The Book of Psalms

Word Study

"with my whole heart," Hebrew bekhol-levav (בְּכָל־לֵבָב). This psalm is an acrostic, each line beginning with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and that form is itself a small sermon: the poet praises God from A to Z, an orderly, complete worship that matches his opening vow to hold nothing of the heart back.

"the works of the LORD are great," gedolim ma'asei YHWH (גְּדֹלִים מַעֲשֵׂי יְהוָה). The greatness of God's works is the theme the whole psalm will unfold. "His work is honourable and glorious: and his righteousness endureth for ever."

"sought out," derushim (דְּרוּשִׁים), studied, searched into. God's works are not shallow puddles you take in at a glance; they are deep, and they must be searched into, studied, pondered, if their greatness is to be seen. And who does that searching? "All them that have pleasure therein." Only those who delight in God bother to dig into His works; love is what sends a soul searching.

"made his wonderful works to be remembered," zekher asah lenifle'otav (זֵכֶר עָשָׂה לְנִפְלְאֹתָיו). God does not leave His deeds to fade from memory; He builds in remembrances, ordaining feasts and signs and memorials so that His people would not forget what He had done. God cares that His works be remembered, and He gives us the means to remember them.

"gracious and full of compassion," channun verachum (חַנּוּן וְרַחוּם). The works are great, but the Worker is kind. What the searching soul finds at the bottom of all these deeds is a character of grace and tender mercy.

Explanation

This psalm is an acrostic, each line beginning with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and that form is itself a small sermon: the poet praises God from A to Z, an orderly, complete, whole-hearted worship, matching his opening vow to praise "with my whole heart." But look closely at what he says about God's works in verse 2: "The works of the LORD are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein." God's works are not shallow puddles you take in at a glance; they are deep, and they must be searched into, studied, pondered, investigated, if their greatness is to be seen. And who does that searching? "All them that have pleasure therein." Only those who delight in God bother to dig into His works; love is what sends a soul searching. The person who loves God finds His works endlessly rewarding to explore, while the indifferent walk past them unseeing. So praise and study go together: the more you search out God's works, the more you find to praise. And notice one lovely detail in verse 4: "He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered." God does not leave His deeds to fade from memory; He builds in remembrances, He ordained feasts and signs and memorials so that His people would not forget what He had done. God cares that His works be remembered, and He gives us the means to remember them.

Gospel Focus

"He hath made his wonderful works to be remembered", the greatest work of God, the death of His Son, He has given His people a way to remember always, for at the Lord's table Jesus said, "this do in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24). The cross is the wonderful work He most wants remembered, and the bread and cup are His appointed memorial. And the works of God that reward searching reach their height in the gospel, into which even "the angels desire to look" (1 Peter 1:12); the more the believer searches out the riches of Christ, the more he finds to praise. God is "gracious and full of compassion," and that grace is unveiled in fullness in Jesus. So bring your whole heart to praise, search out the great works of God, above all the work of the cross, and keep His appointed remembrance, that you may never forget what He has done.

Word Study

"given meat," Hebrew teref natan (טֶרֶף נָתַן), food, provision. The list of God's works begins with the plainest of them: He feeds those who fear Him. Daily provision is counted among the great deeds worth searching out.

"mindful of his covenant," yizkor le'olam berito (יִזְכֹּר לְעוֹלָם בְּרִיתוֹ). The food is given by a God who never forgets what He has promised. He "will ever be mindful of his covenant," and it is out of that remembering that He shows His people "the power of his works."

"all his commandments are sure," ne'emanim (נֶאֱמָנִים), faithful, trustworthy. God's word does not shift or fail; it is fixed, faithful, permanent. "They stand fast for ever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness."

"he sent redemption," pedut shalach (פְּדוּת שָׁלַח). At the heart of this list stands the greatest work of all. Of everything God does, His crowning work is to redeem, to buy His people back out of bondage. And notice the verb: He sent redemption, as though it were a thing He dispatched to His people, a hint of the day when redemption would come not as a mere event but as a Person sent from God.

"holy and reverend is his name," qadosh venora shemo (קָדוֹשׁ וְנוֹרָא שְׁמוֹ). Mark this phrase, for it is unique. That word "reverend" appears nowhere else in the whole King James Bible, and here it is applied not to any man but to the name of God. It means awesome, to be feared and held in deep reverence, and in Scripture the title belongs to God alone.

Explanation

At the heart of this list of God's works stands the greatest of them all: "He sent redemption unto his people." Of all that God does, providing food, keeping covenant, giving the land, His crowning work is to redeem, to buy His people back out of bondage. And notice the verb: He "sent" redemption, as though redemption were a thing He dispatched to His people, a gift He sent forth, a hint of the day when redemption would come not as a mere event but as a Person sent from God. Around this centre the psalm gathers the reliability of everything God says and does: "all his commandments are sure. They stand fast for ever and ever." God's word does not shift or fail; it is fixed, faithful, permanent. And then the psalm ends this section with a phrase every reader should mark, for it is unique: "holy and reverend is his name." That word "reverend" appears nowhere else in the whole King James Bible, and here it is applied not to any man but to the name of God. It means awesome, to be feared and held in deep reverence. It is a caution worth pondering: the title "reverend" belongs, in Scripture, to God alone; His name, above every name, is the one that is truly holy and to be revered. Whatever honour we give to men, the deepest reverence is due to God, whose name alone is holy and awesome.

Gospel Focus

"He sent redemption unto his people... holy and reverend is his name", the redemption God "sent" came, in the fulness of time, as the Lord Jesus Christ, "in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins" (Ephesians 1:7). God did not merely send a deliverance; He sent His Son to be our Redemption, and He "commanded his covenant for ever," sealed in "the blood of the everlasting covenant" (Hebrews 13:20). And "holy and reverend is his name" finds its highest fulfilment in the name of Jesus, for God "hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow" (Philippians 2:9-10). The reverence this psalm reserves for the name of God is due to the Lord Jesus, in whom the holy and awesome God has come to redeem. So hold His name in reverence, and rest in the redemption He has sent, which is Christ Himself, the forgiveness of your sins and the keeping of an everlasting covenant.

Word Study

"the fear of the LORD," Hebrew yir'at YHWH (יִרְאַת יְהוָה). Reverent awe of God is the very thing the psalm has been building toward, the fitting response to a name that is holy and to be revered.

"the beginning of wisdom," reshit chokhmah (רֵאשִׁית חָכְמָה). The fear of God is not one lesson among many; it is where wisdom starts. A person may be clever, learned, quick, and know a thousand facts, and yet, if he does not fear God, he has not even begun to be wise; he is building without a foundation.

"a good understanding," sekhel tov (שֵׂכֶל טוֹב). Do not stop at the first half of the verse, for the second half is just as important and often forgotten. Understanding is not a possession of the mind only; it is something that shows.

"that do his commandments," osehem (עֹשֵׂיהֶם). Wisdom is not proved by what a man knows but by what he does. The truly wise are not merely those who can discuss God's ways, but those who keep them; understanding shows itself in obedience.

"his praise endureth for ever," tehillato omedet la'ad (תְּהִלָּתוֹ עֹמֶדֶת לָעַד). The whole path ends in praise that never stops. We search out His works, we revere His name, and we do His commandments, and the fruit of it all is worship without end.

Explanation

The psalm crowns its praise with the great motto of the Bible's whole wisdom tradition: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom." Reverent awe of God is not one lesson among many; it is where wisdom starts. A person may be clever, learned, quick, and know a thousand facts, and yet, if he does not fear God, he has not even begun to be wise; he is building without a foundation. All true understanding of the world, of ourselves, of how to live, begins by getting God right, standing before Him in holy reverence. But do not stop at the first half of the verse, for the second half is just as important and often forgotten: "a good understanding have all they that do his commandments." Wisdom is not proved by what a man knows but by what he does. The truly wise are not merely those who can discuss God's ways, but those who keep them; understanding shows itself in obedience. So the whole path is here: the study of God's great works (the rest of the psalm) leads to the fear of God, and the fear of God leads to the doing of God's will. Head, heart, and hand are joined, we search out His works, we revere His name, and we do His commandments, and the fruit of it all is praise that never ends: "his praise endureth for ever."

Gospel Focus

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom", and that wisdom has a name, for Christ "of God is made unto us wisdom" (1 Corinthians 1:30), and "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). To fear God truly is, in the end, to come to Jesus Christ, the wisdom of God; there is no true wisdom apart from Him. And the second half of the verse is His own teaching, for He said, "if ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them" (John 13:17), and, "whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man" (Matthew 7:24). The wise are those who not only hear but obey. So let the fear of the Lord be the beginning of your wisdom, come to Christ in whom all wisdom is hid, and prove your understanding by doing His commandments, and you will join the praise that endures for ever.