::psalm 111::

"Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart, in the company of the upright and in the assembly. Great are the works of the Lord; they are studied by all who delight in them. Splendid and majestic is His work, and His righteousness endures forever. He has made His wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate.

He has given food to those who fear Him; He will remember His covenant forever.

He has made known to His people the power of his works, in giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of his hands are truth and justice; all His precepts are sure. They are upheld forever and ever; they are performed in truth and uprightness. He has sent redemption to His people; He has ordained His covenant forever; Holy and awesome is His name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; a good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever."

I read this Psalm last week, after having read a middle section of scripture from John chapter 6. In verses 48-58 Jesus repeatedly refers to Himself either as food or drink, and I was struck when I read this Psalm that it is a type of prophecy about Christ. Read these words from John:

"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers at the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down out of heaven so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give for the life of the world is My flesh." (John 6.47-51)

When I read Psalm 111 a few days later, immediately my mind connected these two passages of scripture. Obviously, the Psalmist was talking about how the Lord provided the physical food for those who fear Him; that God literally was their provider of food to eat. Which is still true, in every sense, because everything we have comes from Him and that includes food. But what I was thinking, is that in a much deeper sense of the word, God provided food for us (for all generations) in Jesus: the spiritual food that we crave and that which alone will satisfy us. So, the psalmist, thousands of years before Christ, refers to this active generosity of the Lord to provide food for those who believe in Him, and now we see that the true food that God gives is in fact our good Savior, Jesus.

It amazed me this week to consider the original intent and time period of the psalmist, and then to see how Christ spoke of Himself and in doing so, fulfilled that verse. Cool stuff!

More to come from the Psalms, they are rocking my world.