Psalm 33:1-11

Praise to the Ruler of the World as the Protector of His People

This entire psalm is a call to lively and joyful praise of God for His wonderful and glorious attributes and works, as displayed in creation, and of His general and special providence, in view of which the psalmist, in the name of all believers, professes trust and joy and invokes God's mercy.

V. 1. Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous, those justified by the grace of God; for praise is comely, fitting, proper, for the upright, it is both their duty and their honor to praise the Lord; for silence on their part would be equivalent to a denial of His blessings.

V. 2. Praise the Lord with harp, a kind of zither; sing unto Him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings, a ten-stringed harp or lute, which was also used in the Temple orchestra.

V. 3. Sing unto Him a new song, one especially adapted to the occasion; play skillfully with a loud noise, with a vim, showing the eagerness of the heart to praise the glory of Yahweh in a song never heard before.

V. 4. For the Word of the Lord is right, upright, true, not full of mistakes and contradictions; and all His works are done in truth, in faithfulness, the fulfillment always agreeing with His promises.

V. 5. He loveth righteousness and judgment; He delights to show these attributes of His divine essence. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord, of the many proofs of His kindness.

V. 6. By the Word of the Lord, the great Word which was in the beginning with God, John 1, 1-3, were the heavens made, Prov. 8, 22-30; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth, by the power of His Spirit, the reference obviously being to the third person of the Trinity.

V. 7. He, the Triune God, gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap, the mighty ocean being firmly held together by the almighty power of Yahweh; He layeth up the depths in storehouses, assigning to the vast extent of the ocean waters their place where they must stay.

V. 8. Let all the earth, even the inanimate creatures, fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world, especially men, who are endowed with reason and sense, stand in awe of Him, with a reverence verging on fear.

V. 9. For He spake, with the almighty word of His command, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. The reference is plainly to the story of creation: God said, Let there be; and there was, Gen. 1.

God is furthermore to be praised on account of His almighty rule of the universe. V. 10. The Lord bringeth the counsel to the heathen to naught, making void their plans as actually devised; He maketh the devices of the people, the very thoughts and intentions of their hearts, of none effect, thus frustrating their wickedness.

V. 11. The counsel of the Lord standeth forever, in contrast with the vain counsels and thoughts of men, the thoughts of His heart to all generations, abiding forever.