Title - This song of praise bears no title or indication of authorship; to teach us, says Dickson, "to look upon holy Scripture as altogether inspired of God, and not put price upon it for the writers thereof."

Subject and Divisions - The praise of Jehovah is the subject of this sacred song. The righteous are exhorted to praise him, Psalm 33:1-3; because of the excellency of his character, Psalm 33:4, Psalm 33:5; and his majesty in creation, Psalm 33:6, Psalm 33:7. Men are bidden to fear before Jehovah becauses his purposes are accomplished in providence, Psalm 33:8. His people are proclaimed blessed, Psalm 33:12. The omniscience and omnipotence of God, and his care of his people are celebrated, in opposition to the weakness of an arm of flesh, Psalm 33:13; and the Psalm concludes with a fervent expression of confidence, Psalm 33:20, Psalm 33:21, and an earnest prayer, Psalm 33:22.

Hints to Preachers

Whole Psalm - This Psalm is eucharistic the contents are: -

I. An exhortation to praise God (Psalm 33:1, Psalm 33:2, Psalm 33:3).

II. The arguments to enforce the duty (Psalm 33:4).

III. The confidence of God's people in his name, their happiness, and petition (Psalm 33:20):

- Adam Clarke.

Psalm 33:1 - Rejoicing - the soul of praise; the Lord - a well-spring of joy. Character - indispensable to true enjoyment.

Psalm 33:1 (last clause) - Praise comely. What? Vocal, meditative, habitual praise. Why? It is comely as wings to an angel, we mount with it; as flowers to a tree, it is our fruit; as a robe to a priest, it is our office; as long hair to a woman, it our beauty; as a crown to a king, it is our highest honour. When? Evermore, but chiefly amid blasphemy, persecution, sickness, poverty, death. Whom? Not from the ungodly, hypocritical, or thoughtless. To be without praise is to miss our comeliest adornment.

Psalm 33:2 - Instrumental music is it lawful? Is it expedient? If so, its uses, limits, and laws. A sermon to improve congregational music.

Psalm 33:3 (first clause) - The duty of maintaining the freshness of our devotions. Freshness, skill, and heartiness, to be combined in our congregational psalmody.

Psalm 33:4 - God's word and works, their rightness, and agreement, and our view of both.

Psalm 33:4 (first clause) - The word doctrinal, preceptive, historical, prophetic, promissory, and experimental, always right, i.e., free from error or evil

Psalm 33:4 (second clause) - God's work of creation, providence, and grace, always in conformity with truth. His hatred of everything like a sham.

Psalm 33:4, Psalm 33:5 - A fourfold argument for praise, from the truth, the faithfulness, the justice, and goodness of God:

I. "For the word of the Lord is right."

II. "All his works are done in truth."

III. "He loveth righteousness and judgment."

IV. "The earth is full of his goodness."

- Adam Clarke.

Psalm 33:5 - Justice and goodness equally conspicuous in the divine action.

Psalm 33:5 (last clause) - A matchless theme for an observant eye and an eloquent tongue.

Psalm 33:6 - The power of the Word and the Spirit in the old and new creations.

Psalm 33:7 - God's control of destructive and re-constructive agencies.

Psalm 33:7 - The storehouses of the Great Husbandman.

Psalm 33:8 - Reasons for universal worship, obstacles to it,,future prospects of it, our duty in relation to it.

Psalm 33:8 (last clause) - Awe - the soul of worship.

Psalm 33:9 - The irresistible word of Jehovah in creation, in calling his people, in their comfort and deliverance, in their entrance to glory.

Psalm 33:10 - Educated and philosophical heathen within the reach of missions.

Psalm 33:10, Psalm 33:11 - The opposing counsels.

Psalm 33:11 - The eternity, immutability, efficiency, and wisdom of the divine decrees. God's purposes, "the thoughts of his heart," hence their wisdom, and yet more their love.

Psalm 33:12 - Two elections made by a blessed people and a gracious God, and their happy result.

The happiness of the church of God.

God's delight in his people, and their delight in him.

Psalm 33:13 - Omniscience and its lessons.

Psalm 33:13, Psalm 33:14, Psalm 33:15 - The doctrine of providence.

Psalm 33:15 - God's acquaintance with men's hearts, and his estimate of their actions.

The similarity of human nature.

Psalm 33:16, Psalm 33:17, Psalm 33:18 - The fallacy of human trust, and the security of faith in God.

Psalm 33:18 - Hoping in the mercy of God - false and true forms distinguished.

Psalm 33:18 -

I. The eyes of God's knowledge are upon them.

II. The eyes of his affection are upon them.

III. The eyes of his providence are upon them.

- William Day.

Psalm 33:19 - Life in famine, natural and spiritual, specially a famine of inward hope and legal satisfaction.

Psalm 33:20 - "Waiting for the Lord," includes:

I. Conviction - a persuasion that the Lord is the supreme good.

II. Desire - it is expressed by hungering and thirsting after righteousness, etc.

III.Hope.

IV. Patience. - God is never slack concerning his promise.

- William Jay.

Psalm 33:20 (first clause) - The believer's hourly position.

Psalm 33:21 - Joy, the outflow of faith.

Psalm 33:22 - A prayer for believers only.

Psalm 33:22 - Measure for measure, or mercy proportioned to faith.

Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings

Whole Psalm

A thanksgiving of the church triumphant in the latter ages, for her final deliverance, by the overthrow of Antichrist and his armies. - Samuel Horsley.

Whole Psalm

Let us follow the holy man a moment in his meditation. His Psalm is not composed in scholastic form, in which the author confines himself to fixed rules; and, scrupulously following a philosophical method, lays down principles, and infers consequences. However, he establishes principles, the most proper to give us sublime ideas of the Creator; and he speaks with more precision of the works and attributes of God than the greatest philosophers have spoken of them.

How absurdly have the philosophers treated of the origin of the world! How few of them have reasoned conclusively on this important subject! Our prophet solves the important question by one single principle; and, what is more remarkable, this principle, which is nobly expressed, carries the clearest evidence with it. The principle is this: "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth," Psalm 33:6. This is the most rational account that was ever given of the creation of the world. The world is the work of a self-efficient will, and it is this principle alone that can account for its creation. The most simple appearances in nature are sufficient to lead us to this principle. Either my will is self-efficient, or there is some other being whose will is self-efficient. What I say of myself, I say of my parents; and what I affirm of my parents I affirm of my more remote ancestors, and of all the finite creatures from whom they derived their existence. Most certainly, either finite beings have a self-efficient will, which it is impossible to suppose, for a finite creature with a self-efficient will is a contradiction: either, I say, a finite creature has a self-efficient will, or there is a First Cause who has a self-efficient will; and that there is such a Being is the principle of the Psalmist; "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth."

If philosophers have reasoned inconclusively on the origin of the world, they have spoken of its government with equal uncertainty. The Psalmist determined this question with great facility, by a single principle, which results from the former, and which, like the former, carries its evidence with it. "The Lord looketh from heaven; he considereth all the works of all the inhabitants of the earth," Psalm 33:13, Psalm 33:14. This is the doctrine of providence. And on what is the doctrine of providence founded? On this principle: God "fashioneth their hearts alike," Psalm 33:15. Attend a moment to the evidence of this reasoning, my brethren. The doctrine of providence expressed in these words, "God considereth the works of the inhabitants of the earth," is a necessary consequence of his principle, "God fashioneth their hearts alike;" and this principle is a necessary consequence of that which the Psalmist had before laid down to account for the origin of the world. Yes, from the doctrine of God the Creator of men, follows that of God the inspector, the director, rewarder, and the punisher of their actions. One of the most specious objections that has ever been opposed to the doctrine of providence, is a contrast between the grandeur of God and the meanness of men. How can such an insignificant creature as man be the object of the care and attention of such a magnificent being as God? No objection can be more specious, or, in appearance, more invincible. The distance between the meanest insect and the mightiest monarch, who treads and crushes reptiles to death without the least regard to them, is a very imperfect image of the distance between God and man. That which proves that it would be beneath the dignity of a monarch to observe the motions of ants, or worms, to interest himself in their actions, to punish, or to reward them, seems to demonstrate, that God would degrade himself were he to observe, to direct, to punish, to reward mankind, who are infinitely inferior to him. But one fact is sufficient to answer this specious objection: that is, that God has created mankind. Does God degrade himself more by governing than by creating mankind? Who can persuade himself that a wise Being has given to intelligent creatures faculties capable of obtaining knowledge and virtue, without willing that they should endeavour to acquire knowledge and virtue? Or who can imagine, that a wise Being, who wills that his intelligent creatures should acquire knowledge and virtue, will not punish them if they neglect those acquisitions; and will not show by the distribution of his benefits that he approves their endeavours to obtain them?

Unenlightened philosophers have treated of the attributes of God with as much abstruseness as they have written of his works. The moral attributes of God, as they are called in the schools, were mysteries which they could not unfold. These may be reduced to two classes; attributes of goodness, and attributes of justice. Philosophers, who have admitted these, have usually taken that for granted which they ought to have proved. They collected together in their minds all perfections; they reduced them all to one object which they denominated a perfect being: and supposing, without proving, that a perfect being existed, they attributed to him, without proof, everything that they considered as a perfection. The Psalmist shows by a surer way that there is a God supremely just and supremely good. It is necessary, in order to convince a rational being of the justice and goodness of God, to follow such a method as that which we follow to prove his existence. When we would prove the existence of God, we say, there are creatures, therefore there is a Creator. In like manner, when we would prove that a Creator is a just and a good being, we say, there are qualities of goodness and justice in creatures, therefore he, from whom these creatures derive their existence, is a being just and good. Now, this is the reasoning of the Psalmist in this Psalm: "The Lord loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord" (Psalm 33:5); that is to say, it is impossible to consider the works of the Creator, without receiving evidence of his goodness. And the works of nature which demonstrate the goodness of God, prove his justice also; for God has created us with such dispositions, that we cannot enjoy the gifts of his goodness without obeying the laws of his righteousness. The happiness of an individual who procures a pleasure by disobeying the laws of equity, is a violent happiness, which cannot be of long duration; and the prosperity of public bodies, when it is founded in iniquity, is an edifice which, with its basis, will be presently sunk and gone.

But what we would particularly remark is, that the excellent principles of the Psalmist, concerning God, are not mere speculations; but truths from which he derives practical inferences; and he aims to extend their influence beyond private persons, even to legislators and conquerors. One would think, considering the conduct of mankind, that the consequences, which are drawn from the doctrines of which we have been speaking, belong to none but to the dregs of the people; that lawgivers and conquerors have a plan of morality peculiar to themselves, and are above the rules to which other men must submit. Our prophet had other notions. What are his maxims of policy? They are all included in these words: "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance," Psalm 33:12. What are his military maxims? They are all included in these words: "There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength," Psalm 33:16, Psalm 33:17. Who proposes these maxims? A hermit, who never appeared on the theatre of the world? or a man destitute of the talents necessary to shine there? No: one of the wisest of kings; one of the most bold and able generals: a man whom God has self-elected to govern his chosen people, and to command those armies which fought the most obstinate battles, and gained the most complete victories. Were I to proceed in explaining the system of the Psalmist, I might prove, that as he had a right to infer the doctrine of providence from the works of nature, and that of the moral attributes of God from the works of creation; so from the doctrines of the moral attributes of God, of providence, and of the works of creation, he had a right to conclude, that no conquerors or lawgivers could be truly happy but those who acted agreeably to the laws of the just and good Supreme. - James Saurin.

Psalm 33:1

"Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous." Exult, ye righteous, in Jehovah! The Hebrew verb, according to the etymologists, originally means to dance for joy, and is therefore a very strong expression for the liveliest exultation. - J. A. Alexander.

Psalm 33:1

"Rejoice, O ye righteous:" not in yourselves, for that is not safe, but "in the Lord." - Augustine.

Psalm 33:1

"Praise is comely for the upright." Praise is not comely for any but the godly. A profane man stuck with God's praise is like a dunghill stuck with flowers. Praise in the mouth of a sinner is like an oracle in the mouth of a fool; how uncomely is it for him to praise God, whose whole life is a dishonouring of God? It is as indecent for a wicked man to praise God, who goes on in sinful practices, as it is for an usurer to talk of living by faith, or for the devil to quote Scripture. The godly are only fit to be choristers in God's praise; it is called, "the garment of praise." Isaiah 61:3. The garment sits handsome only on a saint's back. - Thomas Watson.

Psalm 33:1

This Psalm is coupled with the foregoing one by the catchword with which it opens, which is a repetition of the exhortation with which the preceding ends, "Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous;" "Shout for joy, all ye upright." - Christopher Wordsworth.

Psalm 33:1

He pleaseth God whom God pleaseth. - Augustine.

Psalm 33:2

"Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings." Here we have the first mention of musical instruments in the Psalms. It is to be observed that the early fathers almost with one accord protest against their use in churches; as they are forbidden in the Eastern church to this day, where yet, by the consent of all the singing is infinitely superior to anything that can be heard in the West. - J. M. Neale.

Psalm 33:2

"Harp;" "Psaltery," etc. Our church does not use musical instruments, as harps and psalteries, to praise God withal, that she may not seem to Judaise. - Thomas Aquinas. It was only permitted to the Jews, as sacrifice was, for the heaviness and grossness of their souls. God condescended to their weakness, because they were lately drawn off from idols: but now instead of organs, we may use our own bodies to praise him withal. - Chrysostom. The use of singing with instrumental music was not received in the Christian churches as it was among the Jews in their infant state, but only the use of plain song. - Justin Martyr.

Psalm 33:2 (last clause)

It is said that David praised God upon "an instrument of ten strings;" and he would never have told how many strings there were, but that without all doubt he made use of them all. God hath given all of us bodies, as it were, instruments of many strings; and can we think it music good enough to strike but one string, to call upon him with our tongues only? No, no; when the still sound of the heart by holy thoughts, and the shrill sound of the tongue by holy words, and the loud sound of the hands by pious works, do all join together, that is God's concert, and the only music wherewith he is affected. - Sir Richard

Psalm 33:3

"Sing unto him." I. Singing is the music of nature. The Scriptures tell us the mountains sing (Isaiah 55:12); the valleys sing (Psalm 65:13); the trees of the wood sing (1 Chronicles 16:33); nay, the air is the bird's music room, they chant their musical notes. II. Singing is the music of ordinances. Augustine reports of himself, that when he came to Milan and heard the people sing, he wept for joy in the church to hear that pleasing melody. And Beza confesses that at his first entrance into the congregation, and hearing them sing the ninety-first Psalm, he felt himself exceedingly comforted, and did retain the sound of it afterwards upon his heart. The Rabbins tell us that the Jews, after the feast of the Passover was celebrated, sang the Psalm 111:1-10and five following Psalms; and our Saviour and his apostles sang a hymn immediately after the blessed Supper. Matthew 26:30. III. Singing is the music of saints. 1. They have performed this duty in their greatest numbers. Psa 149:1, Psalm 149:2. 2. In their greatest straits. Isaiah 26:19. 3. In their greatest flight. Isaiah 42:10, Isaiah 42:11. 4. In their greatest deliverances. 5. In their greatest plenties. Isaiah 65:14. In all these changes singing hath been their stated duty and delight. And indeed it is meet that the saints and servants of God should sing forth their joys and praises to the Lord Almighty: every attribute of him can set both their song and their tune. IV. Singing is the music of angels. Job tells us, "the morning stars sang together," Job 38:7. Now these "morning stars," as Pineda tells us, are the angels; to which the Chaldee paraphrase accords, naming these morning stars, aciem angelorum, an host of angels. Nay, when this heavenly host was sent to proclaim the birth of our dearest Jesus, they deliver their message in this raised way of duty. Luke 2:13. They were αἰνούντες, delivering their messages in a laudatory singing, the whole company of angels making a musical quire. Nay, in heaven there is the angels' joyous music; they there sing hallelujahs to the Most High, and to the Lamb who sits upon the throne. Revelation 5:11. V. Singing is the music of heaven; the glorious saints and angels accent their praises this way, and make one harmony in their state of blessedness; and this is the music of the bride-chamber. The saints who were tuning here their Psalms, are now singing their hallelujahs in a louder strain, and articulating their joys, which here they could not express to their perfect satisfaction; here they laboured with drowsy hearts, and faltering tongues; but in glory these impediments are removed, and nothing is left to jar their joyous celebration. - John Wells, in "Morning Exercises."

Psalm 33:3

"A new song." That is to say, a new and recent composition on account of recent benefits; or constantly new songs, song succeeding song as daily new material for divine praise offers itself to the attentive student of the works of God. Or new, that is, always fresh and full of life, and renewed as new occasions offer themselves: as Job says, "My glory was fresh in me, and my bow was renewed in my hand." Or new, i.e., not common but rare and exquisite; as the new name in Revelation 2:17; the new commandment, John 13:34. Or this respects the gospel state, wherein is a new covenant (Hebrews 8:8), a new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2), a new man (Ephesians 2:15), and all things new. 2 Corinthians 5:17. New, on account of its matter being unknown of men: as in Revelation 14:3, "They sung a new song, and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. New may be used in opposition to old. The song of Moses is old, and of the Lamb is new. - Martin Geier (1614-1681), in "Poli Synopsis Criticorum."

Psalm 33:3

"Sing unto him a new song." Put off oldness ye know the new song. A new man, a New Testament, a new song. A new song belongeth not to men that are old; none learn that but new men, renewed through grace from oldness, and belonging now to the New Testament, which is the kingdom of heaven. - Augustine.

Psalm 33:3

"A new song;" namely, sung with such fervency of affections as novelties usually bring with them; or, always new, seeing God's graces never wax old; or, sung by the motion of this new spirit of grace, which doth not so much look after the old benefits of the creation as after the new benefit of the redemption in Christ, which reneweth all things. Psalm 40:3, and Psalm 96:1; Revelation 5:9, and Revelation 14:3. - John Diodati.

Psalm 33:3

"Sing unto him a new song." It is a melancholy proof of the decline of the church, when the exhortation to sing a new song is no longer attended to: in such a case, there is need of the greatest care to prevent the old ones falling into oblivion. - E. W. Hengstenberg.

Psalm 33:3

"Play skilfully." It is not an easy matter to praise God aright; it must be done corde, ore, opere, with the very best of the best. - John Trapp.

Psalm 33:4

"The word of the Lord is right." His word of promise given to the church. The divine revelation to all setting forth what is to be believed, hoped for, and done. The decrees of God and his penal judgments. The whole counsel and determination of God in the creation and government of the world. "Is right," without defect or error. The word right is opposed to tortuous; it means true or certain. - John de Pineda (1577-1637); D. H. Mollerus (1639), and others, in Synopsis.

Psalm 33:4

"All his works are done in truth."

Truth is in each flower

As well as in the solemnest things of God:

Truth is the voice of nature and of time -

Truth is the startling monitor within us -

Nought is without it, it comes from the stars,

The golden sun, and every breeze that blows -

Truth, it is God! and God is everywhere!

1 Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.

2 Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.

3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.

Psalm 33:1

"Rejoice in the Lord." Joy is the soul of praise. To delight ourselves in God is most truly to extol him, even if we let no notes of song proceed from our lips. That God is, and that he is such a God, and our God, ours for ever and ever, should wake within us an unceasing and overflowing joy. To rejoice ill temporal comforts is dangerous, to rejoice in self is foolish, to rejoice in sin is fatal, but to rejoice in God is heavenly. He who would have a double heaven must begin below to rejoice like those above. "O ye righteous." This is peculiarly your duty, your obligations are greater, and your spiritual nature more adapted to the work, be ye then first in the glad service. Even the righteous are not always glad, and have need to be stirred up to enjoy their privileges. "For praise is comely for the upright." God has an eye to things which are becoming. When saints wear their choral robes, they look fair in the Lord's sight. A harp suits a blood-washed hand. No jewel more ornamental to a holy face than sacred praise. Praise is not comely from unpardoned professional stagers; it is like a jewel of gold in a swine's snout. Crooked hearts make crooked music, but the upright are the Lord's delight. Praise is the dress of saints in heaven, it is meet that they should fit it on below.

Psalm 33:2

"Praise the Lord with harp." Men need all the help they can get to stir them up to praise. This is the lesson to be gathered from the use of musical instruments under the old dispensation. Israel was at school, and used childish things to help her to learn; but in these days, when Jesus gives us spiritual manhood, we can make melody without strings and pipes. We who do not believe these things to be expedient in worship, lest they should mar its simplicity, do not affirm them to be unlawful, and if any George Herbert or Martin Luther can worship God better by the aid of well-tuned instruments, who shall gainsay their right? We do not need them, they would hinder than help our praise but if others are otherwise minded, are they not living in gospel liberty? "Sing unto him." This is the sweetest and best of music. No instrument like the human voice. As a help to singing the instrument is alone to be tolerated, for keys and strings do not praise the Lord. "With the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings." The Lord must have a full octave, for all notes are his, and all music belongs to him. Where several pieces of music are mentioned, we are taught to praise God with all the powers which we possess.

Psalm 33:3

"Sing unto him a new song." All songs of praise should be "unto him." Singing for singing's sake is nothing worth; we must carry our tribute to the King, and not cast it to the winds. Do most worshippers mind this? Our faculties should be exercised when we are magnifying the Lord, so as not to run in an old groove without thought; we ought to make every hymn of praise a new song. To keep up the freshness of worship is a great thing, and in private it is indispensable. Let us not present old worn-out praise, but put life, and soul, and heart, into every song, since we have new mercies every day, and see new beauties in the work and word of our Lord. "Play skillfully." It is wretched to hear God praised in a slovenly manner. He deserves the best that we have. Every Christian should endeavour to sing according to the rules of the art, so that he may keep time and tune with the congregation. The sweetest tunes and the sweetest voices, with the sweetest words, are all too little for the Lord our God; let us not offer him limping rhymes, set to harsh tunes, and growled out by discordant voices. "With a loud noise." Heartiness should be conspicuous in divine worship. Well-bred whispers are disreputable here. It is not that the Lord cannot hear us, but that it is natural for great exultation to express itself in the loudest manner. Men shout at the sight of their kings: shall we offer no loud hosannahs to the Son of David?

4 For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth.

5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

Psalm 33:4

"For the word of the Lord is right." His ordinances both natural, moral, and spiritual, are right, and especially his incarnate Word, who is the Lord our righteousness. Whatever God has ordained must be good, and just, and excellent. There are no anomalies in God's universe, except what sin has made; his word of command made all things good. When we look at his word of promise, and remember its faithfulness, what reasons have we for joy and thankfulness! "And all his works are done in truth." His work is the outflow of his word, and it is true to it. He neither doth nor saith anything ill; in deed and speech he agrees with himself and the purest truth. There is no lie in God's word, and no sham in his works; in creation, providence, and revelation, unalloyed truth abounds. To act truth as well as to utter it is divine, let not children of God ever yield their principles in practice any more than in heart. What a God we serve! The more we know of him, the more our better natures approve his surpassing excellence; even his afflicting works are according to his truthful word.

"Why should I complain of want or distress,

Affliction or pain? he told me no less;

The heirs of salvation, I know from his word,

Through much tribulation must follow their Lord."

God writes with a pen that never blots, speaks with a tongue that never slips, acts with a hand which never fails. Bless his name.

Psalm 33:5

"He loveth righteousness and judgment." The theory and the practice of right he intensely loves. He doth not only approve the true and the just, but his inmost soul delights therein. The character of God is a sea, every drop of which should become a wellhead of praise for his people. The righteousness of Jesus is peculiarly dear to the Father, and for its sake he takes pleasure in those to whom it is imputed. Sin, on the other hand, is infinitely abhorrent to the Lord, and woe unto those who die in it; if he sees no righteousness in them, he will deal righteously with them, and judgment stern and final will be the result. "The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord." Come hither, astronomers, geologists, naturalists, botanists, chemists, miners, yea, all of you who study the works of God, for all your truthful stories confirm this declaration. From the midge in the sunbeam to leviathan in the ocean all creatures own the bounty of the Creator. Even the pathless desert blazes with some undiscovered mercy, and the caverns of ocean conceal the treasures of love. Earth might have been as full of terror as of grace, but instead thereof it teems and overflows with kindness. He who cannot see it, and yet lives in it as the fish lives in the water, deserves to die. If earth be full of mercy, what must heaven be where goodness concentrates its beams?

6 By the word of the Lord 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 an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.

Psalm 33:6

"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made." The angelic heavens, the sidereal heavens, and the firmament or terrestrial heavens, were all made to start into existence by a word; what if we say by the Word, "For without him was not anything made that is made." It is interesting to note the mention of the Spirit in the next clause, "and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth;" the word "breath" is the same as is elsewhere rendered Spirit. Thus the three persons of the Godhead unite in creating all things. How easy for the Lord to make the most ponderous orbs, and the most glorious angels! A word, a breath could do it. It is as easy for God to create the universe as for a man to breathe, nay, far easier, for man breathes not independently, but borrows the breath in his nostrils from his Maker. It may be gathered from this verse that the constitution of all things is from the infinite wisdom, for his word may mean his appointment and determination. A wise and merciful Word has arranged, and a living Spirit sustains all the creation of Jehovah.

Psalm 33:7

"He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap." The waters were once scattered like corn strewn upon a threshing floor: they are now collected in one spot as an heap. Who else could have gathered them into one channel but their great Lord, at whose bidding the waters fled away? The miracle of the Red Sea is repeated in nature day by day, for the sea which now invades the shore under the impulse of sun and moon, would soon devour the land if bounds were not maintained by the divine decree. "He layeth up the depth in storehouses." The depths of the main are God's great cellars and storerooms for the tempestuous element. Vast reservoirs of water are secreted in the bowels of the earth, from which issue our springs and wells of water. What a merciful provision for a pressing need? May not the text also refer to the clouds, and the magazines of that, and snow, and rain, those treasuries of merciful wealth for the fields of earth? These aqueous masses are not piled away as in lumber rooms, but in storehouses for future beneficial use. Abundant tenderness is seen in the foresight of our heavenly Joseph, whose granaries are already filled against earth's time of need. These stores might have been, as once they were, the ammunition of vengeance, they are now a part of the commissariat of mercy.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord: 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.

10 The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.

11 The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

Psalm 33:8

"Let all the earth fear the Lord." Not only Jews, but Gentiles. The Psalmist was not a man blinded by national prejudice, he did not desire to restrict the worship of Jehovah to the seed of Abraham. He looks for homage even to far-off nations. If they are not well enough instructed to be able to praise at least let them fear. There is an inferior kind of worship in the trembling which involuntarily admits the boundless power of the thundering God. A defiant blasphemer is out of place in a world covered with tokens of the divine power and Godhead; the whole earth cannot afford a spot congenial for the erection of a synagogue of Atheism, nor a man in whom it is becoming to profane the name of God. "Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him." Let them forsake their idols, and reverently regard the only living God. What is here placed as a wish may also be read as a prophecy: the adoration of God will yet be universal.

Psalm 33:9

"For he spake, and it was done." Creation was the fruit of a word. Jehovah said, "Light be," and light was. The Lord's acts are sublime in their ease and instantaneoussness. "What a word is this?" This was the wondering enquiry of old, and it may be ours to this day. "He commanded, and it stood fast." Out of nothing creation stood forth, and was confirmed in existence. The same power which first uplifted, now makes the universe to abide; although we may not observe it, there is as great a display of sublime power in confirming as in creating. Happy is the man who has learned to lean his all upon the sure word of him who built the skies!

Psalm 33:10

"The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought." While his own will is done, he takes care to anticipate the wilfulness of his enemies. Before they come to action he vanquishes them in the council-chamber; and when, well armed with craft, they march to the assault, he frustrates their knaveries, and makes their promising plots to end in nothing. Not only the folly of the heathen, but their wisdom too, shall yield to the power of the cross of Jesus; what a comfort is this to those who have to labour where sophistry, and philosophy, falsely so called, are set in opposition to the truth as it is in Jesus. "He maketh the devices of the people of none effect." Their persecutions, slanders, falsehoods, are like puff-balls flung against a granite wall - they produce no result at all; for the Lord overrules the evil, and brings good out of it. The cause of God is never in danger: infernal craft is outwitted by infinite wisdom, and Satanic malice held in check by boundless power.

Psalm 33:11

"The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever." He changes not his purpose, his decree is not frustrated, his designs are accomplished. God has a predestination according to the counsel of his will, and none of the devices of his foes can thwart his decree for a moment. Men's purposes are blown to and fro like the thread of the gossamer or the down of the thistle, but the eternal purposes are firmer than the earth. "The thoughts of' his heart to all generations." Men come and go, sons follow their sires to the grave, but the undisturbed mind of God moves on in unbroken serenity, producing ordained results with unerring certainty. No man can expect his will or plan to be carried out from age to age; the wisdom of one period is the folly of another, but the Lord's wisdom is always wise, and his designs run on from century to century. His power to fulfil his purposes is by no means diminished by the lapse of years. He who was absolute over Pharaoh in Egypt is not one whit the less today the King of kings and Lord of lords; still do his chariot wheels roll onward in imperial grandeur, none being for a moment able to resist his eternal will.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." Israel was happy in the worship of the only true God. It was the blessedness of the chosen nation to have received a revelation from Jehovah. While others grovelled before their idols, the chosen people were elevated by a spiritual religion which introduced them to the invisible God, and led them to trust in him. All who confide in the Lord are blessed in the largest and deepest sense, and none can reverse the blessing. "And the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance." Election is at the bottom of it all. The divine choice rules the day; none take Jehovah to be their God till he takes them to be his people. What an ennobling choice this is! We are selected to no mean estate, and for no ignoble purpose: we are made the peculiar domain and delight of the Lord our God. Being so blessed, let us rejoice in our portion, and show the world by our lives that we serve a glorious Master.

13 The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men.

14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.

15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works.

16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host; a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.

17 An horse is a vain thing for safety; neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.

18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;

19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

Psalm 33:13

"The Lord looketh from heaven." The Lord is represented as dwelling above and looking down below; seeing all things, but peculiarly observing and caring for those who trust in him. It is one of our choicest privileges to be always under our Father's eye, to be never out of sight of our best Friend. "He beholdeth all the sons of men." All Adam's sons are as well watched as was Adam himself, their lone progenitor in the garden. Ranging from the frozen pole to the scorching equator, dwelling in hills and valleys, in huts and palaces, alike doth the divine eye regard all the members of the family of man.

Psalm 33:14

From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth." Here the sentiment is repeated: it is worth repeating, and it needs repeating, for man is most prone to forget it. As great men sit at their windows and watch the crowd below, so doth the Lord; he gazeth intently upon his responsible creatures, and forgets nothing of what he sees.

Psalm 33:15

"He fashioneth their hearts alike." By which is meant that all hearts are equally fashioned by the Lord, kings' hearts as well as the hearts of beggars. The text does not mean that all hearts are created originally alike by God, such a statement would scarcely be true, since there is the utmost variety in the constitutions and dispositions of men. All men equally owe the possession of life to the Creator, and have therefore no reason to boast themselves. What reason has the vessel to glorify itself in presence of the potter? "He considereth al their works." Not in vain doth God see men's acts: he ponders and judges them. He reads the secret design in the outward behaviour, and resolves the apparent good into its real elements. This consideration foretokens a judgment when the results of the divine thoughts will be meted out in measures of happiness or woe. Consider thy ways, O man, for God considers them!

Psalm 33:16

continued...

20 Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield.

21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.

Psalm 33:20

"Our soul waiteth for the Lord." Here the godly avow their reliance upon him whom the Psalm extols. To wait is a great lesson. To be quiet in expectation, patient in hope, single in confidence, is one of the bright attainments of a Christian. Our soul, our life, must hang upon God; we are not to trust him with a few gewgaws, but with all we have and are. "He is our help and our shield." Our help in labour, our shield in danger. The Lord answereth all things to his people. He is their all in all. Note the three "ours" in the text. These holdfast words are precious. Personal possession makes the Christian man; all else is mere talk.

Psalm 33:21

"For our hearts shall rejoice in him." The duty commended and commanded in the first verse is here presented to the Lord. We, who trust, cannot but be of a glad heart, our inmost nature must triumph in our faithful God. "Because we have trusted in his holy name." The root of faith in due time bears the flower of rejoicing. Doubts breed sorrow, confidence creates joy.

22 Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

Here is a large and comprehensive prayer to close with. It is an appeal for "mercy," which even joyful believers need; and it is sought for in a proportion which the Lord has sanctioned. "According to your faith be it unto you," is the Master's word, and he will not fall short of the scale which he has himself selected. Yet, Master, do more than this when hope is faint, and bless us far above what we ask or even think.