Psalm 111

Psalm 111

God is Great

I. God is great and must be praised; we must praise Him together, with all our heart (v. 1)

a. Hallelujah! The psalmist begins his psalm with pure praise. He’s obviously experienced life, experienced God in his life and through His life among fellow worshipers, understands the value of praising God for who He is, and is now so overcome with awe of God, that he breaks forth in praise for Him! But he knows that it won’t always be that easy, so his praise is ultimately in the form of vow. He’s moved to promise and swear that he will praise God with all of his heart, even when he might not feel like it! We often find ourselves in circumstances in life in which it’s difficult or nearly impossible to praise God. If we aren’t consciously and intentionally devoting all of our heart, which is to say our mind, emotions, will, and conscience to praise Him all the time, we won’t be able to rightly praise and rejoice in Him when we can’t rejoice in our circumstance. (v. 1; Matt. 22:36-37; Phil. 4:4-7)

II. God is great and must be praised; we must praise His great works, provision, and redemption (Vv. 2-9)

a. Praise of God is ultimately rooted in reflecting on who He is, and the most effective way to consider who God is, is to consider His works. The works of God reveal the attributes of God, because He does what He does because of who He is. As a result of his experience of God in his life, the psalmist is moved to reflect on the creative, provisional, and redemptive works of God because he, like all others who have experienced God’s works, desire to dwell on them and experience Him again and again. First, the psalmist reflects on the greatness of God’s works in general, probably especially in reference to His creative works. When he thinks on the vast glory and greatness of all creation, what is humanity that God would consider us? God has created and sustained us, even in our rebellion and fall, because He desires to be known and loved. God’s creative works testify to His greatness, but so do His providential works among His people. The psalmist likely reflects on God’s deliverance of His covenant people from captivity in Egypt through the amazing and miraculous works of His hands. He remembered His covenant with Abraham, provided for their food in the wilderness, and ultimately provided a land made ready for them. Just as God was faithful in His Word to His covenant people Israel, He is continually faithful to Word forever. There is no variability in Him any way. We can look at His completed works, trust that He’s faithfully holding all things together now, and that He’ll faithfully, justly, certainly, and absolutely keep His Word eternally. God’s awesome works reveal His eternal and unchanging character that’s worthy to be praised, but the most amazing indication of God’s greatness and character, is His works of redemption. The Psalmist likely had God’s redeeming work in rescuing His people out of captivity in Egypt and out of exile in Babylon, but there’s no greater evidence of God’s love for His people, than the love He showed in sending His Son to willingly sacrifice Himself, bear our penalty for sin, and redeem all who trust faithfully and repentantly in Him, out of slavery to sin and death, and to eternal life, even while we’re still sinners! God’s works reveal Him to be great, glorious, majestic, righteous, wonderful, gracious, compassionate, powerful, faithful, just, trustworthy, holy, and awesome! (Vv. 2-9; Gen. 12:1-3; 15:13-16; 22:18; Exod. 34:6-7; Deut. 4:35-40; 6:4-12; Ps. 8:3-4; 86:5, 15; John 1:1-14; 3:16; 8:30-36; Rom. 5:6-10; 8:1-2; 11:33-36; 2 Cor. 5:21; Eph. 2:1-9; Phil. 1:6; 2:9-11; Col. 1:14-17; Heb. 7:20-22; 9:15; 13:8; Jas. 1:16-17; 1 Pet. 2:9-12)

III. God is great and must be praised; we must seek His great wisdom and obey His commands (v. 10)

a. Upon considering who God is, the psalmist calls for awe and reverence of God to be the starting point of wisdom for life. Further, rightful awe and reverence for God, which only comes through continually considering His nature and character, leads to the desire to obey His commands that we might skillfully navigate life in a way that glorifies Him, encourages us, and convicts others. The world bristles at the notion of “fearing” God and living obediently to Him according to His Word. Instead, they choose as their starting point, their own ability to grow in knowledge, or to be admired by others, or set their sights on self-achieving in business, politics, athletics, or even ministry. But none of these pursuits will provide satisfaction, purpose, or hope, especially when life becomes unpraiseworthy and spirals out of control. The only path to satisfaction and fulfillment in life, to be able to live a praiseworthy life in unpraiseworthy circumstances, has the reverent awe of God as its beginning, and has its path marked out by obedience to Him. (v. 10; Job 28:28; Prov. 1:7; 9:10; Eccl. 12:13; John 7:17-18; Jas. 1:5-8)