Chapter One Hundred Eleven

Blessed will be the one who fears the Lord and deeply loves His commandments. Both he himself and his descendants the Lord will reward, giving them abundance of external blessings, helping them in misfortunes (1–4). The true worshiper of the Lord – is merciful to others, honest in speech, does not fear rumor, firm in faith, and the Lord will reward him with eternal memory. The ungodly, seeing his blessedness, gnash their teeth and waste away from envy (5–10).

Psalm 111:2. Mighty on earth will be his offspring; the generation of the upright will be blessed. “His offspring will be mighty on earth” – his descendants will enjoy lasting good, since the Lord abundantly pours out His mercies also upon the descendants of those who love Him.

Psalm 111:3. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. “His righteousness endures forever” – either in the sense that because of the ancestor’s righteousness his descendants are abundantly rewarded, that is, the mercy of the Lord is abundant and lasting, or in the sense that righteousness is rewarded with eternal blessedness both in this life and beyond the grave.

Psalm 111:4. Light shines in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. “Darkness” – misfortunes. During times of misfortune the Lord will help him.

Psalm 111:5. Good is the one who is gracious and lends; he will conduct his affairs with justice. “He will conduct his affairs with justice” – to give truthful testimony, which serves as the basis for the judges’ verdict.

Psalm 111:6. Surely he will never be shaken; the righteous will be kept in eternal memory. The true righteous one never departs from the principles of his life; he is “unshaken” throughout his entire life, throughout its whole duration. He will be “kept in eternal memory” – memory of him will be preserved in his descendants and in history. One can see here, as in verse 3, an indication of eternal closeness to God, that is, of eternal life and reward beyond the grave.

Psalm 111:7. He will not be afraid of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. He does not fear bad report; in his activity he does not heed the judgments of others and their condemnation. The guidance for his life is not the opinion of people, but the eternal and unchanging law of the Lord, which is unchanging because of its infallibility and inviolable excellence, whereas the tastes and needs of people, and hence their opinions, do not possess constancy and stability.

Psalm 111:8. His heart is steadfast; he will not be afraid when he looks upon his enemies. Faith in the Lord and consciousness of the righteousness of one’s cause makes him brave and unafraid of the schemes of enemies. He believes that the Lord will protect him.

Psalm 111:9. He has given freely to the poor; his righteousness endures forever; his horn will be exalted with honor. “He has given freely” – he helped abundantly all those in need. “His horn will be exalted” – his spiritual greatness, his moral strength will be exalted, will surely be rewarded.

Psalm 111:10. The wicked will see this and be vexed; he will gnash his teeth and waste away. The desire of the wicked will come to nothing. “The desire of the wicked will come to nothing” – the wicked man’s endeavor through his schemes to harm the righteous will not succeed. The righteous person described here suits very well Nehemiah with his broad educational activity among the returned Hebrew captives, with his benevolence, straightforwardness, and the intrigues that were waged against him at the Persian court.