As with any biblical discussion, the conclusion of a matter must be drawn from scripture and scripture alone. Although this is true, if a person is unlearned in the art of how to skillfully and properly draw conclusions from scripture, then these individuals tend to find ways to support the conclusion they have within their minds before consulting God's good book. Unfortunately, many religious entities draw conclusions that meet their own agenda's rather then the agenda of scripture. With that being said, before reading the remainder of this blog, erase from your mind what you think you know concerning this particular subject and text and approach this study with a fresh mind. After all, it is by a fresh mind that enables you to receive a fresh revelation.
In order to understand the answer to this question, a proper exegesis of the context is necessary.
This Psalm is really more about praising God then it is about what you can or can not call a man. If I may use a skeleton outline, you may conclude three points about Psalm 111:
(1) The Call to Praise (v. 1)
(2) The Cause for Praise (v. 2-9)
(3) The Concluding Exhortation of Praise (v. 10)
The Psalmist begins by saying "Praise ye the LORD"....
The word "praise" according to its original hebrew language means to "make a show, celebrate or boast". By implication, there is nothing about this word that indicates that a person's praise to God should be silent.
The Psalmist continues by saying "I will praise the LORD with my whole heart"....
This phrase "whole heart" indicates that the psalmist has made a declaration that he will praise God with his mind. The intended message that the reader should seek to get from the psalmist is this... If the Praise of God starts in your mind, then the rest of your actions will follow. The mind is the seat of intellect. It is the starting point of which all other actions flow. If many of us could just get our minds focused on God in praise, our behavior would reflect such a change. God does not seek only those who will praise him with a loud mouth but he seeks those who praises him through your actions.
Secondly, the Psalmist indicates that "the works of the LORD are great..."
The word "works" means "the occupation" of God is "mighty or noble". The psalmist indicates that the Lord is to be praised because of who he is.
Thirdly, "his work is honorable and glorious; and his righteousness endureth for ever."
These attributes that have been attributed to God are things that God has done. In other words, the psalmist wants us to know that God deserves our praise because of who he is and because of what he has done.
Furthermore, "he has made his wonderful works to be remembered..."
The word remembered means "a memorial". In other words, a memorial should be set up in our minds that reminds us of the wonderful things that God has done. Particularly, such things as God's parting the red sea and causing the children of Israel to walk through on dry land or God feeding the children of Israel with manna from heaven or several other herioc biblical stories that speaks to the awesomeness of God. You really don't have to call the biblical role, however, just reference all of the great things God has done in your life and set up a memorial in your mind concerning those things.
Lastly, "He sent redemption to his people, he hath commanded his covenant for ever; holy and reverend is his name."
The Psalmist descends this praise passage by indicating that the Lord sent redemption (deliverance) to his people. The psalmist then reiterates the character of the Lord... Holy and Reverend. For clarity sake, the word "reverend" is the strongs conocordance number 3372. The word litterally means "awesome" or "to be feared". The english word "name" as found in the text does not mean what we understand it to mean within our english dialect but actually the word "name" literally means "a mark of individuality." In other words, there is no one else like God. There is no one that possesses the power and character of God.
With all of this being said, the question still remains, can a man be called reverend? The answer, a man cannot be called "reverend" if it is his intent or anothers intent on elevating him to the same position as God because God has incommunable attributes that cannot be passed on to man. However, there are several biblical instances where this same word that was used in Psalm 111:9 has been attributed to men and not God (Genesis 32:11; 42:35; 43:18; Exodus 2:14).
In conclusion, if the word "reverend" is to be used exclusively toward God, why is it that several passages records the usage of the same word in regards to mere men? I whole-heartedly believe that God's attributes as outlined in Psalm 111 speaks to the incommunable character of God. However, there is a such thing as the communcable character of God. And Psalm 111 speaks to those characteristics as well. For example, Psalm 111 calls God "HOLY and reverend" so if "reverend" was an exclusive "title" to God, then how is it that we can be called "Holy?"
We should be dilligent to study the scriptures for ourselves and see what the true meaning of scripture is rather than preach a regurgitated message.
Be blessed....
Evangelist David Watkins III
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