Psalms 116:5

116:5 The Lord is merciful and fair;

our God is compassionate.

Psalms 37:21

37:21 Evil men borrow, but do not repay their debt,

but the godly show compassion and are generous. ¹ 

Psalms 112:4

112:4 In the darkness a light ²  shines for the godly,

for each one who is merciful, compassionate, and just. ³ 

[37:21]  ¹ tn Heb “an evil [man] borrows and does not repay; but a godly [man] is gracious and gives.” The singular forms are used in a representative sense; the typical evildoer and godly individual are in view. The three active participles and one imperfect (“repay”) draw attention to the characteristic behavior of the two types.

[112:4]  ¹ tn In this context “light” symbolizes divine blessing in its various forms (see v. 2), including material prosperity and stability.

[112:4]  ² tn Heb “merciful and compassionate and just.” The Hebrew text has three singular adjectives, which are probably substantival and in apposition to the “godly” (which is plural, however). By switching to the singular, the psalmist focuses on each individual member of the group known as the “godly.” Note how vv. 5-9, like vv. 1-2a, use the singular to describe the representative godly individual who typifies the whole group.