Embrace the Word for Wednesday, September 2, 2026
FOR AN AUDIO VERSION CLICK HERE
Psalm 111 is a Psalm of praise, which is structured as an alphabetic acrostic. The twenty-two lines of Psalm 111 begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The opening call to “praise the LORD” is a fitting celebration to the declaration of a Davidic King-Priest described in Psalm 110. Psalm 111 traces the “works” of the LORD by touching on the the LORD’s works beginning with the Exodus from Egypt and onto the Conquest of the Land. Psalm 111 and Psalm 112 are each alphabetic acrostics. In fact Psalm 111 begins a subunit in Book 5 of the Psalter, which runs from Psalm 111 to Psalm 117, and except for Psalm 114, they all share a common link with the term “Praise the LORD” (Hallelujah). The exhortation to obtain wisdom at the end of Psalm 107 is picked up here again in Psalm 111, as the two Psalms share the word “upright” (107:42; 111:1), as well as the word “wise” (107:43; 111:10). Psalm 111 begins with a call to respond to the LORD with praise (111:1), then continues with a summary of the works of the LORD (111:2-8), before it concludes with a call to respond to the LORD in fear (111:9-10).
Psalm 111 opens with a call to praise: “Praise the LORD!” (111:1a). This call is plural, as though a worship leader is inviting those who are gathered for worship to join in and praise the LORD. Then the worship leader starts with his own resolve to worship the LORD: “I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation” (111:1b). The lead worshipper resolves to publicly acknowledge, with much gratitude, what the LORD has done. This public expression of gratitude would be done wholeheartedly, which may simply be shorthand for “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might” (See Deuteronomy 6:5). The context of where this thankfulness to the LORD will take place is “in the company of the upright,” that is “in the congregation.” The Psalmist is not speaking of two separate places, but two ways of describing the same place. “The congregation” describes the assembly of God’s people (See Psalm 1:5), and thus, people who are characterized as righteous. What comes next is the content, or at least a summary of the content of what the worshipper will lead his people to give thanks for.
As the Psalm continues, emphasis is put on the “works” of the LORD as the term will be used four times throughout this section of Psalm 111 (vv. 2,3,6,7). The worship leader declares: “Great are the works of the LORD” (111:2a). The works of the LORD are simply the things that He does, that is, His acts. Certainly creation itself is one of the chief acts of the LORD; but so is redemption, which is the focus of Psalm 111. All the works of the LORD are great in at least the sense great power and authority are required to accomplish them. Worshippers love that great things that the LORD does, and thus, they love to understand such things: “studied by all who delight in them” (111:2b). The term “studied” literally means to seek out or to search for. These notions of seeking and searching certainly require a meditative study of the Scriptures, which contain the true accounts of the LORD’s works. This seeking or searching the Scriptures to learn more about the works of the LORD will be perceived as a happy study, for it will be wholehearted: “But from there you will seek the LORD your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul” (See Deuteronomy 4:29). This seeking and searching will show that what God does is impressive: “Full of splendor and majesty is his work” (111:3a), and show that the LORD always does what is right: “and his righteousness endures forever” (111:3b). The LORD’s works are an expression of who He is: the LORD is “full of splendor and majesty” and perfect in “righteousness.”
Turning from the general statements about the LORD’s works to the particularities of His works, it seems that the Psalmist begins with the Exodus from Egypt: “He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered” (111:4a). Israel’s Exodus from Egypt was commemorated by the Feast of Passover. The annual celebration of Passover was the prescribed way to remember the LORD’s work in redeeming Israel from Egyptian captivity. The greatness assigned to the works of the LORD in verse 2 now have another descriptor: “wondrous.” Not only do the works of the LORD require much power and authority, they also take place in astonishingly difficult contexts. With descriptors such a “great” and “wondrous” it should come as no surprise that the study of these matters do not lead to boredom, but “delight.” These works of the LORD reveal what God is like: “the LORD is gracious and merciful” (111:4b). Reinforcing that the Psalmist is referring back to the Exodus, the terms “gracious and merciful” harken back to the LORD revealing Himself to Moses shortly after the Exodus (See Exodus 34:6).
Continuing on in his recitation of the redemptive works of the LORD, the Psalmist’s next stop is the provision of food in the wilderness: “He provides food for those who fear him” (111:5a). The LORD sustained His people through the wilderness not only with manna (See Exodus 16), but also quail (See Numbers 11). The dramatic work of redeeming Israel as well as the daily work of sustaining Israel, is founded upon the LORD being faithful to His promises: “He remembers his covenant forever” (111:5b). The LORD promised Abraham a nation, and that promise was secured through a covenant (See Genesis 15). It was the LORD’s covenant with Abraham that would guarantee Israel’s rescue: “And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew” (See Exodus 2:24-25). Back in verse 4, it was the LORD who wanted His people to remember His works, but now in verse 5 is it vital to see that the LORD’s works flow from the fact that the LORD remembers—and acts!
As the LORD continues His works, redemption entails not only rescue and sustaining, but also conquest of the Promised Land: “He has shown his people the power of his works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations” (111:6). The gift of the Promised Land displays the amazing power of the LORD, for the Land was inhabited and His people were in need of a victory over the inhabitants. Even though Israel was required to fight, as Joshua summarized, it was the LORD who secured the victory and gave them the Land: “They fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, and you took possession of their land, and I destroyed them before you…the leaders of Jericho fought against you, and also the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. And I gave them into your hand…it was not by your sword or by your bow. I gave you a land on which you had not labored and cities that you had not built, and you dwell in them. You eat the fruit of vineyards and olive orchards that you did not plant” (See Joshua 24:6-13).
Yet the LORD’s works of redemption do not stop with Israel’s entrance into the Promised Land, it also includes the provision of the Word: “The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy; they are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness” (111:7-8). Drawing from the descriptions of the LORD’s works previously stated, the Word, which is another of His works, which are “full of splendor and majesty” and perfect in “righteousness.” The Word of the LORD is also a great and wondrous work! What verses 7-8 add as descriptors to the Word is that the God who is “faithful and just” gives His people a Word that is of the same nature and character. The Word of the LORD endures forever, that is, what it says will be durable and valid for as long as time lasts, and is only and always true and right.
The Psalmist concluded with a restatement about the redeeming works of the LORD:“He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name!” (111:9). The work of redemption involves the paying of a ransom to redeem captives. As it turns out, the LORD’s people, who were labeled as the “company of the upright” at the start of Psalm 111, are a people who needed to be ransomed. They were not natively a righteous people, but an enslaved people. But their new status is grounded in the covenant faithfulness of the LORD, resulting in the LORD’s people confessing a new perspective: “Holy and awesome is his name!” The LORD’s redeemed people—those who are the recipients of the LORD’s covenant promises, which includes redemption—know how to obtain wisdom: “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding” (111:10a). A right and proper regard for the LORD, which includes dispositions such as love, trust, honor, and reverence, is the foundation for wisdom. Both wisdom and its necessary prerequisite of fearing the LORD is a by-product of—forged by—a consistent ingestion of God’s Word. Such wisdom provides the skillful understanding to navigate life successfully, but it also prompts a stirring of ongoing worship of the LORD: “His praise endures forever!” (111:10b).
As we reflect on Psalm 111, we can consider the importance of seeking or searching for the works of the LORD. Actually, they are not hard to find—we simply need to look around with the intent of seeing all that the LORD made as a reflection of His splendor and majesty. All of creation testifies to the glory of God. But in line with the focus of this Psalm, we must consciously see the value in studying the beauty of the LORD’s redemptive work in our lives. For this search, we turn to the Scriptures, for they unfold the great and wondrous works of Jesus to accomplish His people’s salvation. The writer of Hebrews presses us to always be growing in our grasp of what Christ has done for us: “But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity” (See Hebrews 5:14-61a). Driven by a delight in the LORD’s works pertaining to redemption, we search the Scriptures knowing that such a search yields a spiritual maturity that bears the fruit of practical discernment in how we live life. As we grow and mature, we not only know how to navigate life, we also desire to give greater praise to our God.
That’s all for Embrace the Word for Wednesday, September 2, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Friday, September 4, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 112.