Day 377: Pure praise! - Psalm 111

1 Hallelujah! I will praise the Lord with all my heart in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.

2-4 The Lord’s works are great, studied by all who delight in them. All that he does is splendid and majestic; his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered. 5-6 The Lord is gracious and compassionate. He has provided food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. He has shown his people the power of his works by giving them the inheritance of the nations. 7-9 The works of his hands are truth and justice; all his instructions are trustworthy. They are established forever and ever, enacted in truth and in uprightness. He has sent redemption to his people. He has ordained his covenant forever. His name is holy and awe-inspiring.

10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his instructions have good insight. His praise endures forever. Psalm 111 Christian Standard Bible

Did you notice something different in this Psalm to many others - something that was missing that you often find in other Psalms?

There were no personal requests or prayers; the Psalm was all about God and how wonderful He is and how good He had been to Israel. It's a Psalm of pure praise!

Look at the words he uses in vs 2-4 to describe all the works of the Lord. They are ‘great, splendid, majestic and everlasting’. He says they are worth pondering and remembering. What does he highlight in vs 5-6?

The focus there is on how merciful and kind God had been to Israel. He fed them through the years they travelled in the wilderness and gave them a place of their own. All the nations saw His power. Verse 7-9 then describe how He is a God of truth and all His ways are just. He is absolutely reliable. And if all that is not marvellous enough, the writer says He is the God who sent redemption to His people. He had compassion at their plight in Egypt and delivered them out of their slavery. He sums all of this up in the phrase 'His name is holy and awe-inspiring!'

But apart from pure praise to God, what was another reason for writing this Psalm? (vs 10)

I think it was to encourage all who read it to set their hearts on knowing this wonderful God. And that begins with having a sense of deepest awe. When men and women realize how mighty God is and that their very lives are in His hands, then they are on the path that leads to true wisdom and insight.

The Psalm is also a reason for Christians to shout and sing out their praise. Christians of all people have seen His compassion and salvation in giving His only begotten Son to redeem them from sin and death at such a price. Calvary must surely be the most awe-inspiring event in all of human history.

Which brings me back to the heading I gave for this Psalm. Pure praise! Do we take time to come to our heavenly Father to simply tell Him how much we love Him and how grateful we are for all He has done through the Lord Jesus Christ? I expect most of us have had some experience, even a small one, of feeling 'taken for granted' by someone else. It may have been someone we went out of our way to help. It may have been as a parent. A word of thanks or some expression of appreciation would have meant a lot. Yet often we only go to the Lord with requests, and when our needs have been met over a period of time we easily forget those answered prayers.

We can learn the lesson from this Psalm to sometimes come before the Lord with nothing but praise and thanksgiving. And what will help us to do that are the writer's words where he says “the Lord’s works are great, studied by all who delight in them.” Think of all that God is and all He has done, and then offer Him the pure praise of your heart.