Hallelujah! I will celebrate Jehovah with [my] whole heart, in the council of the upright, and in the assembly.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
Great are the works of Jehovah; sought out of all that delight in them.
Psalm 111 opens with a burst of praise, and verse 2 gives the reason for it. Two questions follow: which works are meant, and who ends up searching them out?
The psalm is not mainly about creation. One writer names the works in view, then sets them beside what man makes.
"Praise the LORD." The praise here is for Jehovah's works — not creation, but His works for His people. They are great in themselves, powerful in their effects, and permanent in their result. How different are man's!
Commentators read the second half of the verse in two ways. One writer sets both readings side by side.
The theme is a large one — indeed an unending one. For "Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them." Or perhaps, as Delitzsch takes it, they are "worthy of being sought out in all their aims," or "purposes."
Either way, the works invite searching.
The verse does not say clever people search out God's works. It says those who take pleasure in them do. And God does His part too.
The works of the Lord are the theme of the praise (vv. 2-4, 6-7). His works are, and must be, like Himself — great, honourable, glorious, enduring, gracious and full of compassion. The godly seek out His works and find pleasure in them. The Lord makes sure they are remembered.
Not everyone finds God's works interesting. One writer traces the difference to what a person lives by.
The range of the flesh is wide — everything about how man is made, and the world around him, all that meets the eye. But it has a limit: the things we see are temporary, and death is their end. The range of the Spirit, though, is vast. These are things which "eye has not seen" — all the realities revealed to faith… The natural man rejoices in the works of his own hands. The spiritual man rejoices in the works of God. "Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them" (Ps. 111:2).
The works themselves did not become great at some point. What changed was the people looking at them.
The works of the Lord had always been great. But the foolish generation had disregarded them, treating the chief operations of His hands as of no account. Those works are now sought out with fervent desire by the people, who with unveiled heart behold the glory of their Saviour and their God.
The psalm ties these works to God's own character. That link turns study into a path to walk.
These works of deliverance are always in keeping with the truth of God's character, founded on it, and they make it good. They are truth and judgment. His commandments prove sure in them. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. So to enjoy the fruit of them, our path is to walk in the Lord's ways and count on the sureness of His promise. And if He delays, we wait for Him.
Searching out God's works does not mean withdrawing from the world He made. One writer warns against that mistake, and points to the flowers Jesus looked at.
Let us not confuse this with the spirit of self-denial that has filled monasteries with men fleeing the world in vain. Nor let us imagine it involves any "death to nature," which brands what God has made or set up as if it were unclean. He who was here on earth for us as Son of Man could look at the lilies of the field, clothed in glory beyond all Solomon's. His hands had made them… Still, as always, it is true that the Lord's works are many, and in wisdom He has made them all. The earth is full of His riches. Yes, and His works are studied by all who delight in them.
- Great — the praise here is for God's works for His people. They are great in themselves, powerful in effect, lasting in result — nothing man makes is like them.
- Sought — those who delight in them study them. On another reading, they are worth searching out for the purposes behind them.
- Delight — pleasure comes first, and the searching follows. God makes sure His wonders are remembered, so the search is met.
- Divided — the natural man rejoices in the work of his own hands; the spiritual man in the works of God. The works never changed; the seekers did.
- Walking — these works match God's character, and His commandments prove sure in them. So the way to enjoy their fruit is to walk in His ways and wait for Him.
His work is majesty and splendour, and his righteousness abideth for ever.
Psalm 111 is a song of thanks for what God has done. Verse 3 raises three questions: what is "His work," why does majesty belong to it, and why does Psalm 112 say the same words of a believing man?
One writer marks off which works the psalm has in view, and sets them against anything people do.
This psalm celebrates Jehovah's works — not creation here, but what He does for His people. They are great in themselves, powerful in their effects, and permanent in result. How different are man's works! It is wise to fear Him, and the praise of Him lasts.
Read with the rest of the psalm, "His work" has a specific content.
Psalm 111 — This psalm and the next one compare and distinguish the righteousness of Jehovah and the righteousness of the man who fears Him. His work means those great works that express His righteousness, whose power He has shown to His people. That work is His giving them the heritage of the nations.
The second half of the verse explains the first. The majesty of God's work rests on the everlasting righteousness inside it, and one writer pairs that with a second side of His character.
Now we find His character shown in these works: righteousness and tender mercy at heart; or light and love, as the New Testament joins the Old in declaring Him. "Full of splendor and majesty is his work," and the reason is this: in it all there is enduring, everlasting righteousness — "his righteousness endures forever." That is one side; but there is another. He has made sure His wonderful works are remembered. In this His tender care for His creatures has shone out, so that they might have the joy and fruit of knowing them: "the LORD is gracious and merciful."
Does mercy have to soften truth? One writer answers the other way round: grace shows more clearly, not less, when righteousness stands at full height.
Now we see that His work is honorable, glorious and righteous (v. 3). He will not compromise the perfection of His truth in any way to show His goodness. His grace and compassion show all the more clearly when pure righteousness holds its proper place (v. 4).
Psalm 112:3 ends with the same phrase, but says it of a man. Two writers treat this pairing as deliberate.
Put the two acrostic Psalms, 111 and 112, side by side, and we see how those who belong to Christ take their character from Him. The first speaks of Christ, the second of the one who trusts in Him. The first ends by telling us that "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." The second begins with the blessing and happiness of "the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments." In verse 3 of the first, Christ's "righteousness endures forever"; in verse 3 of the second, the psalm says the same of the believer's righteousness. That must be so, because Christ is his righteousness.
Another writer explains why that shared phrase holds.
Jehovah's character is, as it were, handed over to us as blessing. There is this whole difference, though, because of what that blessing is and because Jehovah's Name is a Name that lasts. It is not like Adam's blessing, which could be forfeited and lay open to evil. It is like Jehovah Himself: "his righteousness endures forever." The psalms affirm this wonderful blessing of both alike; compare verses 3 and 4 of each psalm, and verse 9 of each psalm.
One writer draws out what these works ask of us.
These works of deliverance always agree with God's character, rest on it, and make it good. They are truth and judgment. They prove His commandments sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and God does them in truth and uprightness. So, to enjoy the fruit of them, our path is to walk in the Lord's ways, count on the sureness of His promise, and, if He delays, wait for Him.
- Work. The psalm praises what God does for His people: rescue, and the inheritance He gives them. Not creation.
- Reason. The honour and majesty of that work come from what is inside it: righteousness that stands for ever.
- Balance. God never discounts truth to show goodness. Grace shows best when righteousness keeps its full place.
- Transfer. Psalm 112 says the same words of the believing man, because Christ is his righteousness. No one can forfeit it, as Adam forfeited his.
- Result. Works that rest on God's own character are sure; so the response is to walk in His ways, trust His promise, and wait for Him.
He hath made his wonders to be remembered Jehovah is gracious and merciful.
Psalm 111 is a song of thanksgiving for what the Lord has done. Verse 4 says two things at once: God keeps the memory of His acts alive, and He names the character behind them.
The psalm praises God's works of deliverance. One writer shows what those works rest on.
These works of deliverance always agree with the truth of God's character, rest on it, and make it good. They are truth and judgement. They prove His commandments sure. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness... But, as we have always seen, we find and feel His mercy and compassion towards us in them. If we are delivered, it is sovereign goodness.
Verse 3 speaks of righteousness that stands for ever; verse 4 adds grace and mercy. One writer holds the two together, and says why God preserves the memory of what He has done.
Now we find His character told out in these: essentially righteousness and tender mercy; or light and love, as the New Testament joins with the Old to declare Him. "His work is honourable and full of majesty;" and the reason is that in it all there is enduring, everlasting righteousness: "His righteousness endures for ever." That is the one side. But there is another. He has provided for the remembrance of His wonderful works. In this His tender care for His creatures has shone out, so that they might have the joy and the fruitful results of such knowledge: "gracious and merciful is Jehovah."
Another writer says why the mercy shines so brightly: God never sets His righteousness aside to make room for it.
We see His work as honourable, glorious and righteous (v. 3). The perfection of His truth cannot be compromised in any way to show His goodness. Instead, His grace and compassion are seen all the more when pure righteousness has its proper place (v. 4).
God did not only act — He set up a memorial of what He did. One commentator asks what that memorial is, and points to redeemed people themselves.
Verse 4 is full of the sweetest power. He has not only done the work; He has also set up its memorial. And what is this memorial? Better to ask: what single member of redeemed creation, in heaven or on earth, will not be such a memorial in that day of joy? There is, indeed, a memorial of another sort. The power of His anger will be remembered for ever (Rev. 14:11; 19:3). Judgement as well as mercy will last for ever in its results, to the praise of His glory, who is both a Saviour and a Judge. But this verse celebrates the power of redeeming mercy more clearly. And so the last clause of the verse is a delighted echo of the gospel: "The LORD is gracious and merciful."
"Gracious" and "merciful" are not two ways of saying the same thing. Writers keep a clear line between them.
Grace, then, is for the guilty, and mercy is for the miserable. Others have put the distinction this way. Grace is "that energy and outflow of divine goodness which rises above men's evil and ruin, and loves despite it all." Mercy is "God's compassionate consideration for individual weakness, need, or danger."
One writer applies these words to Christ when He fed a hungry crowd.
Was He not among them as the Servant of Jehovah, who was full of compassion and gracious (Ps. 111:4)? More than that, was He not Himself Jehovah, gracious and full of compassion? (Ps. 113:4; Ps. 145:8). So, according to the multitude of His mercies, His heart yearned over their weakness. He purposed in Himself to satisfy their mouth with good things and to renew their strength for the journey home.
Psalm 112 answers Psalm 111 line by line, and verse 4 of each is one of the matching pairs.
Now in Psalm 111 we read of Jehovah showing what He is. His character is set before us. This is followed by Psalm 112, which deals with the ways and the character of the saint... Does Jehovah's righteousness endure for ever (111:3)? So will that of the godly one (112:3). Is Jehovah gracious and full of compassion (111:4)? The same is said of the saint (112:4).
- Works. God's acts of deliverance rest on His character; they are done in truth and uprightness, and mercy is felt in them.
- Memorial. He does not only do the work — He sets up its remembrance, so His people keep the joy and the knowledge of it.
- Character. Two sides shine at once: righteousness that never bends, and grace for the guilty, mercy for the miserable.
- Person. The One described as gracious and full of compassion came among a weary crowd and fed them.
- Reflection. What Psalm 111 says of God, Psalm 112 says of the godly person: gracious, merciful, righteous.
He hath given meat unto them that fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant.
God's people praise Him here for what He gives, not only for what He can do. The verse joins two things that at first look unrelated: a meal and a covenant.
One writer sets the psalm in a group that praises God for rescuing Israel, and traces its move from His works, to His compassion, to His covenant.
Psalms 111-113 go together as a hallelujah about Jehovah's ways with Israel when He delivers them. First comes Psalm 111. The works of Jehovah are glorious in themselves. He has made them memorable by stepping in with mighty acts of righteousness. Yet they also show Him full of compassion, and mindful of His covenant. He has shown His people the power of His works, to give them the heritage of the nations. More than that, His works last.
Older translations read the word for "food" as "meat" or "prey." One writer prefers "prey," and explains why from what the next line says about Israel's inheritance.
Israel is at the front. Israel is the Old Testament example, where He has displayed these features of His character — a people His by a covenant which He never forgets. "The prey He has given to those who fear Him: He remembers His covenant forever. The living power of His doings He declares to His people, in giving them the inheritance of the nations." Here it is plain why the first line says "the prey" and not "meat": Israel must win its inheritance by conquest.
Read as plain food, the line speaks of God's daily care for those who fear Him.
"The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His steadfast love, that He may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine" (Ps. 33:18-19)... His providence supplies all their needs. If God will give His people a kingdom when they die, He will not deny them daily bread while they live.
Another writer reads the verse as conquest, and shows where that victory comes from.
Verse 5 is more correctly translated, "He has given the prey to those who fear Him" (Numerical Bible). This speaks of the results of conquering their enemies. Because of God's covenant, they are conquerors. So the Lord declares to His people the power of His works. We have seen His glory and majesty in His works (vv. 2-3), and His grace in those works in verse 4. Now He adds His power, and by this power He gives His people the heritage of the nations (v. 6).
What happens to the covenant when people fail? One writer answers from the law: judgment falls, but God never takes back His promise.
"In Leviticus 26:14-16 we read, 'But if you will not listen to me... but break my covenant, then I will do this to you,' and so on." Then follows the account of the judgments kept for those who reject the statutes and the covenants, but not a word about withdrawing them... In Psalm 111 we read, "He remembers His covenant forever." "All His precepts are trustworthy. They are established forever and ever."
By the end of the psalm the character of that covenant is clear, and so is the response it calls for.
Now everything has come out fully — His faithfulness to His covenant, and the showing of His Name. At last His covenant will be seen as only grace. Grace alone can hold a stable relationship between God and man. On man's side, man recognises God in a holy fear. That fear is the "beginning of wisdom," and the secret of the "good understanding" which is the knowledge of the Holy One. The praise of it will indeed be eternal.
How do we enjoy the fruit of God's works? One writer marks out a path, and then names the source of any deliverance we get.
To enjoy the fruit of His works, our path is to walk in the Lord's ways and count on the sureness of His promise. If He delays, we wait for Him. But, as we have always seen, we find and feel His mercy and compassion towards us in those works. If we are delivered, it is sovereign goodness.
- Covenant first. The gift in this verse is not payment for good behaviour; it rests on a promise God made and keeps, seen at last "as only grace."
- Covenant gives. Writers read His gift as daily food or as the spoil of conquest. Either way, it comes from the same hand.
- Covenant holds. Judgment may fall on those who break it, but nothing in Scripture suggests the promise itself is ever withdrawn.
- Covenant reaches. Its scope runs past a meal to a whole inheritance: the power of His works shown to His people, giving them the heritage of the nations.
- Covenant produces. The fitting response is holy fear — the beginning of wisdom — and eternal praise.
He hath shewn his people the power of his works, to give them the heritage of the nations.
Psalm 111 praises God for His works, and verse 6 names one of them: He gave His people land that belonged to other nations. That raises questions — which works are meant, why this people receives such a gift, and whether long delay has cancelled the promise.
The psalm belongs to a set of three songs that each open with "Praise the Lord," and each has its own subject.
Psalm 111 is the first of three psalms that each begin with a Hallelujah, or "Praise the Lord." The first celebrates Jehovah's works and ways. The second celebrates the blessing of His people. The third celebrates the glory of His Name.
Who leads that praise matters.
Psalm 110 presents Christ in exaltation, as a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Psalm 111 opens by presenting Christ exercising this priesthood, leading the praise to God among His gathered people. When He leads the praise it will be whole-hearted.
Verse 6 does not stand alone. It adds a third quality to the works already praised in the verses before it.
Verse 5 is better translated, "He has given the prey to those who fear Him" (Numerical Bible). This speaks of the results of conquering their enemies. Because of God's covenant, they are conquerors. So the Lord declares to His people the power of His works. We have seen His glory and majesty in His works (vv. 2-3), and His grace in those works in verse 4. Now He adds His power to this. By this power He gives His people the heritage of the nations (v. 6).
The word "prey" in verse 5 explains why verse 6 speaks of power at all. Israel must fight for the land. And long centuries of foreign rule do not cancel what God said.
Israel must gain its inheritance by conquest, as the last psalm has reminded us again. The nations have held the covenanted land for a long time. Yet the word of God that secured that land to Israel shows the "living power" or "vitality" of His doings through all those years in which it lay dormant so long. Now God puts them in possession.
In that writer's translation the first line reads, "the living power of His doings He declares to His people."
Verse 5 ends with God remembering His covenant. Verse 6 flows from that faithfulness.
He works His "wonderful works" for those who fear Him, so that, in faithfulness to His covenant, He may give His people the heritage of the nations.
By the end of the psalm the covenant shows its true character.
At last His covenant will prove to be only grace. In that grace alone can God and man have any stable relationship.
This is not only past history.
Verse 6 of Psalm 111 makes plain what Israel is waiting for.
One writer traces the psalm in a few lines, from God's works to the fear of the Lord in verse 10.
The works of Jehovah are glorious in themselves, and He has made them remembered by His mighty intervention in righteousness. Yet it shows Him full of compassion, and mindful of His covenant too. He has shown His people the power of His works, to give them the heritage of the nations: moreover, His works last. The occasion of the praise, a knowledge of His name, is that He has sent redemption to His people. Jehovah being such, the fear of Him is the beginning of wisdom. This gives good understanding in our walk. Faith knows this. The Lord's appearing in judgment will indeed prove it to the world.
- Covenant — God remembers His covenant. The heritage of verse 6 flows from that faithfulness, and in the end that covenant proves to be only grace.
- Power — verse 6 adds power to the glory and majesty of verses 2-3 and the grace of verse 4. By that power God hands over the nations' inheritance.
- Conquest — the "prey" of verse 5 shows that Israel must win the land. Long occupation by others never made God's word lapse.
- Waiting — Israel still looks forward to this verse. Christ Himself will lead the whole-hearted praise.
- Wisdom — His works last and He has sent redemption. The fear of the Lord is the right response. Faith knows this now; His appearing will prove it to the world.
The works of his hands are truth and judgment; all his precepts are faithful
Psalm 111 is a song of praise for the great deeds of the Lord. Verse 7 ties together two things people usually keep apart — what God does and what God says — and calls both trustworthy.
The psalm returns again and again to the Lord's works as the reason for praise. One writer traces those works back to the character of the One who does them.
The works of the Lord are the theme of the praise (vv. 2-4, 6-7). His works are, and must be, like Himself. They are great, honourable, glorious, enduring, gracious and full of compassion. The godly seek out His works, find pleasure in them; the Lord makes them to be remembered.
The first line calls His works "faithful and just." Another translation reads "truth and judgment." One writer hears the psalm as praise raised before the rescue has even come. He shows why God's works of deliverance never stand apart from His word.
It raises, by anticipation no doubt, its hallelujah for the works of God. But note this, and it is always so: these works of deliverance always match, rest on, and make good the truth of God's character. They are truth and judgment. His commandments are proved sure in them. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. So to enjoy the fruit of them, our path is to walk in the Lord's ways and count on the sureness of His promise. And if He delays, we wait for Him. But, as we have always seen, we find and feel mercy and compassion towards us in them. If we are delivered, it is sovereign goodness.
The second half of the verse turns to His precepts — the commandments He lays down. These are not a hopeful guess. Testing has proved them.
Truth and judgment are now added about the works of God (v. 7). Where people act on truth, is failure possible? Not at all! Testing has proven the certainty of what God does. All His appointments are sure, and so they stand fast forever — maintained in truth and uprightness (v. 8).
The phrase covers more than one area of God's activity. One writer takes it as wide as it will go, and finds a picture of it in gold and jewels.
In general, this covers all the works of His hands. Works of nature, providence, and grace. The gold, the ring, and the precious stones may picture their beauty, glory, perfection, and durability.
If God's works are done in truth, then His stated will is not a gamble. That turns the verse into a rule for daily decisions.
We get some general principles. The works of the Lord are done in truth. I may perfectly reckon on His acting on the known principles of His holy will. So His word, which is right in itself, can judge me now. The Lord does govern all things, though not out in the open where all can see. So I can act on His word, and be sure of the consequences. I may, no doubt, suffer for Christ: that is a still better blessing, but the result of acting on God's word will be blessing.
- Character first. God's works are like Himself — great, enduring, gracious, and worth seeking out.
- Then the works. Every rescue He performs matches His character. What He does proves His commandments sure.
- Then the proof. Testing proves the verdict: "all his precepts are trustworthy." Act on His truth, and failure is impossible.
- Then the reach. The works of His hands cover nature, providence and grace. Gold and precious stones picture how long they last.
- Then your walk. He acts on the known principles of His will. So act on His word and be sure of the outcome: walk in His ways, count on His promise, and wait if He delays.
Maintained for ever and ever, done in truth and uprightness.
Psalm 111 praises God for what He has done, and verse 8 says those works stand for ever. Why should anything be counted permanent, and what does that ask of the reader? (Older translations end the verse "done in truth and uprightness" — the wording the writers below use.)
The works named in verse 8 are the subject of the whole psalm. That psalm also opens a short series.
Psalm 111 is the first of a group of three psalms. Each one begins with a Hallelujah, or "Praise the LORD." The first celebrates Jehovah's works and ways. The second celebrates the blessing of His people. The third celebrates the glory of His Name.
God's works of deliverance rest on His own character. That shapes how a believer walks and waits.
These works of deliverance always agree with the truth of God's character. They rest on it and make it good. They are truth and judgment. His commandments are proved sure in them. They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. So to enjoy the fruit of them, our path is to walk after the Lord's ways. We count on the sureness of His promise. If He delays, we wait for Him.
So could what God does ever fail? The answer rests on testing already done.
Truth and judgment are now added as regards the works of God (v. 7). Where truth is acted on, is there any possibility of failure? No indeed! The certainty of what God does has been proven by testing. All His appointments are sure. So they stand fast forever, maintained in truth and uprightness (v. 8).
Verse 7 speaks of the works of His hands. One writer reads the Song of Solomon's picture of hands like gold rings set with jewels. He shows how much that phrase covers.
In general, all the works of His hands may be included here. Works of nature, providence, and grace. Their beauty, glory, perfection, and durability may be pictured by the gold, the ring, and the precious stones. But faith can now say of these jewelled hands, in the language of the loved Shulamite, "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me."
Commentators differ on where the emphasis of verses 7–8 falls. Most read it of God's own works standing firm. One asks instead who carried out the commandment.
Verses 7, 8 hold a precious meaning for the soul whose rest is in the finished work of Christ. Jehovah has commanded, giving it in trust to Jesus to make sure, in perfect obedience, the word of truth and holiness. The commandment therefore has been done. It has been done in truth and uprightness by Him whose food it was to do it. He willingly received it, knowing where it would end. In His finishing of it the believing sinner finds his assurance of eternal peace (John 12:50).
Verses 9–10 carry this forward into God's covenant and the fear of the Lord.
Now all has come out fully — His faithfulness to His covenant; the showing of His Name. At last His covenant will be seen as only grace. Grace alone can hold a stable relationship between God and man. On man's part, God is met with a holy fear. That fear is the "beginning of wisdom," and the secret of that "good understanding" which the "knowledge of the holy" is. The praise of it will indeed be eternal.
- Character — What God does rests on the truth of who He is. His deliverances make good His own character, and that is why they hold.
- Proof — Testing has already proved His appointments sure. Where truth is acted on, failure is not possible.
- Permanence — Done in truth and uprightness, His works stand fast for ever. Nature, providence, and grace all share that durability.
- Person — One writer reads "done in truth and uprightness" of Christ. He received the commandment and carried it out. The believer's assurance of eternal peace rests on that finished work.
- Practice — Because the promise is sure, walk after the Lord's ways and count on His word. If He delays, wait for Him. This holy fear is where wisdom begins.
He sent deliverance unto his people; he hath commanded his covenant for ever holy and terrible is his name.
Psalm 111 praises God for what He has done, and verse 9 is its high point: a rescue sent, a covenant fixed, a name that stops the singer. Two questions follow: what redemption is in view, and what it means to call God's name holy and awesome.
One writer reads the verse as three acts of God, all flowing from one work.
By His work He redeems His people, establishes His covenant, and secures the glory of His Name. This answers the prayer of Christ in humiliation, "Do it for me, O God the Lord, for your name's sake" (Ps. 109:21, older translation).
Why does the psalm break into praise at all? One writer finds the answer here.
Psalms 111-113 go together as a hallelujah about Jehovah's ways with Israel in their deliverance. Psalm 111 shows the works of Jehovah, glorious in themselves. He has made them to be remembered by His mighty intervention in righteousness. Yet they also show Him full of compassion, and mindful of His covenant. His works last. The occasion of the praise, a knowledge of His name, is that He has sent redemption to His people.
The praise is not locked in the past. One writer points to these words on the lips of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, in Luke's Gospel.
This is the first Hallelujah Psalm, and it follows Psalm 110. It praises Him for what He is and for what He has done... Read the Psalm and see how it praises His work in redemption. He has now sent redemption to His people. Verse 9 is quoted in Zacharias' song, Luke 1:68, showing that in faith he too looked forward to the time of the kingdom.
Older translations end the verse with "holy and reverend is his name." The ESV reads "holy and awesome." One writer counts how often that Hebrew word appears.
The word "reverend" occurs only once in our English Bibles. But the Hebrew word it translates occurs no fewer than 376 times, under such headings as fear, dread, terrible, and similar words. This is very impressive, showing that the word refers to God alone.
Verse 9 does not stand alone. One writer reads it with the psalm's last verse.
So God has shown Himself fully to His people. He has fully redeemed them, and His covenant with them stands firm forever (v. 9). We may well say, "Holy and reverend (or awesome) is His name." On His side, then, there is great majesty. On the side of believers (v. 10) there is lowly subjection and obedience, for the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Some take that fact further and apply it to the title clergy carry today.
How then can any mortal man, however godly and worthy of esteem, be given or take a title which in God's Word is given only to God?
Commentators differ here. Another writer answers the same question and finds no clash between the two uses.
The word in question simply means "fearful," "dreadful," "terrible," and is translated that way elsewhere in the Old Testament. So it plainly applies to God as showing His ways of old, and not at all in its modern usage. There is no real ground, then, for charging the clerical class or its supporters with a profane use of Jehovah's title, as is sometimes done. They give or take the title in the quite different sense of respect paid to a consecrated class. But all such contention was clearly of the world. Titles of earthly and present honour have their place there. But Christians are not of this world, as Christ is not. And the Lord had solemnly warned His disciples on this point (see Matthew 23:8-12).
A holy and awesome name shapes how people speak to God. One writer points to prayer that forgets this.
Even professing Christians speak of God as if He were one like themselves (Ps. 50:21). In the big modern evangelistic campaigns you often hear God addressed in prayer as if the person praying were on very intimate terms with God, the Most High. They approach Him as casually as if He were little more than themselves. They would not presume to speak that way to the ruler of their land. This is a very grave symptom. It makes us fear that they may not know Him at all, or that they are praying to a god of their own imagination.
- Sent — the people did not win this redemption; God sent it to them, and that is why the hallelujah starts.
- Commanded — the same work that redeems also settles the covenant forever, so the rescue can never be undone.
- Named — redemption and covenant together secure the glory of His name; the name is what the singer ends on.
- Awesome — the word behind "reverend" means fear, dread, terrible, and it belongs to God. Commentators differ over whether that rules out the human title.
- Answered — His majesty calls for lowly obedience from us. That is where verse 10 goes: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all they that do [his precepts] his praise abideth for ever.
Psalm 111 praises God for what He has done — His works, His covenant, and the redemption He sent His people. Verse 10 is the point the whole psalm has been building toward. It answers a plain question: after seeing God like that, what should a person do next?
This closing line is not a stray proverb. It is the response to everything the psalm has just shown about God.
God has revealed Himself so richly in His works. So it is clearly the beginning of wisdom to fear the Lord and obey His commandments. Those who walk in the path of godly obedience will have "a good understanding" of God's ways.
The psalm ends with praise that never stops. Verse 9 gives the reason: God sent redemption to His people.
What draws out the praise — the knowledge of His name — is that He has sent redemption to His people. Since the LORD is like this, the fear of Him is the beginning of wisdom. This gives good understanding in the way we live. Faith knows it now. When the Lord appears in judgment, the world will see it proved.
The word "fear" can suggest terror or superstition. Neither is what the verse means.
This fear of the Lord is not the cringing dread that marks superstitious people. No. It is a reverent trust joined with a hatred of evil. "The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil" (Prov. 8:13). "The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever." Where a person keeps this fear, the presence of the Lord is real, and a joy.
The nearest human picture is a family one, not a courtroom one.
What is the fear of the Lord? It is not the fear of a guilty conscience that dreads the policeman, or the magistrate, or the judge. It is the fear of a son who is afraid to displease his father — the fear of a child, born out of love.
Calling it the beginning rules out everything else people mistake for wisdom. The start is a turn away from self-confidence.
Human cleverness is worth nothing for the soul, for eternity, or for a relationship with God. Wisdom begins, and must begin, with fearing Him — the True and the Good, the Righteous and the Holy. There is repentance as well as faith, and so a trembling at His Word. That is the exact opposite of judging His Word, trusting in ourselves, and putting ourselves in the right instead of God.
Put as a question to the reader, it becomes personal:
Has God ever brought you into His presence? "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." If you have never knowingly stood in God's presence, wisdom has not yet begun for you.
In Proverbs the same fear is called the beginning of knowledge. The two statements are not identical, and the difference is worth noticing.
In Psalm 111:10 the fear of the LORD is called the beginning of wisdom; here it is called the beginning of knowledge. Both are true, and each matters in its own place. Wisdom is the higher of the two, because it is built on experience of God's Word and God's ways, which "knowledge" does not always require.
This fear does daily work in a person. It keeps evil outside.
All spiritual growth starts with what the Bible calls the fear of the Lord. It means having real, reverent respect for Him, recognizing His power and authority over us. This leads to hating evil and turning from it. It makes a person stand like a wall against the evil influences all around, and refuse them any way in... Where it is missing there is no foundation to build on. It is the first thing we must seek to produce in people if we want them to make any spiritual progress at all.
Psalm 112 opens where Psalm 111 closes. Set the two side by side and a transfer of character appears.
If we put the acrostic Psalms 111 and 112 side by side, we see how those who belong to Christ take their character from Him. The first speaks of Christ, the second of the one who trusts in Him. The first ends by telling us that "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." The second begins with the blessing of "the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments." In verse 3 of the first, Christ's "righteousness endures forever." In verse 3 of the second, the same is said of the believer's righteousness. That must be so, because Christ is his righteousness. God has made Him his righteousness as well as his wisdom.
- Cause — The fear comes after the redemption. God shows His works and sends deliverance first; the fear is the answer faith gives to a God like that.
- Character — Not the dread of a guilty man before a judge. It is the respect of a son who will not displease his Father, joined to a hatred of evil.
- Beginning — It is called the beginning because nothing before it counts as wisdom at all. Human cleverness contributes nothing here.
- Building — Without this fear there is no foundation for spiritual growth. With it, understanding grows through obedience.
- Christ — Psalm 112 gives the believer the very traits Psalm 111 gives to Christ. God has made Him our wisdom and our righteousness.