Albert Barnes Commentary Psalms 112:5

"Well is it with the man that dealeth graciously and lendeth; He shall maintain his cause in judgment." — Psalms 112:5 (ASV)

A good man showeth favor - He has the means to show favor to others, or to promote their welfare, and he is disposed to do this. It is the characteristic of a good man—of a heart that is truly pious—to do good to others; to promote their welfare here, and to assist them in their endeavor to secure happiness in the world to come.

And lendeth - The original word here—לוה lâvâh—means to join oneself to anyone; to cleave to him; then, to form the union which is constituted between debtor and creditor, borrower and lender. Here it is used in the latter sense, and it means that a good man will accommodate another—a neighbor—with money, or with articles to be used temporarily and returned again. A man who always “borrows” is not a desirable neighbor; but a man who never lends—who is never willing to accommodate—is a neighbor that no one would wish to live near—a crooked, perverse, bad man. True religion will always dispose a man to do acts of kindness in any and every way possible.

He will guide his affairs - The word used here means literally to hold, contain; to hold up, or sustain; to nourish, to furnish the means of living (Genesis 45:11; Genesis 47:12; Genesis 50:21). Here it means that he would uphold or manage his business.

With discretion - Margin, “judgment;” so the Hebrew. He would do it prudently, sensibly, economically, wisely. This is, or should be, one of the characteristics of a good man. Religion prompts to this; religion will aid a man in doing this; religion will tend to check everything of a contrary nature. A man who neglects his “affairs,” who pays no attention to his business, who is indifferent whether he is successful or fails, is a man who gives precisely such evidence that he is a stranger to true religion.