Psalm 111. My what a wonderful Psalm. It is an acrostic in the Hebrew. Each letter of the Hebrew alphabet is used by the unknown Psalmist in his song to the Lord. Dr. D. Stuart Briscoe explains, “In the psalmist’s mind, reverence in worship was of prime importance. We should ponder this—it might get us to church regularly and on time, with our hearts prepared and with a spirit of expectancy, awe, and reverence” (One Year of Devotions for Men). As I was reading and pondering this Psalm early this morning the chapter seemed to just unfold. Let me share with you three things I think the Psalmist wishes us to remember.

  1. The Psalmist had an Intention (Vs. 1). Look at this first verse and you will immediately see what he planned for himself. It was on his agenda to praise the Lord. This was his priority at the start. “Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart.” Do you and I intentionally praise the Lord? Is our will so much in control of our decisions that praising the Lord is a daily part of living? Most people, including Christians, live their lives by emotion. That is not wise. Our emotions, our feelings, are subject to change with one phone call or knock on the door. We must decide that we “will” praise the Lord. The writer had no intention of privately praising the Lord. If you re-read the first verse he planned to praise God with his “upright” friends. When his pals got together, he was making it his point to inject the worship of God into the conversation. If you cannot talk about God with your friends, you need some new ones. That semi-private group was only the first place he planned to praise the Lord. The second place was in the congregation. His intention was to praise the Lord at the house of God. He intended to show up, prayed up, and ready to give God his best publicly.
  2. The Psalmist had Inspiration (Vs. 2-9). When this man began thinking about the works of God he was inspired. The word “work” or “works” is used five times in this little psalm (See vs. 2, 3, 4, 6, 7). I am getting better at seeing the “works” of God. Why? I am intentionally (using our first point) looking. I see the works of God in his creation. I see the works of God in his power to sustain that creation. I see the works of God in the face of a new born baby. I see the works of God walking through a wood or riding on a lake. The works of God are everywhere. I see the works of God in humanity. God created man and woman in his image. That does not mean every human creation has a spark of divine within them, but the two original models certainly did until that divine died inside them because of sin. I believe there are three questions everyone needs to ask themselves. These questions are on the mind of thinkers. One, Where did I come from? Depending on the answer, either you are uniquely created by God or you evolved from some primordial soup which no one knows much about. If you take the former answer, it brings you to the second question. Why am I here? What is your purpose? Does your life have a plan, a blueprint if you will? For the Christian, the Bible teaches us that we do have a purpose and God does have a blueprint for us. He does not always reveal the whole plan at once, but gradually as we walk with him. The third and last question is Where am I going? Until we get number three settled, I am not sure the first two matter as much. I think the Psalmist considered the works of God and the natural result was inspiration.
  3. The Psalmist gave Instruction (Vs. 10). He closes with two things of utmost importance. First, he speaks of the fear of the Lord. The word “fear” is not exactly the same as we use it today. Often, we use it meaning we are scared, terrified, dreadful or frightened. I do believe those can be at play in the lives of people. Hebrews 10:31 says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” For the unsaved, that is certainly terrifying. But for the believer, what does fearful mean? I believe it is a holy, reverential, awe of God. The writer is in awe of God, recognizing that this is the beginning of wisdom. It all starts at this point. You wish to get on the path to wisdom, then get a glimpse of God. Second, he speaks of obedience, “a good understanding have all they that do his commandments.” Walk in obedience and watch the works of God. Seeing God in everything is a source of pleasure.

Today, choose to live your life by your will and not by your emotions. It can be hard, especially when circumstances get hard and vicious. Remember the Lord is gracious and full of compassion (vs. 4).