Psalm 33 - Blessed Is the Nation Whose God Is the Lord

 

Psalm 33 with Commentaries by Dennis Edwards

In some eight manuscripts Psalm 32 and Psalm 33 are found as one continuous psalm. Some scholars therefore consider it the second part of Psalm 32, or an amplification of the last verse where we find, “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice you righteous: and shout for joy all you that are upright in heart.” Some of the earlier psalms seem to be in pairs, where the idea of one psalm is continued in the next, as is found in Psalm 9 and 10. The fact that Psalm 33 has 22 verses, which is equal to the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet, makes for regarding it as a complete composition. [Burgh, William de; A Commentary on the Book of Psalms, Dublin, 1860, page 312.]

33:1-2 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous: for praise is comely (or appropriate) for the upright. Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto Him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.

A recurrent theme in the Psalms is the importance of thankfulness and praise in our relationship with God. Evangelist Nick Vujicic, who has no arms or legs, says, he has never met a thankful man who was bitter, or a bitter man who was thankful. It’s one or the other. We see Apostle Paul writing, “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, rejoice,” Philippians 4:4. In Colossians he writes,

Colossians 4:15-17 “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,…and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever you do in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.”

In Ephesians he gives a similar message:

Ephesians 5:18-20 “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Psalm 33:3 Sing unto Him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

In the book of Revelation, we find the four beasts and the twenty-four elders falling down and singing a new song when the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, opens the little book and looses the seven seals, Revelation 5:5.

Revelation 5:9-10 “And they sung a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for you were slain, and have redeemed us to our God by your blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and has made us unto our God kings and priests; and we shall reign on the earth.”

Later, when the 144,000 tribulation saints arrive in the heavenlies, they also sing a new song.

Revelation 14:2-3 “And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps; and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beast, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.”

Psalm 33:4 For the word of the Lord is right; and all His works are done in truth.

God’s word is right, and God’s word is true. Throughout the Old Testament we find that God is true to His word.

Psalm 119:160 “Your word is true from the beginning: and everyone of Your righteous judgments endures forever.”

Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie; neither the son of man, that He should repent: has He said, and shall He not do it? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good?”

Joshua 23:14b “Not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing has failed thereof.”

Isaiah 34:16 “Seek you out of the book of the Lord, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for My mouth it has commanded, and His Spirit it has gathered them.”

In the New Testament, Jesus calls Himself, “The way, the truth, and the life,” John 14:6. He says if we continue in His words, we would know the truth, and the truth would make us free, John 8:31-32. Just before His death, He said He was going to the Father, but He would send the Holy Spirit, which would lead and guide us into all truth, John 16:13.

Apostle Paul admonishes us that the greatest spiritual gift is love, and that love rejoices in the truth, 1 Corinthians 13:6. He tells us we should speak the truth in love, Ephesians 4:15.

Psalm 33:5-9 He (God) loves righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap: He lays up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.

In Genesis 1, we see that God spoke the world into existence and it was good. In John 1, we find the Word was in the beginning with God and by the Word all things were made, “and without Him was not anything made that was made,” John 1:1-3. That Word was later made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth, John 1:14. His name was Jesus Christ, the only begotten of the Father.

The New Testament epistles give us the same idea.

 Colossians 1:16-17 “For by Him (Jesus) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.”

Hebrews 1:1-3 “God, who at different times and various manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory, and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

Psalm 33:10-11 The Lord brings the counsel of the heathen to nought: He makes the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the Lord stands for ever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations.

Similarly in the Proverbs we read,

Proverbs 19:21 “There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless, the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand.”

Eventually the Lord will rule for a thousand years and then for eternity. What God has said shall be done. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away,” Matthew 24:35.

Isaiah 14:27 “For the Lord of hosts has purposed, and who will disannul it? And His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?”

Psalm 33:12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom He has chosen for his own inheritance.

As Apostle Paul has explained in his epistle to the Galatians, “And if you be Christ’s, then are you Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise,” Galatians 3:29. He also wrote, “The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ,” Romans 8:16-17a.

All that believe and obey Jesus Christ are the nation of God, no matter in whatever nation on earth they may exist. We are the children of promise, like Isaac, not the children of the flesh, like Ishmael. As Paul has clarified, “They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed,” Romans 9:8.

God’s spirit is calling all mankind to repent and come into the true Shepherd’s fold. All mankind, each and every person is called in some way. Jesus said, “Many are called, but few are chosen,” Matthew 22:14. So few choose His way, “because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads to life, and few there be that find it,” Matthew 7:14.

Psalm 33:13-15 The Lord looks from heaven; He beholds all the sons of men. From the place of His habitation, He looks upon all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashions their hearts alike; He considers all their works.

God is watching. For that reason, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,” Proverbs 1:7.

Psalm 33:16-19 There is no king saved by the multitude of a host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. A horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

God is our true strength, our refuge, our protector, our saviour. “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man,” Psalm 118:8, the middle verse of the Bible. It is better to trust in the Lord, than to put confidence in anything else to protect and save us. Our obedience to God is our best protection from evil.

Psalm 33:20-22 Our soul waits for the Lord: He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in You.

Prayer: Lord, You are our shield and our helper in time of need. We look to You to lead and guide us in the way wherein You would have us walk. You are our hope, help us follow You closely. Let Your mercy and truth guide us and keep us in the path You have for us. Protect us from the snares of the evil one. Be with our loved ones. May You draw them close to You day by day. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

Originally published February 3, 2025  Link to The Daily Voice - February 3 

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My Times Are in Your Hand - Psalm 31

 

What is the meaning of Psalm 31?  Commentary by Dennis Edwards

A verse from Psalm 31 appears in Luke 23:46 when Jesus quotes verse 5a, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” But the entire psalm provides appropriate imagery for Jesus' passion. The psalm can be used and has been used as a prayer when suffering under unjust persecution. During the persecution of the early Anabaptist like the Swiss Brethren, the Amish, and the Mennonites some 500 years ago in Europe, many people were martyred for there faith. 

One such martyr quoted Psalm 31 as he was burned at the stake by other “Christians.” It may have been George of the House of Jacob commonly known as George Blaurock, a former Catholic priest. He wrote the following Hymn during the last three weeks of his life.

“Lord God, how do I praise You, from hence and evermore, that You real faith did give me, by which I may know You. Forget me not, O Father, be near me evermore; By Your Spirit shield and teach me, that in afflictions great, Your comfort I may ever prove, and valiantly may obtain, the victory in this fight.” [Wikipedia]

Since Jesus’ last words, “Into Your hand I commit My spirit,” are found in verse 5a, many of the commentators from the 1800s considered the psalm to be applicable to Jesus’ suffering during His passion. As we read it, we can visualize it as such, and it can be appropriate for any true believer suffering under religious persecution.

Psalm 31:1-3 In thee, O Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed: deliver me in Your righteousness. Bow down Your ear to me; deliver me speedily: be my strong rock, for a house of defence to save me. For You are my rock and my fortress; therefore, for Your name's sake lead me, and guide me.

Jesus is the Rock which the builders rejected that has become the chief cornerstone. However, Jesus Himself could have found comfort in the words of the psalm which can be applied to His suffering. He may have quoted it to Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Psalm 31:4-5 Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for You are my strength. Into Your hand I commit my spirit: You have redeemed me, O Lord God of truth.

In Matthew 27:50, as Jesus died, we find, “when He had cried again with a loud voice, (He) yielded up the ghost.” Luke clarifies what the cry was in Luke 23:46, “And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into Your hands I commend My spirit: and having said thus, He gave up the ghost.”

Psalm 31:6-8 I have hated them that regard lying vanities: but I trust in the Lord. I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy: for You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities; And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy: You have set my feet in a large room.

We see the psalmist speaking faith and trusting God, praising God, in spite of the difficult situation he is facing. We find Jesus acting the same throughout His passion. Many Christian martyrs, as a result, have been able to follow Jesus’ example in their own time of trial.

Psalm 31:9 Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am in trouble: my eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly.

We can visualize Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane using such words as we find in Psalm 31 and other such psalms as He sweat blood in prayer.

Luke 22:44-46 “And being in agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground. And when He rose up from prayer, He found them sleeping for sorrow, and said unto them, Why do you sleep? Rise and pray, lest you enter into temptation.”

Psalm 31:10 For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones are consumed.

Jesus was “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely, He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken of God, and afflicted,” Isaiah 53:3-4.

Jesus, however, had no iniquity of His own. “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” “For the transgressions of My people was He stricken,” Isaiah 53:5-6,8b.

Jesus “was without sin, but for our sakes God made Him share our sin in order that in union with Him we might share the righteousness of God,” 2 Corinthians 5:21.

However, during our own moments of testing, the Enemy will bring our sins before us and try to persuade us that God has abandoned us. He will tell us that our sins are too great to be forgiven, and therefore, we can’t procure God’s mercy. If we believe his lies, we will fall into despair. Jonah wrote, “They that observe (or believe) lying vanities (the Devil’s lies) forsake their own mercy,” Jonah 2:8. Don’t listen to those lies. God’s mercy endures forever to those that seek for it.

Psalm 31:11 I was a reproach among all my enemies, but especially among my neighbours, and a fear to my acquaintance: they that did see me without fled from me.

Again, we see with Jesus, His disciples fleeing and hiding in the face of His capture by the Jewish authorities. Peter denies he knows Jesus three times. Only Apostle John appears at the cross with the women at Jesus’ death.

Psalm 31:12 I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind: I am like a broken vessel.

In Psalm 22:14-15, we find the prophetic picture of Jesus on the cross.

“I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint: My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of My bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and My tongue cleaves to My jaws; and You have brought Me into the dust of death.”

When suffering persecution, we can feel lost and disorientated, weak and discouraged.

Psalm 31:13 For I have heard the slander of many: fear was on every side: while they took counsel together against me, they devised to take away my life.

The Jewish leaders conspired against Jesus and had Him condemned to death by the secular Roman authorities. Peter says to the men in Jerusalem after His resurrection: “Him, being delivered by the determined counsel and fore-knowledge of God, you have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain,” Acts 2:23.

Psalm 31:14-15 But I trusted in You, O Lord: I said, You are my God. My times are in Your hand: deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from them that persecute me.

Jesus may have prayed such a prayer in His moments of despair in the Garden of Gethsemane. Our times are also in God’s hands. Whether He delivers us from our enemies during the days of Great Tribulation, or not, we will follow our Christian predecessors, and Jesus’ example, and not deny our faith. We will commit our times into God’s hand, and let His will be done, rather than our own.

Psalm 31:16 Make Your face to shine upon Your servant: save me for Your mercies' sake.

God’s Holy Spirit will come and strengthen us, just as Jesus was strengthen by an angel in His moment of trial and affliction, Luke 22:43.

Psalm 31:17-18 Let me not be ashamed, O Lord; for I have called upon You: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them be silent in the grave. Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.

Jesus said, “For whosoever is ashamed of Me and of My words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when He shall come in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels,” Luke 9:26.

Psalm 31:19 Oh how great is Your goodness, which You have laid up for them that fear You; which You have wrought for them that trust in You before the sons of men!

We can count of God’s faithfulness. “Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My father which is in heaven,” Matthew 10:32.

Psalm 31:20 You shall hide them in the secret of Your presence from the pride of man: You shall keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.

One commentator translates “pride of man” as the “conspiracies of men.” The evil men who conspire against the just and true, and with their words condemn them.

Psalm 31:21 Blessed be the Lord: for He has showed me His marvellous kindness in a strong city.

The heavenly city, the holy city, New Jerusalem, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband, that’s the strong city which awaits those that are faithful unto the end.

Psalm 31:22 For I said in my haste, I am cut off from before Your eyes: nevertheless, You heard the voice of my supplications when I cried unto You.

Jesus was seemingly cut off from the land of the living. God did not save Him on the cross. Elijah did not appear and take Him down and rescue Him. However, in Isaiah, we see that God was satisfied with the travail of Jesus’ soul, for He bore our iniquities and justified us before God, Isaiah 53:11. Even in seeming defeat, Jesus has gotten us the victory.

Psalm 31:23-24 O love the Lord, all you His saints: for the Lord preserves the faithful, and plentifully rewards the proud doer. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you that hope in the Lord.

The psalmist admonishes us to keep the faith, to fight the good fight, to be of good courage, to faint not, to be strong. We can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us. He is our blessed hope.

Titus 2:13-14 “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”

Hold on to your crown! “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which you have, that no man takes your crown.” “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life.” Revelation 3:11, & 2:10b.

Originally published 31-12-24.

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You Have Turned My Mourning into Dancing! – Psalm 30

 

Dennis Edwards

Psalm 30:1 “I will extol Thee, O Lord; for You have lifted me up, and have not made my foes to rejoice over me.”

David is giving God thanks that his enemies, including his father-in-law, the former King who sought to slay him, have not been victorious over him.

Psalm 30:2-3 “O Lord my God, I cried unto You, and You have healed me. O Lord, You have brought up my soul from the grave: You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.”

David is thanking the Lord that he is alive. The Lord answered him when he cried and healed him from his depression or from his sickness, in so much, that he did not die. He is thankful.

Psalm 30:4 “Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness.”

A common thread throughout the psalms is thanksgiving and praise to God for His goodness unto the children of men. It is good for us to give thanks and praise unto the Lord. The last verse in the last psalm gives the main messages of the Psalms.

Psalm 150:6 “Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD:”

Or like we know it in the New Testament,

1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Psalm 30:5 “For His anger endures but a moment; in His favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”

The Old Testament tells us that God is slow to anger and merciful. When God appeared before Moses the Lord proclaimed to him,

Exodus 34:6b-7a “(I) The Lord, The Lord God (am) merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.”

The same idea is paraphrased in the psalms.

Psalm 134:8-9 “The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are great over all His works.”

Some 44 times in the Psalms is repeated the phrase, “His mercy endures for ever.”

Psalm 118: 1-4 & 29 “O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good: because His mercy endures for ever. Let Israel now say, that His mercy endures for ever. Let the house of Aaron now say, that His mercy endures for ever. Let them now that fear the LORD say, that His mercy endures for ever…O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good: for His mercy endures for ever.”

Psalm 136:1 “O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good: for His mercy endures for ever.”

Psalm 136 has 26 lines and each line ends with “for His mercy endures for ever.”

Contrary to the idea that the God of the Old Testament is a monster, God proclaims that He is good and merciful and slow to anger. When He does get angry at us for our rebellion or sin, it lasts but for a moment. We may end up with a serious problem because of our sin, our health may be damaged, or a relationship may be broken, but as we cry out to God with our tears, His compassion fails not. We are once more brought back into harmony with Him and our problem is resolved whatever it may have been. Joy comes flooding back into our lives.

The prophet Jeremiah confirms what we have been saying.

Lamentations 3:22-23 "It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, Because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: Great is thy faithfulness."

Psalm 30:6 “In my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.”

God warned the children of Israel, and He warns us to beware of prosperity.

Deuteronomy 9:11,12,14,17,18,19 “Beware that you forget not the Lord your God, in not keeping His commandments, and His judgments, and His statutes,…Lest when you have eaten and are full,…Then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God,… And you say in your heart, My power and the might of mine (own) hand has gotten me this wealth. But you shall remember the Lord your God: for it is He that gives you power to get wealth…And it shall be, if you do at all forget the Lord your God, and walk after other gods, and serve them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.”

Psalm 62:10b “If riches increase, set not your heart upon them.”

Apostle Paul, admonished us, also.

1 Timothy 6:6-10 “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

In our prosperity we have the tendency to forget God. David is confessing that he, too, forgot God in His prosperity He sinned grievously in the incident with Bathsheba. God’s anger was upon him for a moment. David confessed and truly repented and found forgiveness in God’s mercy.

Psalm 30:7 “Lord, by Your favour You have made my mountain to stand strong: You did hide Your face, and I was troubled.”  

It is only God’s mercy that we are able to stand. If we were rightly judged for our sins, no one would stand. When our relationship with God becomes cloudy through neglect or sin, we sense his lack and anxiety comes in and we are troubled.

Psalm 30:8 “I cried to thee, O Lord; and unto the Lord I made supplication.”

When we are troubled, when that cloud over shadows us, we cry unto the Lord once again. Apostle Paul gives the same solution to our moments of anxiety.  He tells us, if we cry unto the Lord in prayer and in supplication with thanksgiving, God will hear our prayer and send peace of heart and mind unto our souls.

Philippians 4:6-7 “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

Psalm 30:9 “What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare Your truth?”

David questions whether in death we will be able to praise the Lord and speak of his truth.

Psalm 30:10 “Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be my helper.”

Again, he calls upon the Lord for mercy. He calls upon God to help him.

Psalm 30:11-12 You have turned my mourning into dancing: You have put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness. To the end that my glory may sing praise to You, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto You for ever.”

When God’s joy is taken from us, we are weak, downcast, and discouraged. After we spend time pleading with God, pouring out our heart and soul in prayer, seeking His face; God answers and renews or restores our joy. It is the joy of the Lord that is our strength. Once again, we are able to sing and to praise and to give thanks. We enter into His presence with praise, and with thanksgiving, and we cannot be silent for His mercy endures for ever.

If you’re downcast, don’t stay there, fight for joy. The joy of the Lord, His happiness, your praise to Him, your thankfulness to Him, will give you the strength to carry on. Don’t mettle in discouragement, for the devil is as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He devours and smothers our joy in sadness, despondency, and depression. Don’t go there. Fight for joy, it’s your lifeline. It’s God’s strength in you and a gift of the Holy Spirit. Fight for happiness. In everything give thanks. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord, who is the author and finisher of our faith.

Praise ye the Lord, ye children of men, for God is worthy of our praise. He will bless us and help chase the clouds away, as we praise and give thanks to Him for whatever He allows in our lives. We know all things will work together for good, if we continue to love God and are thankful. A merry heart is as good as a medicine, so be happy! It’s part of our spiritual armour. Use it. Amen!

Originally published 06-08-2024.

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