EXPOSITION OF PSALM 33
Psalm 33

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This psalm has no title, nor is its writer identified. It may be divided into seven divisions: 1. an exhortation to the righteous to praise Jehovah (vv.1-3); 2. reasons for praising Jehovah (vv.4-7); 3. an exhortation for all men to revere Jehovah (vv.8-11); 4. the blessed nation identified (v.12); 5. the glory of the Lord, the vanity of the flesh (vv.13-19); 6. the saint's confidence in Jehovah (vv.20f); 7. a prayer of the faithful to Jehovah (v.22).

I. An exhortation to the righteous to praise Jehovah (vv.1-3)

33:1 "Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous! ..." This psalm takes up where the preceding left off (32:11). Those who have been justified, or declared righteous, through the Father graciously imputing to them the righteous of His Son (cp. 32:2 with Romans 3:21-4:8) will gladly rejoice in Jehovah the Father, their Justifier (Romans 3:26), and in Jehovah the Son, their Righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6; 1 Corinthians 1:30).

"... For praise from the upright is beautiful." Praise from the wicked is an abomination to Jehovah (Proverbs 15:8a; Psalm 50:16-17ff), for it is hypocritical and insincere. But Jehovah is delighted when the justified praise Him (Proverb 15:8b), for they are faithfully performing their duty and their occupation.

33:2 "Praise the LORD with the harp; / Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings." We are not of those who say it is unlawful to employ musical instruments in worshiping Jehovah, nor of those who say that psalms instructing us to do so must be disobeyed (e.g., Psalms 149 & 150).

33:3 "Sing to Him a new song; ..." Do not neglect old songs. But new mercies from Jehovah (as in Lamentations 3:22f) warrant new songs of praise to Him.

"... Play skillfully with a shout of joy." Jehovah deserves to be praised to the best of the abilities He has given to His people (as in 1 Chronicles 13:8). Do not praise Him in a slovenly manner.

II. Reasons for praising Jehovah (vv.4-7)

33:4 "For the word of the LORD is right, ..." This is true of the written Word of God, which reveals His righteousness (as in Romans 3:21). And this is true of the incarnate Word of God (John 1:14), who is righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30).

"... And all His work is done in truth." This is true because all Jehovah's works are done in Christ, who is the Truth (John 14:6).

33:5 "He loves righteousness and justice; ..." – just as much as He hates lawlessness and iniquity (Hebrews 1:9).

"... The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD." There is no place on earth where the goodness of Jehovah in both His mercy and glory is not manifested (see Psalm 119:64; Isaiah 6:3).

33:6 "By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, ..." They were made by His spoken word (Genesis 1:6, 14f) and by His living Word, Jesus Christ (John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:16).

"... And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth." The Hebrew word translated "breath" (rûah) is sometimes used of the Holy Spirit (as in Psalm 51:11). All three Persons of the Holy Trinity participated in the work of creation (Genesis 1:1f).

33:7 "He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; ..." This Jehovah did on the third day of creation (Genesis 1:9f), and in His providence still maintains (Psalm 104:5-9).

"... He lays up the deep in storehouses." In the clouds above and in the earth below are treasuries from which are fed the seas' springs and the snow and hail (Job 38:16, 22; Genesis 7:11).

III. An exhortation for all men to revere Jehovah (vv.8-11)

33:8 "Let all the earth fear the LORD; / Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him." The second phrase explains the first. No one is exempted from the duty of revering his Creator (Ecclesiastes 12:1, 13f).

33:9 "For He spoke, and it was done; / He commanded, and it stood fast." The softest word of God, once uttered, is a fiat and enacted law to which all nature willingly complies, and to which all men are required to comply under penalty of death.

33:10 "The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; / He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect." The wicked plot wickedness against Jehovah, against His Christ, and against His people. But He in His omniscience knows their schemes, and in His omnipotence frustrates them – and laughs while doing so (Psalm 2:1-6). "There is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the LORD" (Proverb 21:30).

33:11 "The counsel of the LORD stands forever, / The plans of His heart to all generations." He has from eternity predestined all things, and all He predestined shall come to pass, unhindered by men (Isaiah 14:24; Isaiah 46:10; Proverb 19:21).

IV. The blessed nation identified (v.12)

33:12 "Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, / The people He has chosen as His own inheritance." He from eternity chose and predestined in Christ His Son a people unto salvation (Ephesians 1:4-6; 2 Thessalonians 2:13), and made of them His own holy nation (1 Peter 2:9). He made this nation to be the special inheritance of His Son (Psalm 28:9), and the only nation blessed with "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). Blessed above every nation is the Israel of God, the church of Christ, whose God is Jehovah the Christ!

33:13 "The LORD looks from heaven; ..." "Heaven" is "the place of His dwelling" (v.14), where from His throne He rules over all (Psalm 103:19).

"... He sees all the sons of men." Jehovah is all-seeing, and none escapes His knowledge and sight – though they deceive themselves in saying, "The LORD does not see, nor does the God of Jacob understand" (Psalm 94:7).

33:14 "From the place of His dwelling He looks / On all the inhabitants of the earth; ..." What was just said is now repeated, perhaps for the benefit of any who still refuse to believe.

33:15 "... He fashions their hearts individually; ..." He is "the Father of spirits" (Hebrews 12:9), "Jehovah who ... forms the spirit of man within him" (Zechariah 12:1), "the God of the spirits of all flesh" (Numbers 16:22). All men are therefore accountable to Him.

"... He considers all their works." And He holds them accountable for all they do (Romans 14:10f; 2 Corinthians 5:10).

33:16 "No king is saved by the multitude of an army; ..." King Ahab disguised himself and felt secure in the midst of his great army, but was slain by a man shooting an arrow "at random" (1 Kings 22:29-35) - predestined random, that is! (Proverb 16:33).

"... A mighty man is not delivered by great strength." The mighty and well-armed Goliath fell victim to the lad David armed only with a sling and a stone (1 Samuel ch.17).

33:17 "A horse is a vain hope for safety; / Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength." Listen to Israel sing, "The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!" (Exodus ch.15).

33:18 "Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, ..." His eye is better protection than everything man can muster (Psalm 20:7f): "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright."

"... On those who hope in His mercy, ..." These are all who trust in Christ, who is Jehovah's "mercy promised to our fathers" (Luke 1:72).

33:19 "... To deliver their soul from death, ..." Jehovah's mercy goes where His eye sees, and rescues His chosen ones from death by graciously granting to them eternal life (John 3:16).

"... And to keep them alive in famine." He who fed Elijah during great physicalfamine (1 Kings 17:1-16) will feed His people in this present spiritual famine (Amos 8:11; John 6:32-35).

VI. The saint's confidence in Jehovah (vv.20f)

33:20 "Our soul waits for the LORD; ..." – patiently and cheerfully for Christ to manifest Himself in His own good time.

"... He is our help and our shield." He is our "very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:10; contrast vv.16f here). And He is "the shield of Jehovah's salvation" (Psalm 18:35). Saints are therefore in Christ both strengthened and protected.

33:21 "For our heart shall rejoice in Him, / Because we have trusted in His holy name." Trust in Christ secures His help, and His help brings that deliverance that causes the heart to rejoice.

VII. A prayer of the faithful to Jehovah (v.22)

33:22 "Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, / Just as we hope in You." He replies, "According to your faith let it be to you" (Matthew 9:29; cp. 8:13; 15:28; 17:20). The measure of our help from Christ is not according to our merit, but according to the grace of faith. Let us believe in Him with all our hearts.

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