Psalm 111

Psalm 111 starts with a Hallelujah!  Praise the Lord!  This is a Hebrew acrostic poem of PRAISE.  I never get tired of praising the Lord these days.  I try to wake each morning with praise on my lips and fall asleep praising God.  I love being on the Worship Team for church.  I love singing praises together in the Congregation. 
We need to understand though, that praising God doesn’t mean that we always have something to praise about in this life, in the circumstances we find ourselves in.  Right now, in the midst of a very crazy world, I feel weighed down.  So many people I know and are close to are sick, discouraged, filled with anxiety, some encountering loss after loss.  I have a long prayer list:  someone is wrongfully incarcerated; someone’s kidneys stopped functioning and now are on dialysis every other day; someone is being abused; someone is missing; someone took their life and the family is left grieving; and so many more.
But praising God is not necessarily about praising for what happens in our lives.  Praising God is about praising who HE is and what HE has done.  The other day, I was talking with my kids about all the amazing things God has done in my life.  He has blessed me in so many ways.  Psalm 111 points out God’s great works:  vs 4 He is gracious and merciful to us--even while we were yet sinners.  Vs 5 His commandments are trustworthy – when we live God’s way, we live well.  Vs 9 He has paid a full ransom for his people.  He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever.  –-- Jesus!  Jesus!  Jesus!
The Psalm ends by saying that the “Fear of the Lord is true wisdom.”  This kind of fear isn’t one of being afraid.  In this context, the meaning of the Hebrew word, yirah, means awe, respect, or reverence.
There’s the worship song that says “And I stand, I stand in awe of You.  ...  Holy God to whom all praise is due.  I stand in awe of You!”
May today you stand in awe of the Almighty God! May you praise our God whose works are good, who will not forget His promises.  May today you praise Him and grow in wisdom.

Sharon

3 Month Reading Plan - Psalms 116-117