In Psalm 111:1-10 David writes,
1 Praise the Lord. I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
2 Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.
3 Glorious and majestic are His deeds, and His righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused His wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
5 He provides food for those who fear Him; He remembers His covenant forever.
6 He has shown His people the power of His works, giving them the lands of other nations.
7 The works of His hands are faithful and just; all His precepts are trustworthy.
8 They are steadfast forever and ever, done in faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He provided redemption for His people; He ordained His covenant forever – holy and awesome is His name!
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise.
There is an interesting point to note about this psalm, and that is that this psalm is what is called an acrostic poem, which means that each of its lines begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
We live in a very high-tech world in which much knowledge and information is available at the touch of a few keystrokes, but unfortunately, there is very little wisdom existing. It has been our so-called knowledgeable and brightest individuals who got us into the financial crisis we are currently facing, so when the government came to bail them out, what did some of these bright people do? They turned right around and rewarded themselves with an over $440,000 junket to a posh hotel to receive massages and other amenities! That certainly was not the wisest course of action to take. So as we can see, even smart people do stupid things. David reveals the secret of attaining true wisdom and understanding when he writes in Psalm 111:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise." We also know that David passed this wisdom on to his son, Solomon, for Solomon also says in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Solomon later added in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”
What is particularly interesting is that David and Solomon have revealed for mankind three secrets of wisdom, and no one needs to be an Ivy League scholar or earn any degree from any university whatsoever in order to learn them.
The first secret revealed is that we need to fear God. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," we are told on more than one occasion. This is not the fear that an enslaved man felt before an angry master or overseer. This is reverence that is being described. It is the respect of a loving child given to a loving and kind father. In other words, it is reflected in one’s showing respect for God, respect and honor to His word, and reverence in His presence. It is being willing to substitute our will and replace it with His will in our lives.
The second secret revealed is that we should obey Him. “ . . . all who follow His precepts have good understanding . . .” writes David. A precept is another word for command, so one who follows His precepts is one who has obeyed His commands. God has preserved His word for us not just that we can read and study it, but because He wants us to follow Him. Within it, and it alone, contain the words of eternal life for all who obey Him. Some of us seem to take the attitude that we are simply auditing a class, so all that is required is that we sit in on the lecture occasionally and maybe jot down a few notes. But as James, the Lord’s brother says, “But be you doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves.” (James 1:22) It is from our obeying God that we begin to come to understand what He is doing. Obedience is the means of finding true spiritual understanding.
The third secret David revealed is that we should praise the Lord. “To Him belongs eternal praise." When our hearts and minds are centered on God with praise unto Him, our own selfishness will be removed out of our lives. We move from vain idolatry and into living a life wholly given to the Lord.
The more we fear Him, the more will we desire to obey Him. The more we obey Him, the more will we desire to praise Him. These are the makings of life that is happy, successful and one that has that “ . . . peace of God that passes all understanding. . . .” (Philippians 4:7)
1 Praise the Lord. I will extol the Lord with all my heart in the council of the upright and in the assembly.
2 Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.
3 Glorious and majestic are His deeds, and His righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused His wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate.
5 He provides food for those who fear Him; He remembers His covenant forever.
6 He has shown His people the power of His works, giving them the lands of other nations.
7 The works of His hands are faithful and just; all His precepts are trustworthy.
8 They are steadfast forever and ever, done in faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He provided redemption for His people; He ordained His covenant forever – holy and awesome is His name!
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise.
There is an interesting point to note about this psalm, and that is that this psalm is what is called an acrostic poem, which means that each of its lines begin with successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
We live in a very high-tech world in which much knowledge and information is available at the touch of a few keystrokes, but unfortunately, there is very little wisdom existing. It has been our so-called knowledgeable and brightest individuals who got us into the financial crisis we are currently facing, so when the government came to bail them out, what did some of these bright people do? They turned right around and rewarded themselves with an over $440,000 junket to a posh hotel to receive massages and other amenities! That certainly was not the wisest course of action to take. So as we can see, even smart people do stupid things. David reveals the secret of attaining true wisdom and understanding when he writes in Psalm 111:10, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise." We also know that David passed this wisdom on to his son, Solomon, for Solomon also says in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Solomon later added in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.”
What is particularly interesting is that David and Solomon have revealed for mankind three secrets of wisdom, and no one needs to be an Ivy League scholar or earn any degree from any university whatsoever in order to learn them.
The first secret revealed is that we need to fear God. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom," we are told on more than one occasion. This is not the fear that an enslaved man felt before an angry master or overseer. This is reverence that is being described. It is the respect of a loving child given to a loving and kind father. In other words, it is reflected in one’s showing respect for God, respect and honor to His word, and reverence in His presence. It is being willing to substitute our will and replace it with His will in our lives.
The second secret revealed is that we should obey Him. “ . . . all who follow His precepts have good understanding . . .” writes David. A precept is another word for command, so one who follows His precepts is one who has obeyed His commands. God has preserved His word for us not just that we can read and study it, but because He wants us to follow Him. Within it, and it alone, contain the words of eternal life for all who obey Him. Some of us seem to take the attitude that we are simply auditing a class, so all that is required is that we sit in on the lecture occasionally and maybe jot down a few notes. But as James, the Lord’s brother says, “But be you doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves.” (James 1:22) It is from our obeying God that we begin to come to understand what He is doing. Obedience is the means of finding true spiritual understanding.
The third secret David revealed is that we should praise the Lord. “To Him belongs eternal praise." When our hearts and minds are centered on God with praise unto Him, our own selfishness will be removed out of our lives. We move from vain idolatry and into living a life wholly given to the Lord.
The more we fear Him, the more will we desire to obey Him. The more we obey Him, the more will we desire to praise Him. These are the makings of life that is happy, successful and one that has that “ . . . peace of God that passes all understanding. . . .” (Philippians 4:7)
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