1_Blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah _Although the prophet begins with an exhortation, he has, as I have already pointed out, something farther in view, than simply the calling upon the faithful to praise God. To practice wickedness, and perpetrate injustice, is, in all quarters, accounted a gr... [ Continue Reading ]
2_His seed shall be powerful _For the purpose of confirming the statement which he advanced respecting the happiness of the man that fears Jehovah and takes delight in his commandments, the prophet enumerates the tokens of God’s loving-kindness, which he is wont to bestow upon his worshippers. And,... [ Continue Reading ]
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... [ Continue Reading ]
5_A good man _This is the commonly received interpretation of the passage. I am disposed, however, to prefer another, That it shall be well with those who are gracious and communicative; because this is more in accordance with the purport of the prophet’s language. It is his intention to show how gr... [ Continue Reading ]
6_Surely he shall not be moved. _The Hebrew particle כי, _ki, _may here be taken in its natural or causal meaning, and thus be rendered _for, _especially if in the preceding verse we adopt the marginal reading, _It shall be well with the man. _For he refers in more explicit terms to that happiness o... [ Continue Reading ]
7._He shall not be afraid when he hears evil tidings _This may appear to be a confirmation of the statement contained in the preceding verse, being as much as to say, That the righteous are exempted from the infamous name which the reprobate secure to themselves by their vicious conduct. I rather ta... [ Continue Reading ]
9_He has distributed, he hath given to the poor _Once more he affirms that the righteous never lose the fruit and the reward of their liberality. And first, by _dispersing, _the prophet intimates, that they did not give sparingly and grudgingly, as some do who imagine that they discharge their duty... [ Continue Reading ]
10._The wicked shall see it. _(350) Here follows a contrast similar to that which we met with in Psalms 2:5, which renders the grace of God towards the faithful the more illustrious. His meaning is, that though the wicked may cast off all regard to piety, and banish from their minds all thoughts of... [ Continue Reading ]