A Psalm of Thanksgiving
preached Nov 18, 2018
Psalm 111 - A Praise Hymn in Acrostic
Praise the Lord!
א I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
ב in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
ג Great are the works of the Lord,
ד studied by all who delight in them.
ה Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
ו and his righteousness endures forever.
ז He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
ח the Lord is gracious and merciful.
ט He provides food for those who fear him;
י he remembers his covenant forever.
כ He has shown his people the power of his works,
ל in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
מ The works of his hands are faithful and just;
נ all his precepts are trustworthy;
ס they are established forever and ever,
ע to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
פ He sent redemption to his people;
צ he has commanded his covenant forever.
ק Holy and awesome is his name!
ר The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
ש all those who practice it have a good understanding.
ת His praise endures forever!
Praise Him with your mind
Verse 1 - "Hallelujah!" or "Praise the Lord!" is the title for the acrostic.
Verses 2-4 - History is the story of God at work.
Studying history is also studying what God has done for humanity. The stories of heroism, perseverance, and development of knowledge and technology, these are all gifts from God. We are reminded of the fallen nature of humanity and God's faithfulness to reconcile and redeem. It is no coincidence that most of the Bible is narrative. We can study history to learn from past generations, but also to delight in God's great works.
Verse 4 - Do you know how God causes his works to be remembered? Look at the book in your hand.
The Bible reminds us of God’s wondrous works.
The Bible is for us to study so that we will never forget the wondrous works of God.
Praise Him with your strength
Verse 5 - God cares for His people.
He sustains us in life. He "provides food" has an interesting connotation in the Hebrew. "Food" is literally 'prey'. He gives sustenance through the land. And, He remembers his covenant. What is His covenant? It is to bless those who fear the Lord. When we submit to the Lord, He is faithful to protect, bless, and keep us.
Verse 6 - God has given the nations to His people.
Here is an eschatological promise: The nations are given to the people of God. "Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord." In Revelation 21, the gates of the new Jerusalem are open for the people to bring "the honor of the nations". Paul tells us we will be priestly kings in his writings.
Now here's a thought: As we partake in missions and help people turn to Jesus, we are realizing this promise. Whether they bow now or later, the nations will bow. We practice our eschatological roles by taking part in the Great Commission.
Verse 7-8 - His Law is for our benefit.
We are designed to serve Him. Again, if we are designed for Heaven, then we might as well practice here on Earth.
Praise Him with your Soul
Verse 9 - God sent redemption through Jesus.
Jesus has come! Our souls can be safe, because God has sent us redemption. Notice the repetition here. Earlier God "remembers his covenant forever." Why? Because, He has "commanded his covenant forever". God is the author and finisher of our faith by authoring the covenant. All we do is live in the beauty of God's loving covenant to us.
Verse 10 - Fear of the Lord and Wisdom go hand-in-hand.
This truth is repeated 6 times throughout the Bible.
Job 28:28, Ps 111:10, Proverbs 1:7, 2:5, 9:10, 15:33
Remember a good rule of thumb is that if something is repeated, then it's important. I think 6 times is important. And just for a Divine coincidence: if you say it to yourself, that makes it a perfect 7.
But there is also a double meaning here. The English makes it sound like "the first step to being wise is to fear the Lord", which I would say is absolutely correct. What is interesting is the Hebrew for 'beginning' also gives the connotation of 'firstfruits'. In other words, it could also be "the first thing a wise person does is fear the Lord." Now, either way wisdom is given to us by God. I'm not saying one interpretation is right and one is wrong. What I am saying is this: wisdom and the fear of the Lord go hand in hand. As a person grows wise, they will have more fear and awe for the Lord. As a person grows in fear of the Lord, they will become more wise.
Do you want to be wise? Fear the Lord.
Do you want to fear the Lord? Grow wise.
EXTRA CREDIT
Now, can I show you something very peculiar about this psalm?
There is an artistry that goes beyond a simple acrostic in this psalm. If we divide the psalm into three parts, we will see reflections in the Greatest Commandment. Hold your finger at Psalm 111 and turn to Deuteronomy 6:5.
"You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."
Deuteronomy 6:5
These three words are important.
They are:
'heart' - lebab - lit. 'heart', but metaphorically "the seat of a man, the self, conscience, courage, mind"
'soul' - nephesh - lit. 'breath', but metaphorically "life, life force, soul, the 'immaterial part of a person'"
'might' - me'od - lit. 'very', but metaphorically "to a higher degree" or "a higher might"
If we flip back and forth with Psalm 111, we see verses 1-4 give thanks to the Lord in terms of the heart or mind. We give thanks because He has given us means to remember and study his great works. We do that together in the congregation and company of the upright. We serve Him with our minds.
In verses 5-8, we give thanks because He has made us able through sustenance and design. We serve Him with our hands and strength.
In verses 9-10, we give thanks because He has saved our souls.
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might"
Praise the Lord with your self, your soul, and continue to do so more and more. If you ever find yourself in a less than praising mood, turn to Psalm 111 and remember the great things God has done for you.
"Count your many blessings, name them one by one."