“Praise the Lord! I will praise the Lord with my whole heart, in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation. The works of the Lord are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them.”
Psalm 111:1–2

There are two things in these verses that every believer must take to heart:

1. We Are Called to Praise God in the Congregation

The psalmist makes no secret of his intent he is praising God not in private solitude, but “in the assembly of the upright and in the congregation.” In other words, with the people of God.

This is where our praise belongs. Not just alone in our prayer closets (though that’s good too), but together, in unity and shared devotion. Something powerful happens when we gather and lift our voices in unison to worship the Lord. Have you ever been to a concert where the band stops singing, and the entire crowd takes over the song? It’s moving. Multiply that by heaven. When God’s people gather and lift their voices in one accord, we rock the heavens. God hears it and is pleased.

Yet I hear too often:
“I don’t go to church anymore.”
“I love God, but I can’t deal with Christians.”
“I just stream a sermon at home.”

Let’s be honest this isn’t okay. God has commanded us to assemble, to praise Him together with our whole hearts. If you’re a believer, your place is in the Body, not watching from the sidelines. Don’t forsake the gift and power of the gathered Church. We need each other. God designed it this way.

2. The Works of the Lord Are to Be Studied, Not Sampled

Psalm 111:2 makes it plain:
“The works of the Lord are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them.”

Too many believers settle for second-rate spiritual meals. We snack on devotionals and Christian quotes while our Bibles collect dust. There’s nothing inherently wrong with a devotional but let’s be honest about what it is.

A typical devotional:

• One Bible verse (maybe two)
• A paragraph or two of someone else’s commentary
• A short prayer

That means, percentagewise, we’re giving about 5% of our attention to God’s actual Word, and the remaining 95% to another person’s thoughts. That’s not devotion. That’s outsourcing your relationship with God.

Would you tell a wife to stop speaking directly to her husband and only hear about him through his best friend? No! That marriage wouldn’t last.

So why do we approach God that way?

We must go straight to His Word. If we want to know what He thinks, what He feels, who He is we study the Bible. We dig into it, delight in it, meditate on it. The works of the Lord are great, studied by all who have pleasure in them.

And here’s the good news: When you begin to study His works, you will take pleasure in them. It is the natural outcome of a heart set on His Word. You will be transformed. You will be renewed. Psalm 119:9 reminds us:
“How can a man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.”

So, What Now?

If you’ve drifted from the gathering of the saints…come back.
If you’ve replaced your Bible with bite-sized devos…open the Word.
If you’ve grown lukewarm in praise…lift your voice again.

Your life depends on it.

Let’s be a people who praise with our whole hearts together and who treasure the Word above all else.

Because He is worthy.