Read Psalm 111
One of the themes of this Psalm and Psalm 112 is wisdom. The structure of each of these Psalms is one way that theme is conveyed. They are both acrostic poems. That is, each line begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. There are eight other acrostic poems in the Psalter (9; 10; 25; 34; 37; 112; 119; 145). While the device makes it a bit more difficult to outline or discover major themes, it always communicates completeness. In this case, the psalmist intends to impress on us that in God’s provision of Christ, we have every reason we need to serve him out of loving appreciation.
Creation
Verse 2 connects wisdom to the creation. We are encouraged to look from our relationship with the Father to the world he has made.[1] Because he has created it in wisdom, those that study it like scientists and artists have abundant return for their labors. This verse is inscribed over the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge, although those that study there now have perhaps long forgotten the message of v. 10, that it is the fear of the Lord and not their own research that is the beginning of wisdom. In the creation, one is inevitably moved to worship when he discovers a relationship with the Christ through whom all things were made. Without knowing him, it is impossible to appreciate the world properly. Scripture assures us that there is nothing that we see in this world that has not come into being by the gracious agency of Christ.
Fear
Verse 10 repeats a principle often articulated in scripture – "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." This fear is motivated by the redemption of Christ mentioned in verse 9. This arresting reminder of the price of our redemption leads naturally into the next verse which provides the logical response, namely, to fear the Lord, follow his precepts, and praise him. To respond in loving service and praise is the only response to such sacrifice.
However, for some the response of fear may seem inappropriate. I have said before that fear of God for the Christian is the fear of a child before a loving Father. At its basest form it may at times be the dread of discipline. However, at its highest form it is the dread of disappointing the one you love. I recently came across another insight into the biblical concept of the fear of God that sheds more light on the passage before us. It is by J. G. Machen in a sermon on Mt. 10:28, “but rather fear him, which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
Even the Christian must fear God. But it is another kind of fear. It is a fear rather of what might have been than of what is; it is a fear of what would come were we not in Christ. Without such fear there can be no true love; for love of the Saviour is proportioned to one’s horror of that from which man has been saved. And how strong are the lives that are suffused with such a love! They are lives brave, not because the realities of life have been ignored, but because they have first been faced – lives that are founded upon the solid foundation of God’s grace. May such lives be ours![2]
In other words, the beginning of wisdom and thus the beginning of a loving life of service to the Savior, is the frightening realization of what you could have been, had Christ not invaded this world as a baby and then your soul as a Savior, to apply his salvation purchased for you with his own blood.
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[1] maasim sometimes refers to God’s deeds, but most often refers to his created works (cm. 8:3; 19:1; 102:25).
[2] Extract from God Transcendent in Banner of Truth 232 (January 1983) 24.