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
