Psalm 33
Wherever praise does not exist, evangelism should. Praising God, and calling others to the praise of God, these are our fundamental tasks. We should not evangelize with our end goal being baptism. The end goal is a God-glorifying disciple. Our converts should learn to lead upright lives, and as upright people, they should learn to praise the Lord.
This psalm’s fundamental message is that it is fitting for the upright to praise the Lord. “Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright” (1).
God’s nature
We praise because of the nature of our God. It is fitting for the upright to praise the Lord because the Lord is upright. “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” (4-5).
We have not been as clear as we should have been on the nature of our God, nor on the fact that the biblical witness to his nature is unified. The fundamental characteristics named here are:
- Uprightness — faithfulness or truthfulness (4),
- Righteousness or justice (5a),
- Steadfast love or goodness (mercy in the KJV margin) (5b).
These are essentially the same things that we see placed as the weightier moral principles throughout scripture (see Amos 5:24; Micah 6:8; Mt 23:23, for example).
We become like what we worship. If we worship something worthless, we become worthless (Jer 2:5). Therefore, teaching inaccurately about the nature of God leads us to become far less than we ought to be. We must recognize God for what he truly is or we will never be what we ought to be.
Of the central characteristics named in 4-5, the one most emphasized by this psalm is the faithfulness of God, his trueness, his uprightness, the fact that you can really count on his word.
In verses 6-9, we are told to praise him because of the faithfulness of his word as seen in creation.
“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” (6-9).
We praise because of the faithfulness of his word is also seen in history.
“The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. 12Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! 13The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; 14from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. 16The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. 17The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue (10-17).
The Psalm then returns to the personal level and in doing so gives some emphasis to the concept of steadfast love. We praise because we hope in his steadfast love.
“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. 20Our 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” (18-22).
Our lives should be more filled with praise, and our praise should have more specific content. We should not be shouting “Praise the Lord” just because we like the sound of our own voices. Our praise should be addressed to his character. Listening to our praises, people ought to learn the fundamentals of His character: his justice, his mercy, his faithfulness.