Text in red are my additions. Translated using ChatGPT
Psalm 112
“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in His commandments.”
Ps 112:1 Title: “Alleluia of the return of Haggai and Zechariah.”
Augustine: Haggai and Zechariah lived long after David. After the seventy years of the captivity were completed, in the time of Darius king of the Persians (Jeremiah 25), these two prophets prophesied what pertained to the renewal of the Temple (Haggai 1; Zechariah 1). And, as is read in Ezra, they were also helpers in the rebuilding of the Temple (1 Ezra 5). Yet here the subject is not the rebuilding of that physical Temple, but rather the reformation of the spiritual Temple, which we ourselves are. Hence the Apostle says: “The Temple of God is holy, which you are” (1 Corinthians 3).
For that actual renewal of the Temple signifies the renewal of the new people from the ruin of Adam, so that they may bear the image of the heavenly man; and “the corruptible body weighs down the soul, and the earthly dwelling presses down the mind” (Wisdom 9).
Ps 112:1 cont. “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord," not the world.
Cassiodorus: the fear of the world makes men miserable, but the fear of the Lord makes a man desire those things by which he becomes blessed.
“In His commandments he will delight greatly,” that is, he will desire them exceedingly and deeply.
This is what the fear of God produces: that a man wills the good.
Alcuin, Augustine: and note that he does not say “he will do,” but “he will will greatly,” because it is enough to will, even if the ability to fulfill the commandments is lacking; for “peace is for men of good will” (Luke 2), and even if a man does not progress greatly in fulfilling them, because “human life on earth is a trial,” as Job says (Job 7), and “the corruptible body burdens the soul” (Wisdom 9). Thus because he fears the Lord, “he will delight greatly.”
Ps 112:2 “His seed will be mighty upon the earth; the generation of the righteous will be blessed.”
This refers to the new man, just as before he bore the image of the old man (1 Corinthians 15). And after the captivity of this age—which turns in the cycle of seven days and bears the misery of a long pilgrimage—after the symbolic seventy years, it is not rebuilt with a structure destined to fall, but is established eternally in blessed immortality.
Augustine, Cassiodorus: The prophets understood that this spiritual restoration of the spiritual Temple was prefigured in that historical rebuilding. And for this great joy they praised the Lord. Therefore the title of this psalm contains their names—not because they wrote the psalm, but because they praised the Lord for the restoration of the spiritual Temple, of which this psalm speaks, as has been said.
And the sense of the title is this: This is the “Alleluia,” that is, the praise of God—the praise, I say, of Haggai and Zechariah—for the return. For those prophets sang praises to God for the spiritual return of the Christian people, just as David does here.
Alcuin: Or according to the interpretation of their names: Haggai means “mountain-dweller,” Zechariah “solemn” or “festal,” by which are signified the faithful who are “mountain-dwellers,” that is, lofty in virtues, and “solemn,” that is, rejoicing even in tribulations.
Cassiodorus: Thus, just as those prophets praised the Lord for this spiritual return, so Christians—whom they signify—after the forgiveness of sins, praise the Lord as those liberated from captivity and made joyful by the goods they possess.
For this psalm shows, after liberation from sins, how great are the goods of the faithful and what reward is given for desire. And this psalm is also arranged through all the letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In its intention, it exhorts to praise.
The structure of the psalm is threefold:
First, the Prophet teaches what the blessed man does and what great goods he merits by grace.
Second, he speaks of the coming of the Lord, through whom men are made blessed: “A light has risen.”
Third, he asserts that adversity will come upon the wicked: “The sinner shall see.”
(Augustine)
The perfection of this building is that ineffable promise: “His seed shall be mighty upon the earth.” This can be understood spiritually: that neither death nor life shall separate him from the charity of God (cf. Romans 8). Or by likeness: like a harvest that no storm can destroy. Or it may be understood of the future.
Cassiodorus: And because above he said that the man who fears the Lord is blessed, here he shows the rewards of that blessedness, saying that his seed—that is, the reward of good works—will be mighty upon the earth, not on this earth where the saints are mocked, but in the heavenly one where they will shine like the sun (cf. Matthew 13).
Or even in this present time, though his seed seems small, that is, works of mercy from which the eternal harvest is gathered, it will be mighty, because even by a small thing heaven is purchased as by a great one—by a cup of cold water, by the widow’s two mites, by half of Zacchaeus’ goods.
“And the generation of the righteous…”
Cassiodorus, Augustine: not a generation of flesh, but of imitation—that is, imitators of the just. Or “the generation of the righteous,” that is, the works of the righteous, will be blessed with eternal reward.
The righteous are those who do not resist the Father who corrects them and who believe Him who promises; they do not think their works are lost because they are not rewarded in temporal things. For there are some who are bent toward earthly things, who do good works expecting earthly reward from God or seeking to please men. This the blessed man does not do, for he seeks neither the glory of men nor earthly rewards.
Ps 112:3 “Glory and riches are in his house, and his justice endures forever.”
“Glory and riches are in his house.” Augustine, Cassiodorus: that is, in his inner heart, the hidden dwelling where he abides with hope of eternal life, where holy riches and eternal glory are stored up.
“And his justice…” This is his glory; these are his riches, which he has from God, and they “endure forever,” that is, they are laid up eternally, because his blessedness is not temporal.
PART II
Ps 112:4 “A light has risen in the darkness for the upright of heart: merciful and compassionate and just.”
“A light has risen.” Cassiodorus: Here he treats, in the second part, of the coming of the Lord, through whom men are eternally liberated from sins. As if he were to say: all these things come from this—that the light, that is, the Sun of Justice, has risen in the darkness for the upright of heart.
Gloss, Haymo: that is, He has risen to drive away darkness and to make men upright.
What is that light? The Lord—merciful by nature, patient in waiting, compassionate in giving by justification, and just in rewarding.
Thus it has risen. Above he spoke of the goods of the blessed man; now he speaks of their source.
Cassiodorus: because a light has risen in the darkness. That light is more precious which rises in darkness. But this light has not risen for all—only for the upright of heart.
That light is the Lord—merciful and compassionate.
Augustine: He is merciful to those who confess, and just to those who despise Him; but let not His justice terrify you, because…
Ps 112:5 “Blessed is the man who shows mercy and lends; he will order his words with judgment, for he shall never be moved forever.”
“That man is joyful,” or “pleasant.” Augustine: that is, he is pleasing to God, who shows mercy in his heart by forgiving others, whereby he himself merits forgiveness; “and lends,” Augustine, Cassiodorus: that is, he gives to others in hope of the future—whether he expends money or the labor of his industry, which is a kind of lending, so that it may be repaid to him in the future.
These are the two works of kindness: the forgiving of sins and the bestowing of benefits. Hence: “Forgive, and you shall be forgiven; give, and it shall be given to you” (Luke 6).
These words depend upon the previous verse: “Glory and riches are in his house.” Cassiodorus: Or “he shows mercy” is he who gives to the needy; “he lends” is he who gives a loan, expecting to receive the same in return.
“He will order his words,” or “he orders his words.” Augustine: by these deeds he will be defended in the future judgment, because these acts are, as it were, the “words” by which he will be defended at judgment—so that it will not be without mercy toward him, because he himself has shown mercy.
Alcuin: And this is said by analogy with someone who prepares his case in advance, fortifying it with firm arguments.
Jerome, Cassiodorus, Gloss: Or “he orders his words in judgment,” that is, he speaks and arranges his speech with discretion and truth; because, placed on the right hand in the future, “he shall never be moved forever,” that is, he will not be separated from the glory of the Lord. And even if he falls here, as Peter fell, it is still said: “he shall not be moved forever.”
Note: the Hebrew has דְּבָרָ֣י (from the root, dĕbar = "word" or also"affair," "matter," "business"); the Greek has λόγους (from the root, logos = "word" or also "affair," "matter," "business"); the Latin has sermones = "speech." Most modern translations prefer to translate "conducts his affairs with justice" (NABRE, RSV, ESV). The Lexham English Bible has "conducts his business properly."
Ps 112:6 “The just man will be in everlasting remembrance; he will not fear evil tidings.”
“The just man will be in everlasting remembrance.” Augustine: so that he may hear, “Come, you blessed of my Father…” (Matthew 25), because “the generation of the righteous shall be blessed,” as was said above.
“And he will not fear evil tidings,” namely those spoken to the condemned: “Depart from me, you cursed, into eternal fire” (ibid.). This will be said to those who will be on His left; but the just will be on His right in the future.
Thus it is clear that the just man does not seek his own interests, but those of Christ; he patiently endures labors and confidently awaits the reward. Hence it follows:
Ps 112:7 “His heart is ready to hope in the Lord; his heart is strengthened, he shall not be moved until he looks upon his enemies.”
“His heart is ready to hope in the Lord.” Augustine, Alcuin: it is not broken by the world nor by any temptations.
“His heart is strengthened.” Cassiodorus: “He will not fear evil tidings,” that is, if someone threatens evils, he does not fear, because his heart is ready to hope in the Lord, not in the world; and because he hopes, his heart is strengthened, since no worldly thing softens or weakens him.
“And he shall not be moved,” even if he sees others laughing in the land of the dying while he himself is mocked. Augustine: He will not be shaken from his hope until the reality itself comes. Hence he adds: “until, being in the land of the living, he looks upon his enemies”—whomever they may be.
And because of this future reward:
Ps 112:8 “He has scattered abroad, he has given to the poor; his justice endures forever; his horn shall be exalted in glory.”
“He has scattered.” Jerome, Haymo: that is, he has given widely and freely to many, and he has given to the poor, not to the rich.
Behold, this man was purchasing what he did not yet see; he was storing up treasure in heaven—he who deigns to hunger and thirst in the poor upon earth. Or thus it continues: Augustine, Alcuin: the just man hopes and not rashly, because “he has scattered,” and so on.
“And his justice…” As if to say: he gave what was his, and “his justice endures forever,” that is, he lived justly and piously.
Or thus: because he has scattered and given, therefore his justice is, that is, he works justice; for he who gives what is his performs justice. And this justice “endures forever,” because, God guarding it, nothing perishes.
“And his horn…” Augustine, Cassiodorus: his humility, which was despised by the proud, “shall be exalted in glory.” For he who was humble here will have authority there.
“And the sinner shall see…”Augustine: namely, he will see this horn exalted.
PART III
Ps 112:9 “The sinner shall see and be angry; he will gnash his teeth and waste away; the desire of sinners shall perish.”
“The sinner shall see.” Cassiodorus: In the third part he asserts that, in contrast to what happens to the just, evils will befall the wicked. And note that just as above he enumerated the goods of the blessed, so here he frightens by the evils of the unjust, encouraging by the goods of the blessed and deterring by the evils of the wicked.
And this psalm is formative for the faithful.
As if he were to say: the horn of the humble will be exalted; he will wish to be exalted but will not be; and he will grow angry—this being a late and fruitless repentance—saying: “What has pride and the boasting of riches profited you?”
“And he will gnash his teeth and waste away.” Cassiodorus: As if to say, he retains within himself the evil of envy, yet will harm no one; by this he afflicts himself—he who formerly afflicted the good.
Or by what he says, “he will gnash,” Augustine: it simply signifies anxiety, according to that saying, “There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8).
“And he will waste away,” because he will not be able to revive through repentance; “the desire of sinners shall perish,” with no consolation succeeding, when all things have passed away like a shadow.
COLLATION ON PSALM 112: “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord…”
Ps 112:7: “Until he looks upon his enemies.”
The interpreters have rendered this differently. Some translate “looks upon” instead of “despises,” so that you may understand vengeance, or something similar. Hence Sanctes said: “until he sees in his enemies what he desires,” or, as Münster translates, vengeance.
It is certain, however, that among the Hebrews the verb רָאָה (rāʾāh) can also have the sense of “to despise,” which Pellicanus also understood, adding this interpretation: that he “has despised all their deceits and persecutions, which they attempt with fruitless effort.”
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