John Calvin Commentary Psalms 112:9

"He hath dispersed, he hath given to the needy; His righteousness endureth for ever: His horn shall be exalted with honor." — Psalms 112:9 (ASV)

He has distributed, he hath given to the poor. Once more the prophet affirms that the righteous never lose the fruit and the reward of their liberality. And first, by dispersing, the prophet implies that they did not give sparingly and grudgingly, as some do who imagine that they fulfill their duty to the poor when they dole out a small pittance to them. Instead, they give liberally as necessity requires and their means allow, for it may happen that a liberal heart does not possess a large portion of the wealth of this world.

All the prophet means is that they are never so stingy as not to be always ready to distribute according to their means. Next he adds, they give to the poor, meaning that they do not bestow their charity at random, but with prudence and discretion meet the needs of the needy.

We are aware that unnecessary and excessive spending for the sake of display is frequently praised by the world. Consequently, more of this life’s good things are squandered on luxury and ambition than are dispensed in prudently bestowed charity.

The prophet instructs us that the praise belonging to liberality does not consist in distributing our goods without any regard for the recipients or the purposes for which they are applied. Instead, it consists in relieving the needs of the truly needy and in the money being spent on proper and lawful things.

This passage is quoted by Paul (2 Corinthians 9:9), where he informs us that it is an easy matter for God to bless us with plenty, so that we may exercise our bounty freely, deliberately, and impartially. This aligns best with the prophet’s intention. The next clause, his righteousness endureth for ever, is open to two interpretations.

The immoderate ambition that drives the ungodly to squander their goods does not deserve to be called virtue. Therefore, it may rightly be said that it is a consistent course of liberality that the prophet praises here, according to what he previously observed: that the righteous manage their affairs with discretion. If anyone prefers to understand it as referring to the fruit of righteousness, I have no objection.

And indeed, it seems to be a repetition of the same thought we recently considered. Then the prophet shows how God, by His benefits, preserves the glory of that righteousness which results from their liberality and does not deny them their reward, by exalting their horn more and more—that is, their power or their prosperous condition.