(As it is written, He has dispersed abroad; he has given to the poor: his righteousness remains forever.
All Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 9:9 Go To 2 Corinthians 9
Cornelius a Lapide
AD 1637
As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad ( Psalm 112:9). In all necessities, in all places, and at all times, a merciful Prayer of Manasseh , such as S. Laurence, of whom the Church sings, distributes his goods and his alms; in the same way he who sows scatters his seed. The Apostle wishes to prove that God makes all grace to abound towards almsgivers, and gives them full sufficiency for that grace (beneficence). He proves this from the fact that the giver of alms of his sufficiency distributes his alms, disperses them as seed on every side, not among his boon-companions or free-lovers, but among the poor. Å’cumenius says that the word "dispersed" denotes the largeness of the alms given. It also implies that these alms are not wasted or thrown away.
His righteousness remaineth for ever. Remains in God"s memory and in its eternal reward, as in its harvest. Song of Solomon , too, when the husbandman scatters his seed he does not lose it, but entrusts it to the ground, that he may receive a hundred-fold in return. Almsgiving, therefore, is everlasting, and blesses the giver with everlasting glory. Hence the Psalmist also says: "The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance; he shall not be afraid of evil tidings; his horn" (his dignity, strength, and, as Theodoret says, his power) "shall be exalted with honour;" in other words, it shall daily increase until it be exalted in the highest in celestial glory.
His righteousness or his beneficence does not perish, but remains before God to be rewarded here and hereafter. S. Chrysostom (Hom9 de Pnit.) says: "Heaven is to be gained by merchandise and trafficking. Give bread and you will receive paradise; give a little and gain much; give what is mortal and you will receive what is immortal."
Observe that in Scripture almsgiving, which is an act of mercy, is called righteousness, both because it forms a large part of righteousness in general, which embraces all virtues, as also because it is a mark of righteousness and holiness. The Saints are merciful, "but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel" ( Proverbs 12:10). A third reason is that it disposes to righteousness, and merits it, firstly, de congruo, and secondly, de condigno, as increasing righteousness. Hence, it is to the merciful alone that Christ gives the crown of righteousness (S. Matthew 25:35). Hence, too, those that are hardened in evil must be exhorted as a last remedy to give alms, as Daniel did Nebuchadnezzar ( Daniel 4:24).
