Psalms 111:1

111:1-10 The Lord is to be praised for his works. - The psalmist resolves to praise God himself. Our exhortations and our examples should agree together. He recommends the works of the Lord, as the proper subject, when we are praising him; and the dealings of his providence toward the world, the church, and particular persons. All the works of the Lord are spoken of as one, it is his work; so admirably do all the dispensations of his providence centre in one design. The works of God, humbly and diligently sought into, shall all be found just and holy. God's pardoning sin is the most wonderful of all his works, and ought to be remembered to his glory. He will ever be mindful of his covenant; he has ever been so, and he ever will be so. His works of providence were done according to the truth of the Divine promises and prophecies, and so were verity, or truth; and by him who has a right to dispose of the earth as he pleases, and so are judgment, or righteous: and this holds good of the work of grace upon the heart of man, ver. 7,8. All God's commandments are sure; all have been fulfilled by Christ, and remain with him for a rule of walk and conversation to us. He sent redemption unto his people, out of Egypt at first, and often afterwards; and these were typical of the great redemption, which in the fulness of time was to be wrought out by the Lord Jesus. Here his everlasting righteousness shines forth in union with his boundless mercy.

Psalm 111:1-2 . I will praise the Lord with my whole heart — I will make my acknowledgments to him, and give him thanks for the displays which he hath made of his wisdom, power, and goodness in his wonderful works, and that not only with my lips, and with some slight affections of my mind, but with all my heart and soul: in the assembly, &c. — Hebrew, בסוד , besod, in the secret, or private society, as Bishop Patrick interprets it, of the upright — Or righteous; “of those good men with whom I am more particularly acquainted,” and in the congregation — The public congregation of the people of Israel. The works of the Lord are great — Very magnificent. They are like himself; there is nothing in them that is mean or trifling. They are the products of infinite wisdom and power, which we must acknowledge upon the first view of them, before we come to inquire into them more particularly. They astonish and strike us with awe the moment we behold them. Every one of them, whether in the natural or spiritual system, is marvellous. “Nothing cometh from the hands of the Divine Artist but what is excellent and perfect in its kind, adapted with infinite skill to its proper place, and fitted for its intended use.” Sought out of all them that take pleasure therein — Of all who take delight in observing and considering them: such highly value and regard these works: they frequently call them to mind, meditate upon, and give themselves up to the contemplation of them.

And happy are they who do this with humility and diligence, with faith and devotion. “To them shall the gate of true science open; they shall understand the mysteries of creation, providence, and redemption; and they who thus seek shall find the treasures of eternal wisdom.” — Horne.

1 Praise ye the Lord. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. "Praise ye the Lord," or, Hallelujah! All ye his saints unite in adoring Jehovah, who worketh so gloriously. Do it now, do it always: do it heartily, do it unanimously, do it eternally. Even if others refuse, take care that ye have always a song for your God. Put away all doubt, question, murmuring, and rebellion, and give yourselves up to the praising of Jehovah, both with your lips and in your lives. "I will praise the Lord with my whole heart." The sweet singer commences the song, for his heart is all on flame: whether others will follow him or not, he will at once begin and long continue. What we preach we should practise. The best way to enforce an exhortation is to set an example; but we must let that example be of the best kind, or we may lead others to do the work in a limping manner. David brought nothing less than his whole heart to the duty; all his love went out towards God, and all his zeal, his skill, and his ardour went with it. Jehovah the one and undivided God cannot be acceptably praised with a divided heart, neither should we attempt so to dishonour him; for our whole heart is little enough for his glory, and there can be no reason why it should not all be lifted up in his praise.

All his works are praiseworthy, and therefore all our nature should adore him. "In the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation"; - whether with few or with many he would pour forth his whole heart and soul in praise, and whether the company was made up of select spirits or of the general mass of the people he would continue in the same exercise. For the choicest society there can be no better engagement than praise, and for the general assembly nothing can be more fitting. For the church and for the congregation, for the family or the community, for the private chamber of pious friendship, or the great hall of popular meeting, the praise of the Lord is suitable; and at the very least the true heart should sing hallelujah in any and every place. Why should we fear the presence of men? The best of men will join us in our song, and if the common sort, will not do so, our example will be a needed rebuke to them. In any case let us praise God, whether the hearers be a little band of saints or a mixed multitude. Come, dear reader, he who pens this comment is in his heart magnifying the Lord: will you not pause for a moment and join in the delightful exercise? THE ARGUMENT The excellency of this Psalm appears, as from other things, so from the psalmist’s care to digest the several parcels of it into an exact order, according to the order of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, that it might be better fixed in the memories of those who read it.

Verse 1. - Praise ye the Lord. Scarcely a part of the psalm - rather a heading or introduction. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart (comp. Psalm 9:1 ; Psalm 119:34, 58, 69 ). "With my whole heart" replaces the "greatly" of Psalm 109:30 . In the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. Professor Cheyne translates, "in the council and assembly of the upright;" and it seems to be generally allowed that two distinct assemblies are not spoken of, but that the one congregation of the faithful is designated by two names. Thus the Prayer-book translation is wrong. Psalm 111:1

PSALM 111 Ps 111:1-10. The Psalmist celebrates God's gracious dealings with His people, of which a summary statement is given. 1. Praise ye the Lord—or, Hallelujah (Ps 104:35). This seems to serve as a title to those of the later Psalms, which, like this, set forth God's gracious government and its blessed fruits. This praise claims the whole heart—(Ps 86:12), and is rendered publicly. upright—a title of the true Israel (Ps 32:11).

1 . Praise ye the Lord ] Heb. Hallelujah . This liturgical call to praise forms no part of the structure of the Psalm. See note on Psalm 104:35 . I will give thanks unto Jehovah with a whole heart, In the council of the upright and in the congregation. The word ṣôd denotes (1) the confidential intercourse of intimate friends, Psalm 25:14 , &c., (2) a gathering or council of such persons ( Psalm 89:7 ); and it has been thought by some that it is here contrasted with the congregation . Hence Coverdale (P.B.V.), secretly among the faithful and in the congregation . But the grammatical construction does not support the distinction. The congregation assembled for worship is termed council as being united by the sense of common fellowship, and its members are described as the upright , for it is presumed that they are actuated by true devotion. Cp. Psalm 33:1 ; Psalm 1:5 .