Psalm 111:1-10
God Gives Wonderful Blessings

Praise the LORD!

      I will praise the LORD with my whole heart,
      In the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.

The works of the LORD are great,
      Studied by all who have pleasure in them.
His work is honorable and glorious,
      And His righteousness endures forever.
He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;
      The LORD is gracious and full of compassion.
He has given food to those who fear Him;
      He will ever be mindful of His covenant.
He has declared to His people the power of His works,
      In giving them the heritage of the nations.

The works of His hands are verity and justice;
      All His precepts are sure.
They stand fast forever and ever,
      And are done in truth and uprightness.
He has sent redemption to His people;
      He has commanded His covenant forever:
      Holy and awesome is His name.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
      A good understanding have all those who do His commandments.
      His praise endures forever.

New King James Version

The most well-known part of this psalm is the last verse, which sounds like it fits in the book of Proverbs. Wisdom comes from God, and God gives wisdom as a blessing to obedient followers. This precept fits within the theme of the rest of the psalm, describing God's generous blessings and calling on us to praise God. God is righteous, gracious, compassionate, just, wise, and faithful--"Holy and awesome is His name!" Do we search for wisdom? If we pursue knowing God and being obedient to God, we get the whole package of blessings!

There is one small word that illustrates the extraordinary measure of God's blessing, and that is the word "food" about halfway through the psalm:

He has given food to those who fear Him;

Almost all the modern translations use the word "food" for the original Hebrew word, but the King James version translated it as "meat". The root of the Hebrew word means "prey that is torn into pieces", while the more common word translated as "food" in the Old Testament comes from a word meaning simply "to consume".

There are three times this Hebrew word for "meat" is used in the Old Testament, and we get an understanding of the special meaning for this word in those contexts. Once is in Proverbs 31:14, where the virtuous woman rises before dawn to lovingly and carefully prepare food for her household and her servants. This wonderful chef shows her love for her household by preparing special meals for them, more than just the common bread, spreads, and vegetables, but meat as well.

Another occurrence of this Hebrew word is in Malachi 3:10 where God commands the people to bring all of the offerings and tithes, the best and first of their harvests, into the storehouse, that there may be food, prepared with honor and reverence, in God's house. If the purpose was merely to feed the priests, any old food would be satisfactory. Since the purpose is to show love and offer praise to God, the food offered in service to God should be the best.

In both of the other uses, "meat" is offered as a special and wonderful meal to show love and respect. In this Psalm, God is offering to us that special and wonderful meal! It is a gift and an honor we do not deserve, but that God's love freely offers to us!

The same is true for all of God's blessings. We do not deserve the grace that God gives us to restore a relationship of righteousness and truth with us, but God blesses us with grace all the same. We have broken our part of the covenant with God, but God is faithful to that covenant all the same. In our sins, we deserve death, but God not only gives us life instead, but a bountiful, blessed eternal life.

Our reasons to praise God are endless, because God's love is expressed to us in an endless number of ways! God showers us with loving, purposeful, hand-made blessings that go far beyond what we must have or what we want, because that is what God wants to give us!