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Psalms 33

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Call to Joyful Praise 1–3

1
Rejoice in Jehovah, O ye righteous: Praise is comely for the upright. ​
2
Give thanks unto Jehovah with the harp: Sing praises unto him with the psaltery of ten strings.
3
Sing unto him a new song; Play skilfully with a loud noise. ​

The Righteousness and Truth of God’s Word 4–5

4
For the word of Jehovah is right; And all his work isdonein faithfulness. ​
5
He loveth righteousness and justice: The earth is full of the lovingkindness of Jehovah. ​

God the Sovereign Creator 6–9

6
By the word of Jehovah were the heavens made, And all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. ​
7
He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap: He layeth up the deeps in store-houses.
8
Let all the earth fear Jehovah: Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. ​
9
For he spake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

The Eternal Counsel of the Lord 10–11

10
Jehovah bringeth the counsel of the nations to nought; He maketh the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect. ​
11
The counsel of Jehovah standeth fast for ever, The thoughts of his heart to all generations. ​

The Lord Watches Over His People 12–19

12
Blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah, The people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. ​
13
Jehovah looketh from heaven; He beholdeth all the sons of men;
14
From the place of his habitation he looketh forth Upon all the inhabitants of the earth,
15
He that fashioneth the hearts of them all, That considereth all their works. ​
16
There is no king saved by the multitude of a host: A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
17
A horse is a vain thing for safety; Neither doth he deliver any by his great power. ​
18
Behold, the eye of Jehovah is upon them that fear him, Upon them that hope in his lovingkindness; ​
19
To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.

A Final Declaration of Trust and Petition 20–22

20
Our soul hath waited for Jehovah: He is our help and our shield. ​
21
For our heart shall rejoice in him, Because we have trusted in his holy name.
22
Let thy lovingkindness, O Jehovah, be upon us, According as we have hoped in thee. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalms 33

Verse 1

Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous — The opening takes up the last verse of Ps 32: 'rejoice' is ranan, the 'shout for joy' of Ps 32:11, and 'righteous' and 'upright' are the same two words there. 'Comely' (na'veh) is fitting or becoming: praise suits the upright, as Ps 147:1 says, 'praise is comely'.

Verse 3

a new song — The phrase recurs in Ps 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1 and Isa 42:10, and the redeemed sing it in Rev 5:9. 'Play skilfully' joins yatav, to do well, with 'a loud noise', teruah, the shout or trumpet-blast of joy: the praise is to be both well made and loud.

Verse 4

the word of the LORD is right — 'Right' is yashar, the word rendered 'upright' in v.1, so the upright are those who answer a word that is itself upright. 'Truth' is emunah, faithfulness, the word of Deut 32:4, 'a God of truth and without iniquity'. His 'works' are as dependable as his word.

Verse 5

the goodness of the LORD — This is chesed, the covenant love the KJV usually renders 'mercy' and does so in vv.18 and 22. The earth 'is full' of it, as Ps 119:64 says, 'The earth, O LORD, is full of thy mercy'. 'Righteousness and judgment' are tsedaqah and mishpat, what he loves.

Verse 6

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made — The pattern of Gen 1, where God said and it was so; v.9 repeats it, 'he spake, and it was done'. 'Breath' is ruach, the word that also means spirit, and Christian writers heard here the Word and the Spirit; John says of the Word that 'All things were made by him' (John 1:3). 'Host' is tsava, heaven's army.

Verse 8

all the inhabitants of the world — 'World' is tebel, the habitable earth, so the call to fear goes out to the people who live on it as well as to 'all the earth'. 'Stand in awe' is gur, to be afraid. Ps 96:9 sends the same summons: 'fear before him, all the earth'.

Verse 10

the counsel of the heathen — 'Heathen' is goyim, the nations, the word translated 'nation' in v.12. The verb 'bringeth … to nought' is pur, to crush or break. The counsel (etsah) and devices (machashavah) of the nations are set against the 'counsel' and 'thoughts' of the LORD in the next verse.

Verse 11

The counsel of the LORD standeth — 'Counsel' is etsah, as in v.10, and 'thoughts' is machashavah, the word translated 'devices' there: what the nations plan comes to nothing, and what he plans 'standeth for ever'. Prov 19:21 says the same, 'many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand'.

Verse 12

the people whom he hath chosen — Bachar, to choose, and nachalah, a possession handed down: Moses says 'the LORD'S portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance' (Deut 32:9). 'Nation' here is goy, the same word as 'heathen' in v.10. Peter applies the language to the church, 'a chosen generation… an holy nation' (1 Pet 2:9).

Verse 15

He fashioneth their hearts alike — Yatsar is the potter's verb, used of God forming man of the dust (Gen 2:7). 'Alike' is yachad, together. The Maker of every heart also 'considereth all their works', as Ps 94:9 asks, 'he that formed the eye, shall he not see?'

Verse 17

An horse is a vain thing for safety — 'Vain thing' is sheqer, a falsehood, and 'safety' is teshuah, deliverance. The verse is the sharp form of Prov 21:31, 'The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD', and of Ps 20:7, 'Some trust in chariots, and some in horses'.

Verse 18

the eye of the LORD — The horse's strength fails (v.17), but his eye is upon 'them that fear him', the eye he fixes on the one he counsels in Ps 32:8, 'I will guide thee with mine eye'. Peter cites the like words of Ps 34:15, 'The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous', in 1 Pet 3:12. 'Mercy' is chesed again, and 'hope' is yachal.

Verse 20

our help and our shield — Ezer and magen are the pair repeated three times of Israel, the house of Aaron and those who fear the LORD in Ps 115:9–11, 'he is their help and their shield'. 'Waiteth' (chakah) is to wait with expectation: the soul (nephesh) itself waits.

Verse 22

Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us — The psalm ends with chesed, the word of vv.5 and 18: the earth is full of it, and the prayer is that it rest upon those who 'hope' (yachal, as in v.18). The measure asked for is 'according as we hope in thee'.