men; it is not from a partial and fond affection to them, but because they are such persons to whom God hath engaged himself by promise and covenant to bless them, they are
gracious, & c. Or,
2. As an effect of their affliction and deliverance out of it; thereby they learn to be more merciful, and compassionate, and just, or bountiful to others in want and misery.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
4. lightfigurative for relief(Psa 27:1; Psa 97:11).
the uprightare likeGod (Luk 6:36; Psa 111:4).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness,…. Upright ones are sometimes in the darkness of affliction, under divine desertions, without spiritual joy, and in an uncomfortable condition; when on a sudden light arises to them, like break of day, or the morning light: they have deliverance from affliction, and enjoy prosperity; the light of God’s countenance is lifted up on them; the sun of righteousness arises upon them with healing in his wings; and spiritual joy and comfort are communicated unto them. It may denote the comforts the people of God have amidst their afflictions and troubles, even while they are in them; and the light they enjoy, while darkness is round about others, like the children of Israel in Egypt: or the suddenness of deliverance from adversity, temporal or spiritual; weeping endures for a night, joy comes in the morning, and at evening time it is light, Ps 30:5.
He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous; that is, the Lord is so. Thus the Arabic version,
“the Lord God is merciful and bountiful;”
and the Ethiopic version,
“merciful and compassionate is the Lord, and righteous is our King.”
And because God is the God of all grace, and is able to make it abound to his people, and is compassionate to them in distress, and is just and faithful to his promises; therefore he causes light to arise to them in darkness; and which, on such account, they may believe and expect; see Mic 7:8. Some understand this of the upright man and of his character; that he is “gracious”, kind, and bountiful; that he is “full of compassion”, tenderhearted, and shows mercy to distressed objects; and is righteous, through Christ, and lives soberly and righteously. This sense agrees both with what goes before, and follows after.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
4 Light ariseth The Hebrew verb זרח, 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. Whichsoever of these translations you adopt, the words are susceptible of a twofold interpretation; either, that as the sun shines on one part of the earth, and all the other parts of it are enveloped in darkness, so God exempts the righteous from the common calamities of human life; or, as day succeeds night, so God, though he permit the hearts of his servants to be in heaviness for a season, will cause a time of calmness and clearness to return to them. If the latter exposition is adopted, then, by darkness, or by the cloudy, and rainy, or stormy season, the prophet means the afflictions to which God subjects his servants for the trial of their patience. The former interpretation appears to be more appropriate, That, when the whole world is overwhelmed with troubles, God’s grace shines upon the faithful, who feel comfortable and happy, because he is propitious towards them. It is thus that their condition is properly distinguished from that which forms the common lot of other men. For the ungodly, however they may exult in prosperity, are, nevertheless, blind in the midst of light, because they are strangers to God’s paternal kindness; and, in adversity, they are plunged into the darkness of death; and, consequently, they never enjoy a season of calm repose. On the contrary, the godly, upon whom the favor of God constantly shines, though liable to the ills incident to humanity, are never overwhelmed with darkness, and hence the propriety of what is here stated, light ariseth to them in darkness If we give to the Hebrew verb an active signification, then, in one respect, the construction of the words will be preferable. For I have no doubt that the prophet intends, as applicable to God, the epithets, gracious, merciful, and just Therefore, if we read it as a neuter verb, light ariseth, then the latter clause of the verse will be the reason for the statement made in the former clause. As to the exposition, that the righteous and humane do not diffuse darkness over the world, as the unrighteous and wicked do; that they do not extract smoke from light, but light from smoke; it must be viewed as nothing else than a perversion of the prophet’s language.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(4) Ariseth . . .The Hebrew verb is commonly used of the sunrise. (Comp. Psa. 97:11; Isa. 58:8.) For the good man the darkest night of trouble and sorrow will have a dawn of hope.
He is gracious . . .The Authorised Version is right in making this a description of the upright mans character. The construction certainly at first appears strange, since the upright is in the plural, while the epithets in this clause resume the singular of Psa. 112:3. This may be best explained by treating the first clause of this verse as a familiar proverbial saying, which the poet introduces, as a quotation, without changing the number to suit his own construction.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
4. Light in the darkness A figurative expression for health, and happiness in adversity. See Psa 112:7, and compare Isa 60:2; Psa 97:11; Rom 8:28.
Gracious, and full of compassion The terms are reproduced from Psa 112:4 of the previous psalm, where they apply to God. Thus godliness is the reflected image of God. In the Hebrew of Exo 34:6, exactly the same words are rendered “gracious and merciful,” where they are descriptive of the character of God. Compassion to the poor and needy, the sinful and unworthy, prompting to a charitable service and distribution of benefits, is honourable to God and his religion.
Jas 1:27. The idea is more fully brought out in the first line of the next verse.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 112:4. And righteous Fenwick renders it, The just one, meaning the Messiah.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
If we read these verses, first, as spoken of Christ; and, second/y, in him, as having respect to all his people; we shall he sure to include all the views which may be taken of them, and they will then afford a sweet savour of Jesus in the soul. Whoever goes over the life and ministry of Christ, in the days of his flesh (and a believing soul would wish to have this for his constant meditation), he will discover great beauties explanatory of what is here said. Indeed, I cannot see how any believer can read such portions of God’s word as these, with any comfort from any personal interest in what is spoken, unless Christ be constantly kept in view, through the whole. For example: supposing we read without an eye to Jesus, what is here said; what saint alive can discover light arising out of darkness? Of whom shall it be said, with the smallest consistency of truth, that he is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous? And in short, of all the distinguishing properties here marked, what son or daughter of Adam can, in himself, lay claim to such excellency? But if we read what is here said, as of Jesus fulfilling all righteousness for his people, and that in his righteousness they as the members of his body, are righteous; he being made of God to them, wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption; the beauty and glory of the psalm then appears in all its fulness, and the savour of Jesus’s name is as ointment poured forth. 1Co 1:30 ; Son 1:3 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Psa 112:4 Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: [he is] gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
Ver. 4. Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness ] i.e. Joy in tribulation, as did unto the martyrs, plenty in penury, as “having nothing, and yet possessing all things,” 2Co 6:10 . If they have not an external affluence, yet they have an internal influence of grace and comfort, which is far better and sweeter, 1Ti 6:6 . Some render the words thus, He who is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous ( i.e. God), causeth light to arise in darkness upon the upright; who also is, according to his measure, and by participation from God, gracious, merciful, and righteous.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
the upright = upright ones (plural)
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Psa 112:4-6
Psa 112:4-6
“Unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness;
He is gracious, and merciful, and righteous.
Well is it with the man that dealeth graciously and lendeth;
He shall maintain his cause in judgment.
For he shall never be moved;
The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance.”
The character of the righteous man is here said to be, “Gracious, full of compassion, and righteous. These terms are also used in Psalms 111 in the author’s description of God. This is an application of the eternal truth that a devout man becomes more and more like the object of his worship. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tale of Little Ernest and the Great Stone Face is a literary development of the same truth.
“The righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance” (Psa 112:6). Mary’s anointing the feet of Jesus and the widow’s two mites are examples of the everlasting remembrance of the righteous, but far more than such earthly remembrance and honor is the remembrance of the righteous by the Father in Heaven. Christ himself has promised, “That not even a cup of cold water given to one because he is Christ’s shall in no wise lose its reward” (Mar 9:41).
E.M. Zerr:
Psa 112:4. As light will penetrate the darkness, so the influence of an upright man is enlightening to those about him. For explanation of gracious and compassion see my comments at Psa 111:4.
Psa 112:5. Some men may be good and yet not be able to lend unto others through lack of business management. The Psalmist explains the kind of good man he is considering in the close of the verse. It is the one who uses discretion or judgment in the management of his business affairs, always acting with fairness and due consideration.
Psa 112:6. Apply the comments at Psa 112:3 as explanation of this verse.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
there ariseth: Psa 37:6, Psa 97:11, Job 11:17, Isa 50:10, Isa 58:10, Mic 7:8, Mic 7:9, Mal 4:2, Joh 12:46
he is gracious: Psa 106:1, Luk 6:36, 2Co 8:8, 2Co 8:9, Eph 4:32, Eph 5:1, Eph 5:2, Eph 5:9, Eph 5:15, Col 3:12, Col 3:13
righteous: Tit 2:11, Tit 2:12, 1Jo 2:29, 1Jo 3:7, 1Jo 3:10
Reciprocal: Gen 43:29 – my son Exo 34:6 – merciful 2Sa 22:29 – lighten Job 22:28 – the light Psa 18:25 – With the Psa 18:28 – thou wilt Psa 111:4 – full Psa 116:5 – Gracious Pro 2:21 – General Pro 11:17 – merciful Pro 13:9 – light Pro 28:20 – faithful Isa 58:8 – thy light Eze 18:7 – hath given Mic 6:8 – love Zec 14:6 – not Mat 1:19 – a just Mat 5:7 – are
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Psa 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 mens 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.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
112:4 Unto the {c} upright there ariseth light in the darkness: [he is] gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous.
(c) The faithful in all their adversities know that all will go well with them for God will be merciful and just.