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Trinity/After Pentecost · The Twenty-Third Sunday after Trinity

Psalm 111

Great Are the Works of the Lord

November 8, 2026

The Heart of the Andes, Frederic Edwin Church
The Heart of the Andes, Frederic Edwin Church, 1859Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Church travelled to Ecuador twice and assembled this from hundreds of studies. When it was shown in New York in 1859, people queued, paid, and were handed opera glasses to study the botany.Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them: Psalm 111 is about looking closely, and this is a painting made to be looked at closely.Frederic Edwin ChurchThe leading American landscape painter of his generation (1826-1900), who travelled to South America and the Arctic for his subjects and exhibited single canvases as ticketed events.Metropolitan Museum of Art, New YorkThe largest art museum in the Americas, founded in 1870 by a group of New Yorkers who wanted one and had no collection to start from.Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Historic One-Year Lectionary
GospelMatt. 22:15-22Mt 22:15-22
EpistlePhil. 3:17-21Phil 3:17-21
Old TestamentProv. 8:11-22Prv 8:11-22
PsalterPs. 111Ps 111

Overview & Insights

“Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.” (Psalm 111:2)

Psalm 111 forms a unique blend of Israel’s historical traditions (vv. 4–7a, 9a), legal traditions (vv. 7–8, 9b), and wisdom traditions (v. 10). Throughout this psalm God and his people are referred to in the third person. In verse 1, and in this verse alone, a speaking “I” addresses the council of the upright and the assembly. But is this a liturgist addressing a congregation or a teacher addressing the school of the wise? The parallel phrase, “the assembly of the righteous,” appears in Psalm 1:5, a psalm reflecting the wisdom tradition. Wisdom influence may also be suggested by the “motto” of Proverbs in verse 10 (“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,” Prov. 9:10; 1:7), the acrostic or alphabetical form (note esp. Pss. 37; 112; 119), and the use of Yahweh’s law or “precepts” (v. 7) as the source of wisdom (note esp. Pss. 1; 19; 119). On the other hand, wisdom influence need not rule out liturgical use (see W. M.

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Take it further: Psalm 111

Commentary

Psalm 111Ps 111 Working Preacher

Luther Seminary on Psalm 111 as a recital of the Lord's works, covenant, and redemption.

Psalm 111Ps 111 Center for Excellence in Preaching

A Reformed reading of the acrostic psalm's praise for God's faithful and righteous deeds.

Classic commentaries on Psalm 111Classic commentaries on Ps 111 BibleHub

Classic commentaries tracing the acrostic and 'the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.'

Psalm 111Ps 111 Enduring Word · David Guzik

An accessible verse-by-verse commentary, widely used across evangelical churches.

Background & Word Study

Psalm 111 in Hebrew, with Jewish commentaryPs 111 in Hebrew, with Jewish commentary Sefaria

The Hebrew text of the acrostic with classical Jewish commentary.

The Church Fathers

Psalm 111, patristic commentaryPs 111, patristic commentary Catena

Early church praise of God's works and wisdom, verse by verse.

Questions preachers ask

What does Psalm 111 praise?

A psalm of wholehearted thanks for God's gracious and wondrous works, his faithfulness and his covenant, closing with the truth that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

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