Psalm 111:1-3
1
Praise the Lord!
I will thank the Lord with all my heart
as I meet with his godly people.
2
How amazing are the deeds of the Lord!
All who delight in him should ponder them.
3
Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.
His righteousness never fails.
Both the Old and New Testaments reveal, apart from salvation in Christ, humans are wise only in their own eyes (Prov. 3:7). In fact, when we try to exalt our unredeemed human knowledge, we are living as fools without integrity; trying to steal the glorious Wisdom and reputation away from Creator God (Romans 1:22). We rob God by trying to exalt the human mind above his will and commands; we act like sons of evil trying to rewrite and twist his Word. What was Satan’s lie to Eve? Satan told Eve that eating from the tree—of the knowledge of good and evil—would make humans wise like God (Gen. 3:5-6). My friends, God loves us and, through his Word, he is trying to protect us from evil. If God forbids us to eat the fruit (the ways) of this world, disobedience to his Word will open the door to deception and spiritual death (Gen. 2:17). We must eat from the Tree of Life—his Word is Truth.
In our passage today, the psalmist praises God for his glory that will remain a mystery to human understanding apart from a vibrant relationship with him. Obviously, if we are living or promoting anything that is contrary to the Word of God and his commands, it reveals we are deceived and have eaten the rotten fruit offered by Satan! However, if we are willing to submit to and obey God’s Word, we will experience realms of his glory, true Wisdom guiding our lives, and bear the fruit of righteousness that reflects his pure character. Our lesson: we must refuse to eat the rotten fruit of the world offered by the liar!
Prayer: Lord, thank you for your perfect character and righteous deeds always operating in my behalf. I join with the psalmist to delight in you and cling to the righteousness that never fails. In Jesus’ name. Amen.