“He sent redemption to his people; he has commanded his covenant forever. Holy and awesome is his name!” (Psalm 111:9 ESV).
Psalm 111 is a song of praise celebrating the mighty works of the LORD. It is an acrostic psalm, each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, demonstrating the completeness of God’s praise. The psalmist recounts the LORD’s works of creation, providence, and especially redemption. In verse 9, he declares that God “sent redemption to his people,” recalling Israel’s deliverance from Egypt by God’s mighty hand. Yet, this redemption looked forward to a greater deliverance from sin and death that would come through God’s Son, Jesus Christ. The psalmist’s statement that God “has commanded his covenant forever” points to the permanence of His promise. What He began with Israel finds its fulfillment in Christ, the mediator of a new and better covenant (Heb. 9:15). Indeed, the One whose “name is holy and awesome” has made Himself known to us by name, Jesus, which means “the LORD saves.”
When the psalmist wrote, redemption was an act of God’s power and grace displayed in history. But for us, redemption has a name: Jesus! God didn’t merely send a salve or a solution; He sent His Son. As Paul wrote, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Gal. 4:4–5). Because of Jesus, God’s covenant love is not just eternal, it’s personal. Through Jesus, God redeems our past, renews our hearts, and restores our relationship with Himself. When we say His name, we proclaim the holy and awesome God who became flesh to save us. Let us never grow flippant or tired of saying His name, but let us worship Him with reverence and awe, for redemption has a name, and that name is Jesus!
PRAYER: Dear Father, we praise Your holy and awesome name! Thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus to redeem us. Help us to live as Your redeemed people, walking in gratitude and awe of Your everlasting covenant love. May our hearts and lips continually glorify the name that is above every name: Jesus! For it’s in His name we pray. Amen.