THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Psalms: God's Nurture Of The Inner Man In The Life Of Faith

XXXIII. Praising God For His Provision Of Stability In His Word And Work

(Psalm 33:1-22)

I. Introduction

A. We are witnessing decreasing levels of dependability in people, and it produces a growing instability in many human institutions and leaves many individuals suffering from insecurity.

B. Accordingly, we need a Rock of Dependability that counters all such instability and its resulting insecurity, and Psalm 33:1-22 offers praise to the Lord as the Ultimate Answer to this need (B. K. C., O. T., p. 819):

II. Praising God For His Provision Of Stability In His Word And Work, Psalm 33:1-22.

A. We translate Psalm 33:1-22 as follows:

1. "Sing joyfully to Jahweh, you righteous ones; it is fitting for the upright to praise Him," Psalm 33:1.

2. "Give praise to Jahweh with a harp; make music to Him on a ten-stringed lyre," Psalm 33:2.

3. "Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully and shout for joy," Psalm 33:3.

4. "Because the Word of Jahweh is straightforward, upright (yashar, B. D. B., A Hewb.-Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 449), and all He does, makes ('asa, Ibid., p. 793-795; Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 1001; H. A. W., Theol. Wrdbk. O. T., 1980, v. II, p.701-702) is reliable ('emuna, Ibid., B. D. B., p. 53; Ibid., H. A. W., v. I, p. 52; this noun as used of God expresses His "total dependability," Ibid.), Psalm 33:4.

5. "He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of Jahweh's loyal love," Psalm 33:5.

6. "By the Word of Jahweh the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all of their starry hosts," Psalm 33:6.

7. "He gathers the waters of the sea into a heap; He puts the deep into storehouses," Psalm 33:7.

8. "Let all the earth fear Jahweh; let all who dwell on the earth revere Him," Psalm 33:8.

9. "Because He spoke and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm," Psalm 33:9.

10. "Jahweh foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples," Psalm 33:10.

11. "The plans of Jahweh stand firm forever; the purposes of His heart through all generations," Psalm 33:11.

12. "Blessed is the nation whose Elohim is Jahweh, the people He chose for His inheritance," Psalm 33:12.

13. "From the heavens Jahweh looks down and sees all of the sons of men," Psalm 33:13.

14. "From His dwelling place He watches all who live on earth," Psalm 33:14.

15. "He Who forms the hearts of all, Who considers all they do," Psalm 33:15.

16. "No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength," Psalm 33:16.

17. "The horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all of its great strength it cannot save," Psalm 33:17.

18. "Behold! The eyes of Jahweh are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His loyal love," Psalm 33:18.

19. "To rescue their life principles from death, and to keep them alive in famine," Psalm 33:19.

20. "Our life principles wait for Jahweh; He (emph. pron.) is our Help and our Personal, Hand-held Shield (magen, Ibid., B. D. B., p. 171; R. DeVaux, Anc. Israel: V. I - Soc. Insts.,1965, p. 244-245)," Psalm 33:20.

21. "For in Him our hearts rejoice; because we trust in His holy Name," Psalm 33:21.

22. "May Your loyal love be upon us, Jahweh, as we put our hope in You!" (Psalm 33:22)

B. Key observations about this psalm in view of its cultural setting helps us to understand its importance today:

1. The psalmist called his listeners greatly to praise the Lord (Psa. 33:1-3) for His Word is straightforward, upright, all He does and makes is utterly reliable (Psa. 33:4), He loves righteousness and justice and the earth is full of His loyal love (Psa. 33:5). This view sharply contrasts with that of ancient pagan man who feared and was a slave to capricious and often hostile gods, B. K. Waltke, Creation and Chaos, 1974, p. 65.

2. The rest of the psalm expands on this theme in Psalm 33:4-5 as follows:

a. God's Word called into being the fixed order the universe (Psalm 33:6-9) opposite paganism that held the universe was always in danger of being annihilated (Ibid., p. 57)

b. God thus sovereignly rules over the nations as unmovable, upright Judge and the Sure Savior of all who trust in Him (Psalm 33:10-22), the Provider of security in a world of great spiritual sin and insecurity.

Lesson: May we praise God for His utterly dependable Word and Works of righteousness, justice and loyal love.

Application: Let us praise God for His great, sovereign, upright stability and trust Him for all our security needs.