Psalms 111:1

Praise ye the Lord,.... Or "hallelujah"; this is the title of the psalm, and is expressive of the subject matter of it; and so it stands in the Targum, Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, Ethiopic, and Arabic

Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation. This psalm is the first of the trilogy, Psalms 111:1-10; Psalms 112:1-10; Psalms 113:1-9.

Psalms 111 THE The excellency of this Psalm appears, as from other things, so from the psalmist’ s care to digest the several parcels of it into an exact order, according to the order of the letters of the Hebrew alphabet, that it might be better fixed in the memories of those who read it. It is a short, yet full, commemoration of God’ s works. The psalmist by his own example exhorteth all men to praise God, ; rehearseth his glorious and wonderful works, ; his keeping covenant with them that fear him, ; whose fear is the beginning of wisdom, . Of the upright; of the sincere worshippers of God, of the Israel of God, as this very word is explained, ; where they who are called Israel in one clause, are called righteous or upright in the next. And this title he gives to the assembly or congregation of Israelites, partly, because many of them were such, and he was obliged in charity to judge all of them to be so, of whom he had no evidence to the contrary; partly, because upright persons do most exercise and delight themselves in this duty of praising God; and hypocrites, though sometimes they give themselves to prayer, yet are very apt to neglect the duty of thanksgiving; partly, because this duty of praise is most comely for the upright, ; and partly, because David’ s heart was most united to the sincere Israelites, and his desire was, as far as he could, to associate himself with such in the worship and service of God.

Psalms 111:1 Praise ye the LORD. I will praise the LORD with [my] whole heart, in the assembly of the upright, and [in] the congregation.Ver. 1. Praise ye the Lord] At the passover especially; for this and the other hallelujatical psalms that follow (called by the Jews the Great Hallelujah) were sung at that and other solemn feasts, in praise of God for his manifold mercies. I will praise the Lord] Musica huius Psalmi in signis est, siquis eam consequi potuit. The great art used in the composure of this and some other psalms (after the order of the Hebrew alphabet) serveth both to set forth their excellence and for the help of memory.

(1) Praise ye the Lord.—This short doxology does not strictly form part of the psalm. The alphabetical arrangement begins with “I will praise,” &c Assembly.—See Note on Psalms 25:14.

PSALM CXI The psalmist praises the Lord, and extols his works as great, honourable, glorious, and magnificent, 1-4; his providence and kindness to his followers, 5-8; the redemption he has granted to his people, 9. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, 10. NOTES ON PSALM CXI This is one of the alphabetical or acrostic Psalms: but it is rather different from those we have already seen, as the first eight verses contain each two members; and each member commences with a consecutive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. But the two last verses are composed of three members each, characterized the same way, making twenty-two members or hemistichs in the whole, to each of which a consecutive letter of the alphabet is prefixed. But this division is not proper: it should follow the arrangement in the Hebrew poetry, where every hemistich stands by itself, and each contains a complete sense. The Psalm has no title in the Hebrew, unless the word Hallelujah be considered as such; and the thanksgivings which it contains were probably composed for the benefit of the Jews after their return from captivity. Verse 1. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart] If we profess to "sing to the praise and glory of God," the heart, and the whole heart, without division and distraction, must be employed in the work. In the assembly] בסוד besod, in the secret assembly - the private religious meetings for the communion of saints. And in the congregation, עדה edah, the general assembly - the public congregation. There were such meetings as the former ever since God had a Church on the earth; and to convey general information, there must be public assemblies.

1. Praise ye the Lord] Heb. Hallelujah. This liturgical call to praise forms no part of the structure of the Psalm. See note on Psalms 104:35. I will give thanks unto Jehovah with a whole heart, In the council of the upright and in the congregation. The word ṣ ?ôd denotes (1) the confidential intercourse of intimate friends, Psalms 25:14, &c., (2) a gathering or council of such persons (Psalms 89:7); and it has been thought by some that it is here contrasted with the congregation. Hence Coverdale (P.B.V.), secretly among the faithful and in the congregation. But the grammatical construction does not support the distinction. The congregation assembled for worship is termed council as being united by the sense of common fellowship, and its members are described as the upright, for it is presumed that they are actuated by true devotion. Cp. Psalms 33:1; Psalms 1:5.

Praise ye the Lord - Margin, “Hallelujah.” See Psalms 106:1. I will praise the Lord with my whole heart - With undivided affections; holding back nothing.

1. Praise ye the Lord—This belongs to the title of the psalm, as is clearly shown by the alphabetical numbering of the lines, beginning with the next sentence. In the assembly—In the select, or confidential, circle.