Introduction
We’ve been studying the book of Lamentations on Sundays evenings and I’ve explained that chapters 1 to 4 of Lamentations are what are known as acrostic poems. That means that each verse in each poem begins with each successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. And Psalm 111 is also an acrostic poem, because if you exclude the first very line — which is ‘Praise the Lord’ — the rest of the psalm comprises 22 lines. And each of those 22 lines begins with each successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which only has 22 letters.
Some scholars believe that poets wrote acrostics to make it easy for people to memorise their poems. But it was also a way to say that this message I’m writing is complete. The author has said everything that he wants to say. And what does the author of Psalm 111 want to say? He wants to praise the Lord for his works.
Verses 1 to 3
He begins with ‘Hallelujah!’ That is to say: ‘Praise the Lord!’ This is a command. It’s an instruction. Everyone should praise the Lord.
And he follows up this command with a statement that he himself is resolved to extol the Lord will all of his heart. When he says he will extol the Lord, he means he will give thanks to him and that will acknowledge the Lord publicly. And so, he goes on to refer to the council of the upright. The upright are God’s believing people who love the Lord and who want to do what is right in his sight. And so, when his fellow believers have assembled for worship, the psalmist will join them to acknowledge the Lord and to give thanks to him.
And he resolves to do this with all his heart. So, he will praise the Lord willingly and enthusiastically. It’s not a case of honouring the Lord with his lips, while his heart is elsewhere. He’s worshipping the Lord wholeheartedly.
And he wants to extol the Lord like this, because the works of the Lord are great. That’s in verse 2. God’s works are great and they are pondered by all who delight in them. When he refers to God’s works, he might have in mind God’s works of creation and providence. So, he’s may be thinking about how God created the world and all that is in it; and how he upholds and directs all things according to his most holy and perfect will. But perhaps the psalmist is also thinking about God’s special works of providence on behalf his covenant people and how God rescued his people from Egypt and brought them through the wilderness into the Promised Land. It’s likely he’s thinking about those things, because he will go on to mention those things later in the psalm.
When he refers to those who delight in God’s works, he’s once again referring to God’s believing people. And such people ponder the things God has done. The remember them and they think about them. And they ponder them because all of God’s works are glorious and majestic; and through them the Lord displays his righteousness. That’s in verse 3. Because God is righteous, he always does what is right. He always deals with his people in the right way.
And so, the psalmist is resolved to extol the Lord and to give thanks to him in public for all his glorious and majestic works which display God’s righteousness. I used to read books by a writer called A.W.Tozer and one phrase he used has stuck with me over the year. It’s that ‘choices reveal character’. What we choose to do reveals what we are like. And what God chooses to do reveals what he is like. What he chooses to do for his people reveals his righteousness.
Verses 4 to 9
In verses 4 to 9, the psalmist goes into a little more detail with regard to God’s works.
He says in verse 4 that God has caused his wonders to be remembered. When he says that God has caused them to be remembered, he perhaps has in mind the Passover Feast which the Lord commanded his people to celebrate every year. And so, every year they slaughtered and ate a lamb to remember that great night in Egypt when the Lord delivered them from their captivity in Egypt. Just as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper to remember the day when Christ died to rescue us from our sin and misery, so the Jews celebrated the Passover to remember the day when the Passover lamb died and they were rescued from Egypt.
And by rescuing them from Egypt, the Lord demonstrated that he is gracious and compassionate. Because he is compassionate, he had mercy on them and rescued them. Because he is gracious, he did it freely.
And after rescuing them from their captivity in Egypt, the Lord provided food for his people in the wilderness. Every day he provided them with manna to sustain them. And he remembered his covenant for ever. That is to say, he remembered to act in accordance with his covenant with them. The psalmist is probably referring to the covenant which God made with his people at Mount Sinai, when he promises to be their God and to take care of them. And so, because of his covenant commitment to them, he did not abandon them in the wilderness, but he continued to provide for them even though they were often rebellious and unfaithful. But he remained faithful to them.
And in verse 6 the psalmist jumps forward 40 years to the time when God showed his people the power of his works by driving out the Canaanites from the Promised Land and by giving the land to his people. So, after Moses died, the Lord appointed Joshua to take his place as the leader of his people. And, with the Lord’s help, Joshua led them through the River Jordan and into the Promised Land. Jericho was the first city to fall to them and the Lord demonstrated his power at that time by causing the walls of the city to fall. And God continued to help them to conquer the land.
The psalmist says in verse 7 that the works of the Lord are faithful and just. His works were faithful, because he was faithful to his promise to Abraham to give the land to Abraham’s descendants. And his works were also just, because it was right and just for God to destroy the Canaanites, because they were wicked people who deserved to be destroyed for their wickedness. The Lord used the people of Israel as his instrument to punish the Canaanites for their wickedness. Of course, God had given the Canaanites many years to repent. But since they did not turn from their wickedness, the Lord sent the Israelites to punish them.
And the psalmist also says in verse 7 that all of God’s precepts are trustworthy. He’s now referring to God’s laws. God’s laws are trustworthy. That is to say, God’s people could count on what his laws said. So, if they disobeyed God’s laws, they could count on him to send curses on them. And if they obeyed God’s laws, they could count on him to send blessings on them.
And God’s precepts, or his laws, are steadfast for ever and for ever. He wasn’t going to change his laws from one day or year to the next. They were firm and sure. And they were done in faithfulness and uprightness. So, they too are a revelation of God’s faithfulness and uprightness.
And, of course, the God who gave his people precepts and laws to keep was the God who provided redemption for his people. We’re looking now at verse 9. First he redeemed them by rescuing them from Egypt. Then he gave them his laws to keep as part of his covenant to them. According to the covenant, he promised to take care of them and they promised to keep his laws. And so, they bound themselves to one another with a covenant promise.
And so, from verse 4 to verse 9 that psalmist sets out for us the works of God. In other words, he’s been extolling the Lord, acknowledging and giving thanks to God for what he has done for his people. He rescued them from Egypt. He fed them in the wilderness. He brought them into the Promised Land. He gave them his laws to keep. He is the great covenant-making God who has redeemed his people. And he is holy and awesome. There is no one like him.
Verse 10
We come now to the final verse of the psalm where the psalmist teaches his readers that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. In other words, if you want to be wise, the place to begin is to fear the Lord. That is, regard him with awe and adoration and reverence and worship him and him alone. That’s the way to become wise. And all who follow his precepts have good understanding. In other words, wisdom is also found by walking in his ways and by doing his will. By means of his precepts and laws, he has shown us the wise way to live. And to him belongs eternal praise.
Conclusion
The psalmist extolled the Lord for recusing them from their captivity in Egypt and for sustaining them through the wilderness and for bringing them into the Promised Land. That’s what God did for his people in Old Testament times.
He rescued them from Egypt on the day when the Passover lamb was killed. But now that Christ — who is the true Passover Lamb — has been killed, we who believe are set free from our captivity to sin and satan and death. He pardons our sins and he delivers us from the dominion of the devil and he promises us everlasting life in his everlasting kingdom.
And God sustained his people in the wilderness by giving them manna to eat. But the Lord Jesus Christ is the true bread from heaven, who came down from heaven to give life to all who believe in his name.
And God brought his people into the Promised Land of Canaan. But God now promises to bring his people not to Canaan, but to the Promised Land of eternal life and to that new and better world to come, where all of God’s believing people will live for ever and for ever in the presence of our holy and awesome God and Jesus Christ our Saviour who loved us and who gave up his life for us to bring us to God.
And there, in the presence of God and Jesus Christ, you will join with all of God’s people from every nation of the world to shout: Hallelujah! Praise the Lord. And for ever and for ever, you will extol the Lord with all of your heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly of the redeemed.
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