Psalm 111

¹Praise 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 established for ever and ever,
enacted 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.

Today’s guest blogger; Frank Fodor

Psalms 111  and 112 are a matched pair.  Both consist of ten verses

and each poem contains twenty-two phrases which are arranged

as an acrostic, the phrase successively commencing with the letters of

the Hebrew alphabet.

(quoted from the New Bible Commentary, Eerdmans,  publisher)

Both psalms begin with the phrase, Jah, which means Hallelujah (literally).

Psalm 111 through 119 were supposed to have been sung by the Jewish people at the

celebration of the Passover, namely the singing of the Gospel Hallel.

That hymn, in all likelihood, which our blessed Lord sang with his disciples after

last supper.  The psalm is composed in alphabetical order, each verse containing two letters.

The first verse begins with aleph, while the letter beth is placed at the commencement of the

of the next half of the verse.

Example: (aleph) I will praise Jehovah with my whole heart,

(beth) in the congregation and assembly of the just.

2. (gimel) The works of Jehovah are great

(deleth) sought out of all who have a desire to them.

3. (he) His work is beautiful and magnificent,

(vau) And his justice is forever.

4. (zain) He has caused His marvelous works to be remembered,

(cheth) Jehovah is compassionate and merciful….

(Information from Jebb’s literal Translation of the Book of Psalms,

Christian Classics Etheral Library, Calvin College, www.ccel.org)

Acrostic form most likely aided in memorization of the song.