Psalm 111 — 112
inadvertently blaspheme His holy name. Would that God's people today had such reverence for the name of the Lord!
present and hope for the future. The celebrating of special days and weeks as commanded in Leviticus 23 was one way the Lord helped His people recall His great deeds on their behalf. But even more, His works reveal His attributes, for like Him they are great (v. 2), glorious, majestic and righteous (v. 3), wonderful, gracious and compassionate (v. 4), powerful (v. 6), faithful, just and trustworthy (v. 7), and holy and awesome (v. 9). Who could not trust a God with that kind of character!
Obey His Will (v. 10) The awesomeness of God's name leads to the importance of fearing the Lord and obeying His will. The fear of the Lord is a topic mentioned frequently in Scripture, especially in the book of Proverbs. It is not the slavish fear of a criminal before a judge but the loving and reverential fear of a child for his or her parents. If we want to understand God's works and God's Word, we must maintain this reverential fear of the Lord, for this attitude is the basis for receiving spiritual wisdom and understanding. (See Job 28:28; Prov. 1:7 and 9:10.) The word "beginning" means "the principal part," and without this we are unprepared to learn God's truth. But fearing the Lord leads to obeying the Lord, and obedience is important to spiritual understanding (John 7:17). How all of this works out in our practical daily life is explained in the next psalm.
In reviewing the kinds of works God did, the psalmist also reminded us of what some of those works were. He provided food for His people after they left Egypt and gave them His covenant at Sinai (v. 5). He helped them conquer the nations in Canaan (v. 6; Deut. 4:35–40) and delivered them from bondage in Babylon (v. 9). As A. T. Pierson used to say, "History is His story," and we should read it with that in mind. We should delight in pondering the record of God's works and learn more about the Lord from our study, but we should also review how He has worked in our own lives. The word "remembered" in verse 4 is "memorial." We may read it, "He has caused His wonders to be a memorial." In fact, Israel itself is a memorial to the power and grace of God. As Abraham went from place to place, he left behind altars and wells as memorials that God had brought him that way, and the Jewish nation left "memorial stones" after they entered Canaan (Josh. 4:1–7) and during their passage through the land. Jewish parents were commanded to teach their children the meaning of the special days and the memorial stones (Ex. 13:3–10; Deut. 6:4–9; Josh. 4:4–7). There are no "sacred places" where God dwells in some unique way, but there are special places where God can bring edifying memories to mind that will help us remember His greatness and grace.