Bible · Psalms

Psalms 111

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1Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.2The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.3His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever.4He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered: the Lord is gracious and full of compassion.5He hath given meat unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant.6He hath shewed his people the power of his works, that he may give them the heritage of the heathen.7The works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure.8They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.9He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.10The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.

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Notes for this chapter

Historical Background

Psalm 111 is one of the great acrostic psalms of the Hebrew Psalter, meaning that in the original language each successive line begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, running through all twenty-two letters. This literary device was not merely decorative; it was a teaching tool, designed to make the psalm memorable and to signal that the praise being offered was complete and comprehensive, covering the whole range of human expression from beginning to end. The psalm belongs to a cluster of Hallel psalms gathered in this section of the Psalter and was almost certainly used in the temple worship of ancient Israel, likely at festival seasons when the congregation assembled to reflect on God's saving acts in history. The opening declaration, “Praise ye the Lord,” or Hallelu-Yah in Hebrew, sets the tone immediately: this is not quiet, private reflection but corporate, exuberant adoration offered by the whole assembly of the upright.

The psalmist's declaration in verse one that he will praise God “with my whole heart” is significant. Matthew Henry notes that half-hearted praise is a contradiction in terms, for the object of praise here is the infinite God whose works demand total engagement of mind, emotion, and will. Verses two and three move directly into the reason for this wholehearted praise: the works of the Lord are great, honourable, and glorious, and they are “sought out” by those who take delight in them. The Hebrew word translated “sought out” carries the idea of careful investigation, the kind of study a scholar gives to an important text.

This is a remarkable statement, suggesting that God invites His people to examine His works closely, that deeper examination will always yield deeper wonder rather than disillusionment. His righteousness endures forever, meaning that behind every act of divine power stands a moral character that never shifts or fails.

Core Teaching

Verses four through six recall the history of God's provision for Israel, with verse five almost certainly echoing the giving of manna in the wilderness. The phrase “he hath given meat unto them that fear him” would have resonated powerfully with any Israelite worshipper who knew the Exodus narrative. God's care was not abstract or theoretical; it was bread on the ground each morning. Adam Clarke points out that the covenant spoken of here is the covenant made at Sinai, which God had honoured repeatedly through centuries of Israel's history despite the nation's repeated failures.

Verse six reminds the congregation that God showed His people His power precisely so they could inherit the land of Canaan, dispossessing the nations before them. This was not national arrogance but testimony: the God of Israel acts in history, and His actions have visible consequences that can be observed and remembered.

The movement of thought in verses seven and eight is deeply important for understanding the whole psalm. Having celebrated God's mighty deeds, the psalmist draws attention to the character behind those deeds: “the works of his hands are verity and judgment; all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever.” There is a direct connection being drawn here between God's redemptive acts and His revealed law.

His commandments are not arbitrary rules imposed from outside human experience; they are the expression of the same faithful, righteous character that freed slaves from Egypt and fed wanderers in the desert. Barnes notes that the word “verity” here carries the sense of absolute reliability and truth, which is why these commandments can be described as standing firm forever. Ellen White wrote that “the law of God is as sacred as God Himself,” and this psalm gives beautiful poetic form to that conviction, grounding the permanence of God's moral law in the permanence of His own nature.

Commentary Insights

Verse nine is the theological heart of the psalm: “He sent redemption unto his people: he hath commanded his covenant for ever: holy and reverend is his name.” From a Christ-centred perspective, this verse stretches across the centuries with a power the psalmist himself may not have fully grasped. The redemption spoken of here found its ultimate fulfilment in the sending of Jesus Christ, the living Word who embodied the covenant in His own person. The Jamieson-Fausset-Brown commentary rightly notes that the word “reverend” in this verse appears only once in all of Scripture applied to the name of God, making it a title of extraordinary weight and solemnity.

It is striking, therefore, that this word has come to be used casually as a clerical title in later centuries, something that loses the original weight of the text. The name of God is to be approached with awe precisely because it belongs to the One who is both mighty enough to redeem and faithful enough to keep His covenant without fail.

Reflection & Application

The final verse, verse ten, is one of the most quoted statements in all of Scripture: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” This is not the terrified dread of a slave before a harsh master but the reverential awe of a creature who has understood who God truly is, the same God whose works have been celebrated through the preceding nine verses. Wisdom, in the Hebrew understanding, was not primarily intellectual achievement but practical alignment with the reality God had ordered into creation. To fear the Lord is to stand in rightly ordered relation to the universe's Creator and Redeemer.

The psalm ends where it began, with praise, but now the praise has been grounded in a complete vision of who God is: great in works, faithful in covenant, righteous in character, and worthy of the whole heart's adoration throughout all generations.

Go deeper — references Classic commentaries on this chapter

Matthew Henry's Commentary Matthew Henry (1662–1714) Adam Clarke's Commentary Adam Clarke (1760–1832) Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871) Barnes' Notes on the Bible Albert Barnes (1798–1870) EGW Writings Ellen G. White Blue Letter Bible Study tools and lexicon

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