The Hallelujah Psalms
Psalms 111 – 113
As I read these Psalms I note how I fail. There seems to be an ideal that I am to strive for. The righteous man, particularly in Psalm 112, is a steady man that seems not to be “knocked on his backside” by the adversities of life. My comfort in application of Psalm 111 has been tempered by noting my failing in Psalm 112.
Psalm 111
Scripture reading: Exodus 34:6-7
Praise to God for His Wonderful Works.
1. The Psalm has not a title in the Hebrew (Clarke).
2. It is thought to be penned by David (Gill), though some think this to be post-exilic (Allen, p. 91).
3. This Psalm is known to be a “Hallelujah Psalm” (Keil & Delitzsch). “Psalms 111-113 all begin with Hallelujah, and there is an especially close bond between 111 and 112” (Kinder, p. 396).
4. “The sweet singer dwells upon the one idea that God should be known by his people, and that this knowledge when turned into practical piety is man's true wisdom, and the certain cause of lasting adoration” (Spurgeon).
5. This is known as an acrostic Psalm, and “Acrostic poems in general do not show logical development because of the arbitrary imposition of the alphabetic form” (VanGemeren, p. 700).
INTRODUCTION: Some do not like hearing or reading from the Old Testament. The idea of “history” is a boring lesson to learn. Yet history is so valuable that most people regard it favorably. It is from history that we learn what to do, and what to avoid. The old adage of “those who refuse to learn from history are doomed to repeat it” has a great deal of truth in it. Before the individual man understood this, the Lord already did (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:6-13). History is not only a matter of learning from the bad experiences of others, but it is also to be understood to help us with the “why” of our praise and service to God. This lesson from Psalm 111 is exactly that. The Psalm had been penned by the author somewhere between 450 to 1,000 years after the occasion described. The psalmist’s regard and the Lord’s acceptance of history as a teacher should be noted by us.
Praise to the Lord in the Assembly (Psalms 111:1).
A. Before praise to God in the assembly will have “its weight in gold,” it must first exist in the heart.
B. “I will allow nothing to be in my heart that would interfere with the fullness of praise; no coldness or dividedness of affection; no love for other things that would deaden my love for God; no suspicion respecting him that would chill my ardor; no unbelief that would drag me down to earth, while the language of my lips ascended to God” (Barnes).
1. As Barnes said, the intention of the one who worships (praises) the Lord is to be strictly focused.
2. With a moment’s reflection we can see the wisdom of this.
a. It is right;
b. It is the Lord to whom we sing praise;
c. He is worthy of our complete attention;
d. This intention to attention eliminates distractions of the mundane.
Praise to the Lord for His Works (Psalms 111:2-9):
A. The word “studied” (ESV, NKJV) reads “eagerly awaited” (NET) and “pondered” (NIV). These translations give the sense of “deep reflection” to the things of God.
B. What are the “works” of the Lord? Kinder thinks it means His providential acts (p. 397). Perhaps this is the case: when one looks within the words of the Psalm, note some of the things mentioned:
1. He provides food.
a. If the words of the Psalm are connected with the Exodus, then perhaps the “food” is the occasion of the festival at the appointed times of the year.
b. A time to worship and praise the Lord’s name.
c. Barnes thinks it means that He has supplied their needs. Clarke thinks it might have reference to the quails in the wilderness. Spurgeon and Gill think the word comprehensive enough to include both physical and spiritual food.
d. I do not think the importance is on the specificity, but on the provision.
2. He remembers His covenant.
a. EBC says that the word “remembered” is a noun (Psalms 111:4), and is connected with the word/idea of “proclamation” (p. 702).
b. The Lord is not a man that he needs some sort of continual reminder; He is not a man where there is any possibility that He would forget.
1) The language is for our benefit.
2) When the Lord set forth His purpose – He is committed to it.
3) The Lord “remembers” His covenant as He set in forth in promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
4) And, moreover, those who love and fear the Lord (Psalms 111:5), the Lord “remembers” His covenant with them, especially.
c. They are the righteous in the congregation (Psalms 111:1).
3. He gave the lands of other peoples (NIV).
a. As the children of Israel came out of Egypt, the Lord wanted them to learn who He was (Exodus 6:7); He did not want this only for Pharaoh (Exodus 7:5).
b. He brought them out to the wilderness, and gave them the land of inheritance that belonged to another.
1) Those to whom the land belonged, the Lord threw them out (cf. Deuteronomy 7:1-5; Deut. 9:5; Deut. 12:31).
2) This great act was an accomplishment that no other nation in the world had achieved – then and now (Deuteronomy 4:34).
4. He gave trustworthy precepts.
a. In a secular society “moral” laws are always evolving. There was a time when adultery was considered a moral wrong, but that is not necessarily the case now. There was a time when homosexuality was morally deviant, but in some circles it is consider quite acceptable. At worst, it is immoral for one person, but not the society.
b. With the Lord, on the other hand, His will and word are just and trustworthy.
1) In other words, the righteous words of the Lord, from the Lord, are always to man’s benefit – nothing unjust can come out of His mouth.
2) The importance of this is not only in a standard of judgment applied to each life when life is over, but it is also a steadiness in this life to know what is right.
c. The Lord’s words are also trustworthy. This means that when the Lord said something about what He will do, it will be done!
1) Note also that His works (precepts) are established forever.
2) “The Hebrew word means ‘sustained, supported.’ They will not fail or fall. Whatever else may be shaken, his law, his word, and the principles of his administration, will not fail” (Barnes).
d. I like the way the NET reads, “They are forever firm, and should be faithfully and properly carried out.”
5. He provided redemption.
a. The word “redemption” could be understood in any circumstantial case (Abraham, Joseph, Gideon, David), but it is likely that the notable event in history with the exodus of Israel from Egypt is in view.
b. God redeemed His people from Egypt and also judged the Egyptian gods (Exodus 12:12). When Israel came to the Mountain of God, it was there He established His covenant with Israel (cf. Exodus 31:12-17), giving them the Ten Words.
c. Reflecting on all this how could any one say anything but what the psalmist said, “Holy and awesome is His name!”
Praise to the Lord for His Wisdom (Psalms 111:10).
A. Closing the Psalm and reflecting on the KNOWLEDGE on Israel’s experience, if one would be wise, then he will fear the Lord.
B. The culmination of it all; can anything better be said?
C. Spurgeon closes his exposition on the Psalm, “Lord, help us to study thy works, and henceforth to breathe out hallelujahs as long as we live.” This seems fitting to me.
CONCLUSION: Our praise to God has its basis in historical circumstances surrounding Israel’s redemption. The psalmist praised God because of who He is, because of Israel’s history, and because His words are just, trustworthy, and our wisdom.
Psalm 112
Here are some ideas of what the various commentators have said about this Psalm.
- The author of the Psalm is unknown, but Leupold say that the LXX has a superscription “at the time of Haggai and Zechariah.”
- Leupold is open to the fact that it might be even later in Israel’s history that the Psalm was written, perhaps post-exilic (cf. Allen, p95). Leupold’s outline is different than my own, but there is close proximity; the difference is: Psalms 112:4-5, Psalms 112:9, then Psalms 112:6-8, and Psalms 112:10.
- EBC calls it a “wisdom psalm” (p. 706).
- In my reading of the various authors and their speculations of the time of this Psalm’s composition, I have come to think Barnes is correct when he said that since the author is unknown, it is impossible to know the date.
- This Psalm is closely connected with the previous; “…the first about God and His ways, and the second about the man of God” (Kinder, p. 398). “Its concept of what constitutes true piety is more explicit than that found in Ps. 1, and its social virtues it approximates the moral idea set forth in Ps. 15” (Interpreter’s, p. 596).
INTRODUCTION: This Psalm is a Psalm that speaks of the favorable approach to life the righteous man pursues, and how not only those around him, but also the Lord will favor and protect him. The Psalm closes with the how the wicked man looks upon life, and his end result. In my study of this Psalm, I arranged the outline in accordance with what I thought to be a particular emphasis. I have not outline the Psalm with reference to grammar or Hebrew poetical standards. I will take note of what I think is the emphasis in the exposition.
The Man Who Fears the Lord. Psalm 112:1
A. As C-111 ended, this Psalm begins. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalms 111:10), and the man who fears the Lord is blessed. He is blessed because he is in active pursuit of godly wisdom (EBC).
B. Just what is the “fear of the Lord”?
1. To begin, it is a response and an approach (“delight” ESV, NKJV).
2. This response and approach results in knowing God’s will and obeying.
a. The man who is blessed looks at God with delight, in enthusiasm, not as a burden.
b. In this first verse is man’s answer to what the “good life” really is.
3. Often times man seeks a “good life” but he hardly knows where to begin his search.
a. He uses the material in hope that it will satisfy, but it is not long before he comes to realize that satisfaction can’t be attained in the material.
b. His soul longs for something greater.
4. The godly man understands this better than most (cf. Psalm 1:1-3).
Blessed is the Righteous Man. Psalm 112:2-3
A. I have separated these two verses together because I see in them something connected to his house – in other words, his descendents and his wealth in the home. The difficulty is in ascertaining what the wealth is; is it spiritual or material?
B. The descendents of the righteous man (the blessed man) will be mighty; mighty in what sort of way?
1. The NET reads “powerful.”
2. I do not think physical might is in view because the context does not lend itself to that.
a. More than likely, the “mighty” has reference to the kind of life lived and the influence wielded.
b. With his children he wields influence and instruction. Sometimes, however, his children depart; does this mean this has failed?
1) Let us consider this; Proverbs 22:6
2) The children have been properly taught; if they wander away, as some do, they know where their moorings are.
3) Looking and considering the influence of the parents, the likelihood of them coming back is even greater – if the parents are godly and living the godly life as prescribed by the Lord (cf. Luke 15:11-32).
4) Some parents think of themselves as godly, but when the children are asked about the godliness of their parents, well…. (The emphasis in this remark is that some parents think they have done well, but all who observe know better and most certainly the children do.)
c. They will see the value of the life lived and know that when one’s anchor is tied to the tree by the water they won’t be moved.
C. Descendents (offspring) and generation should be understood, I think, as synonymous.
1. His physicals descendents could be very much in view, but I am not sure it needs to be limited to that.
2. Those who walked after the faith of Abraham were sons of Abraham.
3. This would include those who were physical descendents, and it does include those who are spiritual descendents.
D. Once again the life lived will result in wealth gained.
1. “Yet if the poet overstated the case on the material side, in a deeper sense he was right. Virtue is its own reward. Godliness may bring persecution, but it brings blessedness that neither poverty nor opposition can destroy” (Interpreter’s p. 597).
2. I most certainly don’t think “the poet overstated the case,” it is merely a matter of what is to be understood.
a. It is true that many of the righteous enjoyed much wealth, but that was a “by- product” of the Lord benefitting them in a particular circumstance.
b. Without the proper initial approach to Him, there would be no material wealth from Him – it would have come from a different source (cf. 2 Corinthians 4:4).
The Righteous’ Man’s Philosophy of Life. Psalms 112:4-5, Psalms 112:9
A. Moving from his house, I think the emphasis here is his philosophy of life.
1. He lives in accordance with the Lord’s way, and not his own. Of course, this also applies in verse Psalm 112:2 and Psalm 112:3, but it seems the thrust here has more emphasis.