Psalm 111
1 Hallelujah!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart, *
in the assembly of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the deeds of the LORD! *
they are studied by all who delight in them.
3 His work is full of majesty and splendor, *
and his righteousness endures for ever.
4 He makes his marvelous works to be remembered; *
the Lord is gracious and full of compassion.
5 He gives food to those who fear him; *
he is ever mindful of his covenant.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works
in giving them the lands of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithfulness and justice; *
all his commandments are sure.
8 They stand fast for ever and ever, *
because they are done in truth and equity.
9 He sent redemption to his people;
he commanded his covenant for ever; *
holy and awesome is his Name.
10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; *
those who act accordingly have a good understanding;
his praise endures for ever.
[Lectionary Translation]
FEAR AND WISDOM
Psalm 111 is the first in a series of psalms that open with the Hebrew word “Halleluyah!” – which means “Praise YHWH!” (the Divine Name rendered in many translations as “LORD”). This psalm has been termed a “succinct and masterful acrostic:” it has twenty-two lines (called cola by scholars, distinct from verses), each beginning with a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This gives it literary “heft,” while also making it easier to memorize and recite aloud.
The psalm speaks of the wonderful “deeds” of YHWH (“the LORD”), describing those deeds as generous, powerful, faithful, just, true, equable and redemptive. At the end of the psalm we find the “heart” of all those wonderful “doings” – and that is the “covenant” (Hebrew b’rit) and the holy “Name” (shem). Both covenant and Name are foundational to Judaism, and also, of course, to Christianity. This psalm points, then, to the origin of all the wonderful “activity” of sacred history. We find beneath the surface a deep commitment, a steadfast love, and also a mysterious (and "becoming") presence that we try to “name” and that still eludes our grasp. So Psalm 111 is more than a celebration of historical events: it hints at a mystical quest.
The final verse of Psalm 111 (verse 10) includes some terms that are challenging, and essential to mystical theology. Most translators understand that “fear of the LORD” means religious awe – what Rudolph Otto, in his classic work The Idea of the Holy, terms mysterium tremendum et fascinans. You might call it “reverence,” but that is not really strong enough. In English, the word “fear” is usually associated with “fight or flight” reactions – but this is not the case for the Hebrew original, which is yir’ah. One scholar of the psalms – Nancy deClaisse-Walford – correctly points out, that the biblical yir’ah is a synonym for “love,” “cling to,” and “serve.” So yir’ah is really a “verbal noun,” far more essentially proactive than “fear,” “panic” or “terror.” It is an action of the heart, not a survival-mode reaction of the emotions. Throughout the Bible, “fear of the Name” – yir’at ha-shem - indicates a transcendent relationship, a mysterium of attraction and awe: tremendum, yes, but also fascinans – inspiring deep longing.
We could render Psalm 111:10 in the spirit of the Wisdom tradition, evoking a longing for the Name that cannot be spoken, and for the Beloved who always Becomes:
On Understanding’s Way beginning,
To holy Becoming in love now clinging,
We’re right to grieve old bridges burning -
Yet our cry for Wisdom still stands singing!
[Psalm 111:10 - rendered from the Hebrew by Henry Ralph Carse]
Henry Ralph Carse - January 31, 2021