Psalm 111 is a great expression of praise for God that focuses on His mighty works and their meanings. Consider this psalm in its entirety:

¹Praise the LORD! I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart,

In the company of the upright and in the assembly.

²Great are the works of the LORD;

They are studied by all who delight in them.

³Splendid and majestic is His work,

And His righteousness endures forever.

⁴He has made His wonders to be remembered;

The LORD is gracious and compassionate.

⁵He has given food to those who fear Him;

He will remember His covenant forever.

⁶He has made known to His people the power of His works,

In giving them the heritage of the nations.

⁷The works of His hands are truth and justice;

All His precepts are sure.

⁸They are upheld forever and ever;

They are performed in truth and uprightness.

⁹He has sent redemption to His people;

He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name.

¹⁰The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;

A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.

After opening this psalm with a shout of praise to God and a commitment to public thanksgiving unto Him, the psalmist declares the greatness of God's works and the desire to know these works by all those who delight in them. Consider this point for a moment. All persons who are delighted by the glory of God's works, the wonder of His creation, the power of His hands, and the goodness of His provisions naturally want to know more about these things. They will seek out the knowledge of God's actions and the understanding about God that this knowledge brings.

This psalm shows the connections that should be seen between the works of God which can be seen and the invisible God who made them. It is an expansion of the statement made in Romans 1:20 -- "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made..." These connections are given verse-by-verse in this psalm:

• Verse 3 -- The splendid and majestic    works of God reveal His eternal righteousness.
• Verse 4 -- His memorable wonders    declare His grace and compassion.
• Verse 5 -- His daily provision of    food to those who fear Him indicates that He will always remember His    covenant with them.
• Verse 6 -- His gift to Israel of    "the heritage of nations" showed His great power over all things.
• Verses 7 and 8 -- The works of His    hands reveal His truth and justice and show the certainty and permanence    of the precepts of His law.
• Verse 9 --    The redemption of His people and the establishment of His covenant prove    the greatness of His holy and awesome name.

In the last verse of Psalm 111, the thoughts of the psalmist return to those with which he began. Those who delight in God's works and study them will also fear the Lord and keep His commandments. Thus, they will have the beginning of wisdom and a good understanding. As a result, "His praise endures forever."

Therefore, let us seek to know more of God's wonderful works so that we may understand Him even more. Let us study the Genesis accounts of creation, the fall of man and sin's effect on the world, the global flood, and the division of mankind at the tower of Babel. These first eleven chapters of Genesis are our basis for understanding everything in the material world. They also explain the origins of mankind, marriage, family, civilization, societies, nations, ethnic groups, languages, and all the problems that plague these. Even without the Bible, we can study the world around us and see the hand of God everywhere (Ps. 19:1-6; Rom. 1:20). However, with a Biblical foundation we can know the God who created us, and His glorious works will lead us to praise Him forever. Indeed, "Great are the works of the LORD; they are studied by all who delight in them."

Stacey E. Durham