He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the Lord is gracious and merciful.
He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
the Lord is gracious and merciful.
He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
This chapter is another acrostic, each of the 22 lines starts, in order, with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. (Except for the first line, which is the call to worship.) The psalmist begins and ends with praise. He uses two different forms of the word "work(s)"--one is the actual achievement, as in verses 2, 4, 6, 7; and the other is the act of working, as in verse 3. When he remembers all God has done, the first thing that comes to mind is God's grace and mercy. God has the power to make and keep a promise for eternity, yet He cares enough to give us our basic needs. (vs 5) He has shown Himself faithful, just, and trustworthy to His chosen people among the nations, by His works and His words. Everything else is BUILT on the foundation of His works and words. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist quoted Psalm 111:9 in Luke 1:68. Mary, mother of Jesus, included it in her own beautiful song of praise in Luke 1:49.
You know I'm going to love a psalm that begins with a plug for Bible study. 😍
The word for "studied" in verse 2 has a sense of something you travel to so often, there's a path beaten to it. I love that!! And the first stop on the path is "chesed"--the faithful, stubborn, unwavering love, mercy, and grace of God. I also love how the psalmist uses the phrase "forever and ever". These are two different words, one meaning both past and future; and one meaning there's no expiration date. (Kinda like the Michael Buble song "I love you forever now". 😢) As we study God's word and His works every day, we are beating a path. We are building on a firm, trustworthy, faithful, eternal foundation. We are developing muscle memory- we know how and where to step, because we are letting Him lead us. Loving God, learning from Him--the One who paid the price for our lives--is the Beginning of wisdom and understanding. Holy and awesome is His name!
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