Introduction
We don’t know who the author of this psalm is and many commentators believe that this psalm and the next, Psalm 112, actually belong together as one psalm. This psalm focuses on the nature and character of God, whilst Psalm 112 focuses on the character of the righteous person.
We can’t tell from our English translations, but this psalm is actually written in Hebrew alphabetical order, except for the opening three words. The rest of the psalm begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
‘Praise the LORD. I will extol the LORD with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are his deeds, and his righteousness endures forever. He has caused his wonders to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and compassionate. He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever. He has shown his people the power of his works, giving them the lands of other nations. The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. They are established for ever and ever, enacted in faithfulness and uprightness. He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever—holy and awesome is his name. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.’ Psalm 111:1-10
The psalmist beings by giving praise to the LORD and declaring that they will extol the LORD with all their heart in public, that is, in the council and the assembly. By praising God in public the psalmist assumes that like-minded people will join in with their praise.
Their praise begins with declaring God’s great works, which He had done in creation, Psalm 8 / Romans 1:20. When people ponder or study the greatness of God’s works they will delight in them, Deuteronomy 32:4.
They will come to know to understand how glorious and majestic His deeds are and they will know that His righteousness endures forever.
God designed His wonders to be remembered, and those who are righteous will seek to discover God’s design in the creation, they will see that God is gracious and compassionate, Exodus 34:6 / Psalm 86:5, and they will see His work in the lives of everyone.
God provides food for those who seek and obey Him, Psalm 37:25, this is possibly referring to the giving of the manna and quail in the wilderness, Exodus 16 / Numbers 11.
He will never forget His covenant, Genesis 12:1-3 / Exodus 24:1-18. In other words, God’s work in the life of the righteous is evidence that He honours His covenants that He makes with men.
God has clearly demonstrated His power to the people, this was seen when He led them into Canaan, Deuteronomy 6-7. God took the land of Palestine from the ungodly nations who dwelt in it and gave it to the nation of Israel and because of their wickedness, the nations gave up their right to the land.
The work which God has done with His hands are faithful and just and all his precepts are trustworthy, that is, they are true, fair and secured forever, Psalm 19:9 / Matthew 5:18 / Matthew 24:35 / Luke 16:17.
God is the One who redeemed His people, this is probably a reference to the Exodus out of Egypt, Exodus 6:6. God ordained His covenant, Deuteronomy 7:12-15, and He has shown Himself to be holy in all that He has done, therefore, His Name is not only awesome but Holy.
In other words, God’s covenant and God’s name are the foundations upon which Israel have their relationship with God.
After seeing and observing God’s wonderful creation and what He has done for His people, the natural response would be to fear the LORD. Fearing the Lord, that is, having total respect and reverence for Him, is the beginning of wisdom, Job 28:28 / Proverbs 1:7 / Proverbs 9:10 / Ecclesiastes 12:13.
Fear is the beginning of wisdom simply because we can never come to a knowledge of truth unless we recognise the authority of the word of God and is obedient to that word.
Those who follow his precepts, that is, those who are obedient to His precepts, will have a good understanding of God and His Word, 1 Samuel 25:3 / Ezra 8:18 / Job 17:4 / Proverbs 3:4 / Proverbs 13:15 / Proverbs 16:22.
The psalmist began by praising God and now they end by declaring that God and God alone deserves our praise forever, Revelation 4:8.
Conclusion
The psalmist tells us that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, Proverbs 8:1-36 / Proverbs 9:10. We know that fearing the Lord simply means to have total respect and reverence for Him.
When it comes to wisdom, James understood that godly wisdom is required in dealing with trials and temptations and also that the outcome of enduring trials is steadfastness which fosters perfection, completeness and adequacy, lacking in nothing.
He explained the significance of this fact when he indicated the genuine source of true wisdom, that is, God, and the attitude, in faith, no doubting, that must underscore the request, James 1:4-5.
Solomon appreciated the significance of wisdom. He knew that wisdom is more precious than rubies and that no singular desire of man is comparable with wisdom, Proverbs 8:11.
This understating in him is probably the reason for him to ask God for wisdom when he had the chance to make a request to God at the beginning of his reign over Israel.
In Proverbs 8:12, the wise king says, ‘I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion’. This practically suggests that lacking wisdom is tantamount to lacking prudence, knowledge and discretion as all these important virtues are found in wisdom, 2 Chronicles 1:7-13.