Sunday, December 7, 2014 pm
STUDIES IN PSALMS
Praising His Works
Psalm 111
a.
“I will praise the LORD”
– that is what “Hallelujah” means.
This is the first of 3 psalms in a row that begin with this word.
It is a word found only in the psalms (some 23x).
Obviously, it is call to praise God.
ONE thought in this expression is the way it is frequently used today.
It is sometimes used flippantly and often irreverently.
One thing to consider about this word is that includes the name
of YHWH which calls for due respect.
b.
With my whole heart
– with my all, my whole being.
This has been a frequent emphasis in the psalms.
God wants more than superficial praise and honor.
Deut. 6:5, 10:12 – calls for loving God.
That should be the foundation of our praise to him.
c.
In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation
– again, it is not done secretly.
Furthermore, this demonstrates the psalmist’s desire to assemble
so that he can praise God.
NOTICE how this is a quality of “the upright” – one that is righteous,
right in the eyes of God.
a.
His “works” are great –
It is a word that means deeds or acts.
A general word for what He accomplishes.
Used 5 times (NKJV, KJV) there is mention of His “works” – they are 3
different Hebrew words. (NASB – 4X).
In these verses we find varied works of the Lord.
b.
WHAT are the works of
the Lord? They would
include:
i.
His creation including
how the world is sustained.
It’s beauty and splendor.
ii.
Man who is created in
His image (Gen. 1:26)
iii.
His word revealed that
governs our lives
iv.
His promises – both
those kept (fulfilled) and yet future
v.
His people – whom He has
sustained and governed
vi.
His miracles through
which He demonstrates His power.
Including prophecies.
vii.
He is gracious and full
of compassion and other qualities with which He cares for us.
His helping us demonstrates these qualities.
viii.
He has given food to
those who fear Him (5)
ix.
Etc.
All things that praise Him and manifest His greatness and
Godhood.
c.
His “works” in these
verses are described as:
i.
They are
great – a frequently used
word that demonstrates magnificent quantity and/or quality.
IT is a difficult word to define as it has so many usages – it
includes the idea of substantial, tremendous, immense, etc.
EVERYTHING God does is great!
Ephesians 1:19 speaks of “the exceeding greatness of His power
toward us who believer, according to the working of His mighty power.”
ii.
Honorable –
(splendid – NASU; full of
splendor – ESV) the idea of this word is majestic or splendor (Psa.
145:4-5). Of the highest
quality! Psa. 8:1, ““O
Lord, our Lord, How excellent is Your name in all the earth, Who have
set Your glory above the heavens!”
iii.
Glorious –
some versions use majesty here.
It is similar to the previous word in describing the glory of all
associated with God. “The
voice of the Lord is powerful; The voice of the Lord is full of majesty.”
(Psalm 29:4) We often associate
glory with brightness of the light of God.
Psa. 8:5 speaking of the Lord, “For You have made him a little lower
than the angels, And You have crowned him with glory and
honor.” (Heb. 2:5-8)
iv.
Wonderful works – a marvelous or miraculous work.
God is all powerful and able to supersede even the laws of
nature. Throughout Israel’s
history (and in the beginning of the church)
He was able to demonstrate His power through these wonderful
works.
v.
Remembered
(mindful of His covenant) by Him – when God makes promises, He keeps
them. The “covenant”
is mentioned twice in this psalm.
Depending upon when this psalm was written (we are not certain –
some believe it was after the return from Babylon, others see it as some
point prior to captivity (the temple is in existence).
Whatever the time, God has kept His promises to Abraham (a great
nation and a land), promises concerning David and his throne, promises
to return from Babylonian captivity if afterwards, (considering some
covenants He had previously made were not yet completed) etc.
JUST as sure as God has kept His word in times past, we can take
consolation that He will do that which is yet to be fulfilled.
vi.
Declared –
a common word meaning to tell, report or explain.
As used in this text it means to state something with authority.
One thought on this is to consider the prophets.
In Isaiah 46:8-10 as He challenges Judah concerning their
idolatry, one of the points He makes about the useless idols is their
inability to declare their works, either before or after.
This verse states, “Remember this, and show yourselves men;
Recall to mind, O you transgressors. Remember the former things of old,
For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like
Me, Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times
things that are not yet done, Saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, And I
will do all My pleasure,’” It
is within a text where He speaks of the fall of Babylon at the hands of
Cyrus with remarkable accuracy more than 150 years (and 2 world empires)
before it happens.
“Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; Nor are there any
works like Your works. All nations whom You have made Shall come and
worship before You, O Lord, And shall glorify Your name. For You are
great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God.” (Psalm 86:8–10,
NKJV)
vii.
Powerful –
His works are powerful. Take
your pick of His works to see His power – His speaking at Mt. Sinai, the
10 plagues, crossing the Red Sea and Jordan, the fall of Jericho, the
defeat of Sennacherib at Jerusalem (185000 perish in one night), and the
precision with which His future declarations take place.
In our text (Vs. 6) the specific example that is given is “in giving them the heritage of the
nations.” Again,
there are many occasions – but consider the promise to Abraham in
Genesis 12:2 where He promised to make him a great nations.
It’s beginning happened some 400+ years later as Joshua leads
Israel into conquest.
viii.
Verity
(NASU – “truth”, ESV – faithful).
The idea of the word is firmness, constancy, durability, etc.
We can count on what He says!
His word is sure – Isa. 55:11, the Lord declared that His word
would not return to Him void!
Jesus in Matt. 24:35 declared that while heaven and earth would pass
away, His word would remain.
We can depend upon what God has promised.
ix.
Justice –
(KJV – judgment) – His works are fair.
God is not cruel.
He is just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Christ Jesus –
Rom. 3:26
x.
Sure –
trustworthy, His precepts (commands) can be counted upon to be carried
out, and they are good. (cf.
2 Tim. 3:16,17)
xi.
Everlasting
(standing fast forever and ever) – as we have already noted, His word
endures. When the ways of
man fails, God’s works will last.
xii.
Done in truth – this is the same word as “verity” in vs. 7.
xiii.
Uprightness
– a word meaning straight or right.
Straightforward and just.
God does not deceive with His ways, or His word.
d.
How the godly responds
to His works
i.
They are studied (sought out) by those who have pleasure in them.
1 Pet. 1:10-12, Psa. 104:24, etc.
The godly will give God time in their lives to consider Him and His
will.
Psa. 1:1-2, Psa. 119:97.
Psa. 8:1-3 – when I consider…
The fool denies God, but the godly see His handiwork in creation.
Etc.
ii.
They are remembered – what God does the godly will not forget.
They will remember His goodness in their lives.
They will see how His ways are best.
They will respect His word.
They will respect Him (more in a moment)
iii.
They promote a good understanding (10) – when we study His ways and His word we will
have a better grasp of why we are here, the need for a godly standard,
how this world began, etc.
We are reminded that God expects us to understand His will (Eph.
5:17)
iv.
They are obeyed (10) – the godly “do His commandments.”
This is truly what sets the godly apart from the ungodly.
1 John 5:3 – this is the love of God, that we keep His
commandments. 1 John 2:3, by
this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
Etc.
Revelation 22:14, “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that
they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the
gates into the city.”
a.
When one truly considers
and understands God he will have a healthy attitude toward Him.
He will not view him with a common mindset.
He will approach Him with the reverence and godly fear He
deserves. He will praise Him
and glorify Him and all that is associated with Him.
Approaching Him will NOT be done with casualness or in a flippant
manner.
b.
In this verse, we find
the ONLY time the KJV uses the word “reverend.”
It is also translated “reverend” in the ASV.
The NKJV, NASU & ESV uses the word “awesome.”
The Hebrew word is actually found many times in the OT (more than 45
times in the same sense as the word in our text.
It is translated, dreadful, fearful, terrible, etc.
in the KJV. Other
versions use the word, “awesome, fearful and dreadful”.
The word actually means to show due respect and fear for the
one addressed. In Heb. 12:28
calls for us to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.
Godly fear is healthy – it keeps us from rebelling against Him.
c.
Having said that, the
text makes a point that God’s name need to be held in reverence.
Man should NOT give himself the same title God possesses.
The word “reverend” is used frequently today to describe preachers.
History shows that it was not until the 1400s that the title
started being worn by men.
And shortly thereafter, that title was even more greatly emphasized with
titles like “right reverend” or “very reverend.”
d.
There is no precedent
for that in scripture. In
fact, Jesus warned against accepting titles (Matt. 23:6-10).
In fact, when one seeks such titles it is indicative of a
prideful heart.
a.
As we have discussed,
the fear of the Lord will lead to reverence for Him.
With due “fear” our worship will exalt Him rather than our own
desires.
b.
Is the beginning of
wisdom – Prov. 1:7 tells us the fear of the Lord is the beginning of
knowledge.
Prov. 9:10 is the same phrase as our current psalm 111:10.
c.
When we have this
attitude, His praise will endure forever.
In this life, we will seek to magnify Him.
AND, if we remain faithful and die “in the Lord” that praise will
continue into eternity.
May
this psalm strengthen our resolve to live for Him as we ought to.
May we have a proper understanding of Him so that we can properly
say, “Hallelujah!” Think
about it.