Psalm 111 - Thanks Be to God!
Give thanks to the Lord every day!
PSALM 111
111 Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy;
8 they are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name!
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!
Heidelberg Catechism
Q&A 116
Q. Why do Christians need to pray?
A. Because prayer is the most important part
of the thankfulness God requires of us.
And also because God gives his grace and Holy Spirit
only to those who pray continually and groan inwardly,
asking God for these gifts
and thanking him for them.
Summary
When you were in school, did you ever write an acrostic poem? You picked a word, maybe your name, or Christmas, or some other word, and wrote a poem about it, using each letter of the word as the starting point of the next line. Acrostic poems can be a lot of fun to do!
That kind of poem is what we find in our psalm today. A few psalms throughout the psalter are acrostics, Psalm 111 being one of them, as each letter of the Hebrew alphabet begins a successive line.
In this psalm, the psalmist offers praise and thanks to God, beginning with the word we know as hallelujah, which simply means Praise the LORD! From there, the psalmist continues throughout the rest of the psalm, thanking and praising the LORD for a number of things: His great works (v. 2), providing food, and remembering His covenant (v. 5), His works being faithful and just (v. 7), sending redemption to His people (v. 9), and so on.
Ultimately, we can summarize the thanks and praise the psalmist gives to the LORD as them thanking God for Who He is and what He has done.
Dig Deeper
As I write this, this upcoming Lord’s Day, we’ll be wrapping up a sermon series where we’ve been taking a look at some of the different types of psalms that we see throughout the Book of Psalms. We’ve explored wisdom psalms, psalms of praise and lament, Messianic psalms, royal psalms, and we are concluding by looking at a thanksgiving psalm. Indeed, we have so much to thank God for, don’t we?
Even though the school year is newly underway, before we know it, Thanksgiving will be here! It’s a time where we are more intentional about giving thanks, especially with the harvest being in by that point, and that is good! However, may we not wait for Thanksgiving to express our thankfulness to the LORD; rather, may we express our thankfulness to Him every day He blesses us with!
So, at the end of this week, and as you prepare for worship this coming Sunday, what are you thankful to God for? Especially, what about Who God is and what He has done are you thankful for? Maybe you are thankful for His presence in the midst of a particular trial, or suffering that you’ve faced, perhaps the loss of a loved one, or persecution that you’ve faced. Maybe it’s the calm assurance of His forgiveness and grace when you’ve sinned. Maybe it’s God’s love and compassion in a world broken by sin. Perhaps it’s God’s faithfulness to His Word when others have been unfaithful to you in theirs.
May you take intentional time this day, and every day, to thank the LORD for all His many blessings to you!
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, the LORD, whose work is full of splendor and majesty;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that all throughout the day that you will give thanks to the LORD with all your heart;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
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