Psalm 111 - Extol His Name

Psalm 111:1-10 NIV

Praise the Lord. 

I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly.

Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them. 

Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. 

He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate. 

He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. 

He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations.

The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. 

They are established for ever and ever, enacted in faithfulness and uprightness. 

He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever—

 holy and awesome is his name. 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

 all who follow his precepts have good understanding. 

To him belongs eternal praise.

Psalm 111 is a psalm of praise to The Lord. The psalmist first announces that he will lift up the name of God in great honor for all His works. In worship with his fellow Hebrews he will speak of God's faithfulness to His covenanted people. He encourages remembering and delighting in the stories of God's redeeming works.

While the exodus is not mentioned directly, the deliverance from slavery in Egypt and the giving of the law at Sinai are monumental and foundational stories for Israel's national identity. These moments in the history of Israel are present always in the national consciousness. The law is celebrated. God's righteousness is revealed in the law and in His mighty works to bring the Hebrews to the promised land.

God's compassion in the desert is celebrated for the Lord provided bread from heaven and quail from the sky to feed them when the people cried out. His battles against the occupants of Canaan is remembered for now the nation rests in peace and security in the land promised to their forefathers.

This psalm is a celebration of the blessed life lived in obedience to God. As the people keep God's commands and follow faithfully His prescriptions they know the blessings of the gracious and compassionate One. They live in the delight of their holy and awesome God. All who fear the Lord begin a journey of growing in godly wisdom. As they follow God's commands they show that they understand that obedience to God is the path to the blessed life.

The old hymn says, "Trust and obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus." Christians belong to a new covenant in the blood of Jesus. The covenant under Moses has fulfilled it's purpose. We understand sin as sin, for the law has made us aware. But in Christ we have received a liberating power that is great than sin. It's called grace. Grace is God's love poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, a gift we gain through faith. This grace and love transforms us from the inside out, so that we fulfill all the righteousness of the Lord. Grace makes us more and more like Jesus, the Perfect One.

Our exodus was at Calvary. Our law is love. Our freedom is the empty tomb on Easter. Our promised land is heaven where God and His people will dwell together forever in blissed union.

So remember who you are in Christ. Celebrate God's wonderful works for you. And as the psalm says extol His name.

To him belongs eternal praise.