God’s Great Works!

(Psalm 111:2)

Mike Johnson

Psalm 111, known as a Hallelujah Psalm, begins by saying, “Praise the Lord” and ends with, “His praise endures forever.”  In between, the Psalmists praises God in various ways.  After expressing his desire to praise God in the assembly, in verse 2, the Psalmist exclaims, “The works of the Lord are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them.”

It is not difficult to contemplate the works of the Lord and understand how great they are.  Four of His great works quickly come to mind.

  1. God’s Creation(Gen. 1)- We stand amazed realizing God created the universe, and that His power is so great, He spoke things into existence. Psalm 19:1 states, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” Romans 1:20 points out, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” Jeremiah 10:12 observes, “He has made the earth by His power, He has established the world by His wisdom, and has stretched out the heavens at His discretion.” (Note also Acts 17:24, Rev. 4:11.)
  2. God Sustains the Universe– Paul, speaking to the Athenians, revealed, “For in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’”  (Note also Col. 1:17, Heb. 1:3.) We are entirely dependent on God.
  3. God’s Plan of Redemption– Colossians 1:14 speaks of us having redemption (the forgiveness of sins) through the blood of Jesus Christ. Hebrews 2:2-3 refers to salvation as being “great” and points out, “For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him.” The fact God sent His son to die for the sins of everyone, allowing us to obtain eternal salvation, is undoubtedly one of God’s great works.
  4. God’s Providence– God’s providence involves His care through natural means; it is God working behind the scenes. Ecclesiastes 8:12 points out, “…I surely know that it will be well with those who fear God, who fear before Him.” (Note also Mt. 6:33, Rom. 8:28, I Pet. 3:10-12.)

After speaking of God’s works as being great, the writer continues by saying (2b) they are “studied by all who have pleasure in them.”

The great works of God may not interest many, but those who appreciate His works, carefully study them.  Natural revelation (observing God’s creation) displays God’s works (Ps. 19:1) while special revelation (the Scriptures) even further reveals them. Consider the follow comments:

There is a pleasure in the contemplation of the works of nature and providence; to behold the power, wisdom, and goodness of God in them, and his care over all his creatures; and particularly how he makes all things to work together for the good of his people…”(John Gill’s Exposition of the Old and New Testaments).

God’s works are great.  When we consider what He has done, we should be motivated to proclaim as the Psalmist did that the works of the Lord are great!   In Psalm 66:3, after praising God, the Psalmist concluded, “How awesome are your works!”