Preached May 3, 2009
Psalm 111
Theme: True wisdom shows itself through contemplating and praising God for His wonderful works.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
There’s something that all of us have in common. We all love to “study” the things we delight in.
Some people, for example, really love baseball. Have you ever talked to someone like that? They know all the statistics. They know all the players’ names and averages. They know who played for whom and when. It takes time to gain all that knowledge; but because baseball is really their thing, they study it and become expert in it.
For other people, it may be history. Some folks love history so much that they’ll travel great distances in order to go to the actual places where great things of the past happened. Some serious ‘history buffs’ of a particular event collect together on a regular basis and ‘re-enact’ it as accurately as they can.
Some of us guys can still remember how we first fell in love and began courting that beautiful young woman that God brought into our lives. We remember how we tried to learn all we could about her—her likes and dislikes; her favorite foods and trinkets; her favorite color; her favorite song. We wanted to know all about her, because we delighted in her—and if we could, we wanted make it a little easier for her to delight in us too.
Other people study stamps. Some other people study cars. Some people know almost everything there is to know about their favorite television show. I have my thing, and you probably have yours. And because we take great pleasure in that thing—whatever it may be—we are naturally driven to “study” it. We don’t have to be told to. We want do.
I thought about this aspect of our nature as I read from Psalm 111 recently. In it, the psalmist—whom Bible scholars tell us was probably King David—wrote a psalm about the works of God. And in verse two, he writes; “The works of the LORD are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them.”
As you read on, you discover that Psalm 111 is all about God’s marvelous works—and particularly, about the psalmist’s delight in those works. He delighted in the works of God so much, in fact, that he made them an object of passionate study. And behind his delight in the works of God was his delight in, and passion for, God Himself. Such a study could not help but transform the way he thought and the way he lived.
Listen to this whole psalm. It reads as follows:
Praise the LORD!
I will praise the LORD with my whole heart,
In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.
The works of the LORD are great,
Studied by all who have pleasure in them.
His work is honorable and glorious,
And His righteousness endures forever.
He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;
The LORD is gracious and full of compassion.
He has given food to those who fear Him;
He will ever be mindful of His covenant.
He has declared to His people the power of His works,
In giving them the heritage of the nations.
The works of His hands are verity and justice;
All His precepts are sure.
They stand fast forever and ever,
And are done in truth and uprightness.
He has sent redemption to His people;
He has commanded His covenant forever:
Holy and awesome is His name.
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
His praise endures forever (Psalm 111).
Did you notice how often the works of God are mentioned by the psalmist? They are the object of his intense, personal delight. And he particularly delighted God’s greatest work of all—that is, His wonderful work of redemption.
And I hope you gave special attention to that last verse; where the psalmist says, “The fear of the LORD [that is, an attitude of reverential worship and respect to Him] is the beginning of wisdom . . .” To delight in the marvelous works of God—and to study those works so intensely that you grow to better know the God who does them and to reverently ‘fear’ Him as a result—that is the starting point of wisdom! It’s where all true wisdom begins!
Now; I don’t know what your particular ‘thing’ is. I don’t know what it may be that you delight in so much that you ponder it often, and “study” to know it better. But I believe this psalm is teaching us to make sure that—whatever else we may delight in—it takes second place to our delight in the marvelous works of God. Because true wisdom in life begins by getting to know the marvelous works of God, and giving reverential praise to Him as a result.
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Now; before we look at this psalm in closer detail, there’s a couple of interesting things you need to know about it. First, you need to know that, in the original language—that is, Hebrew—it’s in acrostic form. Each new thought in this psalm begins with one of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The first thought begins with the Hebrew equivalent of the letter “A”, and the second thought begins with the Hebrew equivalent of the letter “B”, and so on. That makes this psalm—quite literally—the “A-B-C’s” of God’s wonderful works!
And a second thing you need to know is that Psalm 111 was probably meant to be read with Psalm 112. Both of them are acrostics; and both of them touch on similar themes—but with Psalm 111 focusing primarily on the works of God, and Psalm 112 focusing primarily on the man or woman of God. Both psalms begin with the same words; and there are lines of thought in Psalm 111 that are similarly expressed in Psalm 112. Psalm 111:3, for example, speaks of God’s works and says, “His work is honorable and glorious, and His righteousness endures forever.” And Psalm 112:3 speaks of God’s man—the man who fears Him—and says, “Wealth and riches will be in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.”
I recommend that sometime—perhaps later today—you and I should get alone with the Lord and read both psalms together in one sitting. But for this morning, we’ll just focus on Psalm 111—and on the psalmist’s expressed delight in the marvelous works of God.
Let’s begin by considering the first thing this psalm teaches us; and that is that . . .
1. GOD IS WORTHY OF OUR PRAISE (v. 1).
Look at how the psalmist begins. He says “Praise the LORD!” (v.1a). That’s an expression that is formed by two words in the Hebrew—two words that you and I are already very familiar with: haləlû, which is the word for “praise”; and yā, which is the contracted form of God’s sacred name Yahweh. “Hallelujah!” “Praise to the covenant-keeping God of Israel!”
That’s the same way the next psalm—Psalm 112—begins. And please take careful note that it’s put in the form of a command. It’s not simply a personal expression, but rather an invitation to the reader to join with the psalmist in his response to the works of God.
And notice also that the psalmist goes on to state his own resolve of ‘how’ and ‘where’ this should be done. As to ‘how’, he says, “I will praise the LORD with my whole heart . . .”; that is, sincerely and whole-heartedly, with the entirety of his inner-most being. And as to ‘where’ it should be done, he says, “In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation” (v. 1b).
The psalmist here makes a distinction between two different settings. He speaks first of “the assembly” or “the company” or “the council” of those who are “upright”. And here, he’s speaking of those who would join him in his praise to God because they also have experienced God’s grace and are “upright” before Him. And this is as it should be. We ought to speak forth God’s praises regularly among others who have been redeemed by Him! But the psalmist also says, “and in the congregation” in a more general sense—as distinguished from “assembly of the upright”.
And the point that the psalmist is making is very relevant to our day. It’s normal and natural—and even expected—that we, as the people of God, would give praise to God and acknowledge Him “in the assembly of the upright”; that is, among others who believe as we do about Him, and likewise praise and acknowledge Him for His works. But it should not stop there. We should then go on to take that praise into the marketplace, and acknowledge Him and give Him our praise for His wonderful works also in the settings of those who are not necessarily composed of “the upright”.
That can be very hard to do in our day, can’t it? We’re told, almost at every turn, that we live in a secular culture; and that we should not bring our faith in God to public discussion. “Keep your religion in church,” we’re told. “Quit trying to bring ‘God’ into every situation of life; and stop trying to make a ‘religious issue’ out of everything.” But if the God of the Bible truly exists—as is manifested by His wonderful works—the request comes to late. He already is into every aspect of everyday life; and literally everything already is a ‘religious issue’! He made everything that exists, and has exclusive “Creator-rights” over it all!
The Bible instructs us to acknowledge Him in all our ways (Proverbs 3:6). And as people who are to delight in His marvelous works—which are everywhere at all times, and which are manifested in every way that we can see, and that touch on every aspect of life—then we ought to make it our resolve to praise the LORD with our whole heart consistently; both in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation of cultural life.
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Now; that’s how the psalmist begins—with a resolve that we ought to make our own. We ought to praise God with our whole hearts—always at all times and in all settings—for His marvelous works. He is always worthy!
And then, the psalmist goes on to help us appreciate why God is so worthy. He goes on to speak of how . . .
2. GOD DISPLAYS HIS PRAISE-WORTHINESS THROUGH
HIS WONDERFUL WORKS (vv. 2-4).
“The works of the LORD are great”, he says; “studied by all who have pleasure in them” (v. 2).
I was fascinated to learn that this verse—Psalm 111:2—is inscribed at the entryway of the distinguished Cavendish Laboratory; which serves as the department of Physics at the University of Cambridge—where the works of God are studied “scientifically”. And it’s right that such an inscription should be above such an entryway. Whether it is acknowledged to be the case or not, all true science is nothing less than the study of the marvelous works of God. To fear God, as the last verse of this psalm tells us, is the beginning point of all true wisdom and knowledge. And those who study His works study them best—and with the greatest possible delight—when they begin by acknowledging them as His works and by praising Him for them.
The psalmist goes on to speak of the nature of those works. “His work”, he says, “is honorable and glorious” (v. 3a). It is a good and worthy thing to study the works of God; because they themselves are inherently majestic, and thus speak of His own majesty and glory. Romans 1:20 tells us that what may be known of God is manifest through His created work; “For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood through the things which are made, even His eternal power and Godhead . . .” “The heavens declare the glory of God,” Psalm 19:1 says; “and the firmament shows His handiwork.” Therefore, the psalmist also adds this praise; “And His righteousness endures forever” (v. 3b). We can know this about Him by the works He has performed.
And note how it was God’s intention that His glorious works be thought about and pondered by man. The psalmist tells us, “He has made His wonderful works to be remembered” (v. 4a). God has given mankind eyes to see; and a mind to ponder, analyze, and remember what He has done. Man sees the order of God’s creation; and knows that God is a God of order. He sees the colors and the beauty, and hears the sounds and tastes the tastes, and knows that God is a God who loves beauty and variety. He also sees things that are wrong in this world; and he feels the frustration within himself that these things ought not to be so; and he thus knows that he himself is fallen from the glorious state in which God had made him. “When I consider Your heavens,” David wrote in Psalm 8, “the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have ordained, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:3).
What’s more, God has not left it to man to interpret these things on his own, or by means of the fallibility of his own fallen mind. God has spoken; and He has ordained that what He said be forever written down. People can know, from God’s word, who they are and why God made them; what has happened to them; and what God has done to save them. And from this work of God—His gracious work of making His wonderful works to be ‘remembered’—fallen people can also know what the psalm goes on to say; “The LORD is gracious and full of compassion” (v. 4b).
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Now; those are God’s great works in a general sense; and those are some of the things people can know from studying them. But I believe that what this psalm goes on to teach us is that . . .
3. THE MOST WONDERFUL OF ALL OF GOD’S WORKS IS OUR REDEMPTION (vv. 5-9).
The work of God in “redemption”—that is, His gracious act of delivering fallen people from the curse of sin and restoring them to His favor—is truly the greatest of all His works. All of His works should be a cause for us to praise Him; but the work of redemption is the one work for which we should praise Him most of all.
You see; all the rest of His works—the works that constitute the whole of Creation—is scheduled for destruction one day. The Bible tells us that this present world order—the heavens and the earth which serves today as the “arena” in which His glory is manifested—will one day be made to pass away and burn up. A “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” will take its place (2 Peter 3:10-13). But out of all of things that exist in this present created order, only one aspect of creation will be kept by Him forever—and that is, people. Only they will outlast all the others of His works for which we should praise Him.
And furthermore, out of all of humanity, only the people whom God has redeemed through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus will be glorified by Him and made fit to dwell eternally in His presence. All the offspring of Adam are made in God’s image; and all are designed by Him to last forever. But only those who have been redeemed through Jesus’ blood will be with Him forever. Only they will share in the glory of His beloved Son endlessly.
And so, His work of redemption is truly His greatest work. What a wonderful work that is!—that God would redeem fallen people, make them holy in His sight, restore them to fellowship with Himself, and welcome them into His presence to bask in His glory forever! As Ephesians 2:4-7 describes it;
. . . God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-7).
So; out of all of God’s glorious works that we should passionately study, His work of redemption should be studied by us most of all—and should provoke our greatest praise to Him. The Bible tells us that even the angels “desire to look into” God’s work of our redemption; so, how much more should we!
And look at how this Psalm goes on to speak of this work of redemption! It begins with His work of redemption first displayed in His mercy to Israel. The psalmist says, “He has given food to those who fear Him” (v. 5a). This speaks not only of His everyday provision to all His creatures; but it speaks specifically of His provision of daily food—”manna”—to His people wandering in the wilderness after their deliverance from bondage in Egypt. He didn’t do this for all people; but only for that nation that He chose for Himself.
Then, we’re told that, “He will ever be mindful of His covenant” (v. 5b). This speaks of His covenant promises to Abraham, which were then passed on to the children of Abraham gathered together at Mt. Sinai. It was there that He declared them to be His people; and Himself to be their God. They often forgot that covenant; but He never did.
The psalmist goes on to say that, “He has declared to His people the power of His works, in giving them the heritage of the nations” (v. 6). This speaks of how God proved Himself to be Israel’s God by establishing them in the land He promised to them—driving out the nations that were before them. And this is true even today! The Jewish people were driven from their land and were scattered around the world for over nineteen centuries; but in 1948, they were restored to their land and are there even as we speak!
Now, God’s own record of the history of ancient Israel shows that they were an unruly and unfaithful people. They didn’t keep true to the covenant God had made with them; and they didn’t deserve to be rescued and preserved by a holy God. But God manifested Himself to the world—through His wonderful works to them—as a gracious God of redemption.
And the psalmist then goes on to glorify God for His work of redemption in ways that touch upon you and me today. First, he says, “The works of His hands are verity [that is, “truth”] and justice” (v. 7a). His people may be untrue to Him; but He is never untrue to Himself. His ways are always consistent with His nature; and all that He does is right and just. What’s more, we’re told, “All His precepts are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness” (vv. 7b-8). As Jesus once said, “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18).
God does not change; nor do His holy standards change. He gave His law; and His law is forever. And that puts us in great spiritual need, because we have broken His unchanging law. We are sinners; and we desperately need His grace. But notice then what the psalmist goes on to say further about God’s great work toward us; “He has sent redemption to His people” (v. 9a). You and I will never really praise God for His marvelous work of redemption until we come to terms with our own sin—and realize our need for redemption. Then, how delighted we’ll be in the work of redemption He has accomplished through sending His Son Jesus to pay for our sins on His cross!
What’s more, God has not even left the keeping of His covenant up to us. He has established a new covenant through His Son Jesus. He says,
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:33-34).
Thus the psalmist says, “He has commanded His covenant forever: holy and awesome is His name” (v. 9b).
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Just look at how God’s works are laid out before us in this psalm! Just consider how much we would praise Him for, if we only made it all the object of our intense, passionate study!
And this leads us, then, to the conclusion of the matter; that . . .
4. THE BEGINNING OF WISDOM IS TO RESPOND REVERENTLY TO GOD AND HIS WORKS (v. 10).
The psalmist closes with these words; ” The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever” (v. 10). True wisdom—good understanding—comes from first reverencing the Lord for all these great works of His, and then from putting that reverence into practice by our grateful obedience.
This psalm calls us to “study” the works of God. And when you put all the pieces together, you see that such study will evoke from us “delight” in His works (v. 2), “remembrance” of those works (v. 4), “trust” in Him because of them (v. 5), reverential “fear” of Him because of them (v. 5, 10), “praise” to Him because of them (v. 1, 10), and “obedience” to Him in the midst of them (v. 10).
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; let’s make the wonderful works of God—especially His greatest work of our redemption—the object of our own passionate contemplation and study! And thus may we prove Him to be our heart’s greatest delight!
[podcast]http://www.bethanybible.org/audio/050309.mp3[/podcast]