When God Shows Off His Resume
What’s Psalm 111 about?
This isn’t just another praise song – it’s God’s divine resume written in Hebrew poetry, where every line builds the case that the Lord of the universe is both awesome enough to create worlds and personal enough to keep His promises to you. It’s what happens when worship meets wonder and produces something that sticks in your memory forever.
The Full Context
Psalm 111 sits right in the heart of the Hallel collection (Psalms 111-118), those songs that became the soundtrack of Jewish festivals and likely echoed through the temple courts during Passover celebrations. Written by an anonymous poet sometime after the exile, this psalm emerges from a community that had experienced both devastating loss and miraculous restoration. They’d seen their temple destroyed, been dragged into foreign captivity, and then – against all odds – watched God orchestrate their return home.
The literary genius here is that this psalm is an acrostic – each line begins with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, creating a memory device that helped worshippers internalize these truths about God’s character. But unlike some acrostics that feel forced, this one flows naturally while systematically building a case for God’s reliability. The psalm serves as both individual meditation and corporate declaration, designed to anchor a community’s faith in the unshakeable character of their covenant God.
What the Ancient Words Tell Us
The opening word hallelujah isn’t just religious filler – it’s a battle cry. When the psalmist says “I will praise the Lord with my whole heart,” the Hebrew bechol-levav suggests not just emotional enthusiasm but total commitment. This isn’t casual appreciation; it’s wholehearted, all-in devotion.
Grammar Geeks
The Hebrew word for “works” (ma’aseh) appears twice in this psalm, and it’s the same word used for God’s creation in Genesis 2:2. The psalmist is essentially saying that God’s ongoing acts of salvation are just as spectacular as His original creative work – every rescue, every provision, every kept promise is another Genesis moment.
When verse 2 declares God’s works are “great,” the Hebrew gedolim carries the sense of magnitude that overwhelms human comprehension. These aren’t just impressive acts; they’re universe-altering interventions that leave observers speechless. The phrase “sought out by all who delight in them” uses doreshim, the same word used for studying Scripture – suggesting that God’s works deserve the same careful attention we give to His words.
The description of God’s works as “splendor and majesty” in verse 3 employs hod ve-hadar – terms typically reserved for royal regalia. Picture the most magnificent throne room you can imagine, then realize that’s just a shadow of the glory that radiates from every divine action.
What Would the Original Audience Have Heard?
For Jews gathering in the rebuilt temple, hearing about God’s “wonderful works” would have immediately triggered memories passed down through generations. The nifla’ot (wonderful works) weren’t abstract theological concepts – they were family stories. Grandparents would have pointed to specific stones in the temple foundation and said, “Remember when God brought us back from Babylon to rebuild this very spot.”
Did You Know?
When verse 4 mentions God making His “wonderful works to be remembered,” it uses the Hebrew zecher – the same root word used in the Passover command to “remember” the exodus. This psalm was likely sung during Passover, creating layers of remembrance: remembering the original exodus, remembering the return from exile, and trusting God for future deliverances.
The declaration that “the Lord is gracious and merciful” echoes the ancient formula from Exodus 34:6, when God revealed His character to Moses. For the original audience, this wasn’t just nice poetry – it was citing legal precedent. They were essentially saying, “Based on God’s own self-description and our historical experience, we can trust Him completely.”
When verse 5 mentions God giving “food to those who fear him,” post-exilic Jews would have thought immediately of their community’s miraculous survival and provision during their return journey. This wasn’t just about manna in the wilderness; it was about recent answered prayers for daily bread.
Wrestling with the Text
Here’s where things get interesting. Verse 6 declares that God showed His people “the power of his works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations.” This seems to celebrate conquest and displacement – not exactly the gentle Jesus image many prefer. But the Hebrew koach ma’asav (power of his works) suggests something more complex than mere military might.
“God’s ‘wonderful works’ aren’t just the miraculous interventions we celebrate – they’re also the uncomfortable disruptions that make space for His purposes.”
The “inheritance of the nations” refers to the Promised Land, but for the post-exilic community, it carried additional meaning. They’d learned that God’s promises aren’t canceled by human failure or foreign oppression. Even when they lost the land through disobedience, God’s covenant remained intact, waiting for the right moment to be fulfilled again.
Wait, That’s Strange…
Verse 7 claims that “all his precepts are trustworthy” – but what about all those ceremonial laws that seem irrelevant now? The Hebrew emunah (trustworthy) doesn’t just mean accurate; it means reliable for their intended purpose. Even laws we no longer follow perfectly accomplished their goal of forming a distinct people who would preserve and transmit God’s revelation to the world.
How This Changes Everything
The psalm’s climax comes in verse 10: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” But this isn’t about being terrified of an angry deity. The Hebrew yir’ah suggests reverential awe – the kind of breathless wonder that comes from recognizing you’re in the presence of someone infinitely greater than yourself.
This “fear” produces chokmah (wisdom) – not just knowledge or intelligence, but the practical skill of living life well. It’s the difference between knowing facts about God and knowing how to navigate reality in light of who God actually is.
The promise that “a good understanding have all those who practice” God’s commandments uses sekel tov – good judgment that comes through experience. This isn’t theoretical theology; it’s the practical wisdom that emerges when you actually try living according to God’s design for human flourishing.
The psalm ends where it began – with praise – but now that praise is informed by evidence. We don’t praise God because we’re supposed to; we praise Him because we’ve seen His track record and it’s unassailable.
Key Takeaway
God’s resume isn’t just impressive – it’s personally relevant to your situation right now, because the same character that parted seas and toppled kingdoms is actively working to keep His promises to you today.
Further Reading
Internal Links:
External Scholarly Resources:
- The Psalms: Language for All Seasons of the Soul by Walter Brueggemann
- Psalms 73-150: Baker Commentary on the Old Testament by John Goldingay
- The Hebrew Psalms in Christian Worship by John Witvliet
