1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. 2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! 3 Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts. (Psalm 33:1–3)

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The entire Psalter (book of Psalms) takes us on an epic journey to praise.

• Psalms is organized into five books, and they all end in praise (1-41, 42-72, 73-89, 90-106, 107-150).

  • Each of the first four books ends with a statement blessing Yahweh.

    • “Blessed be the Lord!” (Ps. 41:13, 72:18, 89:52, 106:48)

  • The fifth book ends with five full psalms of praise (Ps. 146-150).

• Graphing lament and celebration/praise in Psalms:

  • Lament psalms become less frequent while praise psalms become more frequent as you move through the collection.

• Anonymous psalms:

  • Shifts focus from author to Yahweh
    • This psalm is all about God’s character and work.
  • Rare in Book One (Psalms 1-41)—only 9.8%.
    • Psalms increases in anonymity as it progresses (Book 4-5 are nearly 70% anonymous).

• Psalm 33: an anonymous Psalm

  • Invites us into praise.
    • Ps. 32 (personal worship) and Ps. 33 (collective worship) are connected.
      • 32:11—Shout for joy!
      • 33:1—Shout for joy!
    • Concept: Sing to him a new song (3).

Praise is based on Yahweh, and this psalm tells us about Him.

• His character, work, and worthiness.
• The ancient singers of this psalm would know all these truths about God, but these known concepts needed to become fresh concepts.
  • You?

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1. The LORD is powerful and good. (4-9)

4 For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. 5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. 6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! 9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. (Psalm 33:4–9, ESV)

His word is powerful.

• By the word of the Lord, the breath of his mouth, the heavens and all their host were made, and that same word commands the water system of the earth to operate as it does (6-7).
  • There is something here about the teleological argument for God’s existence.
• But I don’t mean to steal the artistry of the psalmist’s words, “He spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (9).
  • Master artist with his blank canvas.
  • scaleofuniverse.com

His word is good.

• The word of the Lord is upright (4).
• All his work is done in faithfulness (4).
• He loves righteousness and justice (5).
• The earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord (5).
  • Chesed: relentless, loyal, covenant-keeping love and mercy of God.
  • The psalmist saw chesed everywhere—not just in Israel, but in all of creation.

So the cosmically powerful word (God) is also the intrinsically ethical word (God).

• God’s omnipotence is completely linked to His righteous character.
  • The universe is not the product of an immoral, malevolent being or an amoral, chaotic force, but a good and holy God.
• He can act + his acts are guided by his goodness.
  • Is this important for you to know today?

The main way we know the LORD is powerful and good is that the Word became flesh.

• 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (John 1:1–3, ESV)

• 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14, ESV)

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2. The LORD has an unstoppable plan. (10-12)

10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! (Psalm 33:10–12)

The Lord has a plan that will stand forever:

• The counsel of the Lord stands forever, and the plans of his heart stand throughout all generations (11).
• What is this plan?

  • God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. (Ephesians 1:8–10, NLT)

• In his purpose of exercising his plans, God will sometimes frustrate and make into nothing the counsel and plans of peoples and nations (10).

Examples of the counsel of the Lord:

• King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream:
  • King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed about a great statue of gold, silver, bronze, iron, and iron mixed with clay destroyed by a stone made without human hands. Daniel told him each substance represented successive world empires (Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome), and that during the time of the fourth kingdom (Rome), God will establish an eternal kingdom that will destroy all earthly kingdoms and reign forever.

  • 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever… (Daniel 2:44, ESV)

• Tyre’s destruction:
  • Ezekiel 26 prophesied that God would bring “many nations against you, as the sea brings up its waves” (v. 3) and that they would “break down your walls and demolish your towers” (v. 4) until Tyre became “a bare rock” where people “spread nets for drying” (v. 5, 14).
  • This was fulfilled when Nebuchadnezzar besieged mainland Tyre, then Alexander the Great literally scraped the ruins into the sea to build a causeway to the island city in 332 BC, leaving the original site as a bare rock where fishermen still spread their nets today.
• Isaiah’s prophecies:
  • Isaiah 13-23: Oracles against Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Damascus, Egypt, and other nations.
  • Isaiah 44:28-45:1: Cyrus named by name 150 years before his birth to restore Israel.
• Jeremiah’s seventy years:
  • Jeremiah 25: Seventy-year Babylonian captivity
• Other prophets:
  • Nahum: Nineveh’s destruction (Nah. 3:7)
  • Obadiah: Edom’s decimation (Obad. 18)
  • Jonah: Nineveh’s judgment, temporarily averted (Jonah 3:4, 10)
  • Amos: Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab’s doom (Amos 1:3-2:3)
  • Zephaniah: Philistia, Moab, Ammon, Ethiopia, Assyria’s devastation (Zeph. 2:4-15)
  • Habakkuk: Chaldeans as God’s instrument, then their destruction (Hab. 1:6, 2:8)
  • Zechariah: Jerusalem’s future prominence among nations (Zech. 14:16)
  • Malachi: Coming “day of the Lord” judging all peoples (Mal. 4:1)

Challenge: Where is the location of your trust?

• In the counsel of the nations?
• Or the counsel of the Lord?

The main way we know the LORD has an unstoppable plan is that our King has come.

• Now the church gets to be a holy nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as His heritage (12).

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3. The LORD is the One worthy of our trust. (13-19)

13 The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; 14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15 he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. 16 The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17 The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, 19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. (Psalm 33:13–19)

False Hopes:

• Great armies cannot save kings—they don’t last forever (16).
• Warriors are not always delivered by their great strength (16).
• The war horse—advanced weaponry in their time— cannot ultimately rescue (17).
  • False hope: Literally, a lie (17).

• What are some false hopes of our time?

  • Financial security
  • Career security
  • Physical health
  • Intellectual might
  • Social influence
  • Our best laid plans
    • Disneyland: all that for nothing.

We must—instead—look to the LORD.

• Notice how those who fear the LORD are synonymous with those who hope in his steadfast love (18).
  • Two sides of the same coin of authentic faith:
    • Experiencing His relentless, loyal, covenant-keeping love and mercy produces genuine reverence and awe.
    • A true reverence and awe of Him leads to an appreciation of His relentless, loyal, covenant-keeping love and mercy.
    • Example: Roots and branches—fear as deep roots grounding us, hope as branches reaching toward His promises.
• He is worthy of our trust—He can deliver us (19).
  • Deliver their soul from death: spiritual and emotional deliverance (19).
  • Keep them alive in famine: physical deliverance (19).
  • The eye of the Lord is on us (18).
    • Not like the eye of Sauron.

The main way we know the LORD is the One worthy of our trust is that Christ has delivered, does deliver, and will deliver us.

• He has delivered our souls from spiritual death.
• He does deliver us in spiritual, emotional, and physical ways today.
• He will deliver us into resurrection life where all forms of death and famine are eradicated.

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So let’s worship the LORD (1-3, 20-22)

20 Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. 22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. (Psalm 33:20–22)

The psalm encourages exuberant and sincere worship.

• Exuberant (1-3)
  • Shout for joy (1)
  • With the lyre (2)
  • With the harp of ten strings (2)
  • Sing a new song to him (3)
  • Play skillfully on the string (3)
  • With loud shouts (3)
• Sincere (20-22)
  • Our soul waits for the LORD (20)
  • Our heart is glad in him (21)
• Become a holistic worshipper

The psalm encourages a new song (3) to pour forth.

• Sing a shir chadash.
  • Renewed, fresh again, unprecedented.
  • “You have abandoned the love you had at first” (Rev. 4:4).
    • Remember, repent, do the first works.
    • Example: marriage anniversary—same love, deepened and strengthened over time.
  • Song of the redeemed.
    • He is powerful and good.
    • He has an unstoppable plan.
    • He is worthy of our trust.

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Study Questions

Head (Knowledge, Facts, Understanding)

1. According to the sermon, how does the Book of Psalms progressively lead readers toward praise, and what specific pattern emerges as you move through its five books?
2. What three main truths about the LORD does Psalm 33 teach us, and how does each section of the psalm support these truths with specific examples?
3. How does the sermon connect the “word of the Lord” in Psalm 33 to both creation and the person of Jesus Christ as revealed in John 1?

Heart (Feelings, Impressions, Desires)

1. The psalmist sees God’s steadfast love (chesed) everywhere in creation, not just in Israel. How does recognizing God’s covenant love throughout all of creation affect your perspective on everyday life and the world around you?
2. When you consider the “false hopes” mentioned in verses 16-17 (armies, strength, war horses) and their modern equivalents (financial security, career, health), which ones do you find yourself most tempted to trust instead of God?
3. How does understanding that God’s eye is on those who fear Him and hope in His steadfast love (verse 18) change the way you approach both reverence and hope in your relationship with God?

Hands (Actions, Commitments, Decisions, Beliefs)

1. The psalm calls for a “new song” (shir chadash) – something renewed and fresh. What specific area of your worship life needs to become “new” again, and what practical step will you take this week to refresh it?
2. Given that God’s counsel stands forever while human plans often fail (verses 10-11), how should this truth practically influence the decisions you’re currently facing or the plans you’re making?
3. The sermon encourages becoming a “holistic worshipper” – both exuberant and sincere. What specific practice of worship (from verses 1-3 or 20-22) will you intentionally incorporate into your daily routine to engage both your emotions and your soul?