Embrace the Word for Friday, March 6, 2026
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Psalm 33 picks up where Psalm 32 left off. Psalm 33 has no superscription. While it is distinct from Psalm 32; nevertheless, it is inseparably linked to it. I would suggest that David is the author of Psalm 33. Psalm 32 ends with: “Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!” (32:11); and Psalm 33 starts with: “Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright” (33:1). These two Psalms share several other elements as well. Both mention “shouts of deliverance” (32:7), and “with loud shouts” (33:3). Each state “steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD” (32:10), and, “on those who hope in his steadfast love” (33:18). Both refer to the LORD’s counsel: “I will counsel you with my eye upon you” (32:8), and “The counsel of the LORD stands forever” (33:11). Each Psalm mentions the eyes of the LORD: "I will counsel you with my eye upon you” (32:8), and “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him” (33:18). And both Psalms speak of trusting in the LORD: "but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD” (32:10), and “For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name” (33:21). Psalm 33 begins with a call to praise the LORD (33:1-3), and then ends with a statement of reliance upon the LORD (33:20-22). In between, several reasons are provided to trust and praise the LORD (33:4-19) focusing on the Word of the LORD (4-9), the plans of the LORD (10-12), and the eyes of the LORD (13-19).
Psalm 33 opens with a call for vigorous praise: "Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright” (33:1). In light of the forgiveness described in the previous Psalm, and with such forgiveness, the bone-wasting and strength-sapping hand of God’s judgment removed, the intense shouts of joyful relief are warranted. The very forgiveness granted coupled with the righteousness counted, gives strong grounds that God be praised. Such praise would overlap with gratitude: “Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts” (33:2-3). In this case, the particular shape of expressing gratitude is through music. Music that would be instrumentally played with great skill. Skill, not in the sense of a professional performance, but in the sense that one’s best effort is put forth. Coupled with great skill is intense passion as the singing would be expressed with “loud shouts.” The song skillfully and passionately sung would be a “new song,” which is not exclusively a newly written song (though it could be that), but a song sung with a fresh experience of joy and gratitude.
The first reasons to express praise and thanks to the LORD all unite around the Word of God: “For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD” (33:4-5). God’s Word is upright and faithful, that is, it is uttered in total sincerity and will truly bring about all that it states. God’s Word to completely reliable. The God who speaks the Words He speaks is a justice-loving God, who fills the entire earth with His steadfast love. The entire earth may not experience His steadfast love equally, but it is not a mere localized occurrence. The opportunity to receive the steadfast love of the LORD can be found to the ends of the earth.
Creation came about by the Word of God: “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host” (33:6). This description of God’s creation work is in perfect harmony with the historical account provided in Genesis 1. Genesis 1:1 asserts that God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:2 says that the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters, which Psalm 33 uses when it speaks of creation coming about by the “breath” of God’s mouth. Genesis 1:3 records that God spoke into existence all that exists, which corresponds to Psalm 33 as it simply states that creation came about by the Word of the Lord. Genesis 1 also records God separating the waters (See Genesis 1:7), and gathering them (See Genesis 1:9). Psalm 33 poetically describes the historical account of Genesis: “He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses” (33:7). In light of His work of creation, all that God made, mankind in particular has an obligation to God: "Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him!” (33:8). This obligation is rooted and grounded in the power and authority of God’s Word to create and sustain: “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm” (33:9).
The second reason to express praise and thanks to the LORD is based on the plans of the LORD: “The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations” (33:10-11). Reminiscent of Psalm 1 and Psalm 2, the LORD thwarts the wicked counsel of the nations, and He frustrates the plots of the rebel nations. Only the LORD’s counsel and plans will infallibly come to pass. Only God’s plans and purposes are unshakable and unbreakable. All alternative and opposing plans and purposes will fail. And what is at the heart of God’s plans but to bless His people: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!” (33:12). The LORD has chosen a people for Himself. Certainly, such somewhat mysterious activity by God is evidenced by the reality that His chosen people turn to Him trusting and praising Him. All the while, knowing the origins for having such a people reside in the counsels of and plans of God are informed by the LORD’s intent to bless them and regard them as His special heritage.
The third reason to express praise and thanks to the LORD is rooted in the operation of the eyes of the LORD: “The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds” (33:13-15). The LORD “looks down,” “sees,” “looks out on,” and “observes.” The scope of the scrutinizing oversight of the LORD is “all the children of man,” “all the inhabitants of the earth,” and encompasses, “all their deed.” After all, He is the God “who fashions the hearts of them all,” and is now the God who is “enthroned” as King. This God who rules and sees is the only true source of salvation, deliverance, hope, and rescue: “The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue” (33:16-17). We should resist the alternative and opposing counsels and plans that will ultimately be thwarted and frustrated by the LORD. We should look to the LORD alone: “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine” (33:18-19). The God who made all things, whose plans and purposes will never fail, and who sees all things, is the One to which we must look. We must fear him, that is, feel the true import of His power and might, and hope in His steadfast love. God alone can deliver and keep alive. Any other offer of deliverance and support is empty.
In light of the reasons expressed, David confesses his reliance upon the LORD: “Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield” (33:20). To properly fear the LORD is to hope in Him; and to truly hope in the LORD is to wait on Him. Such fear, hope, and trust, all of which speak of intentional focus, is oriented around a confidence concerning the LORD’s ability to help and protect. Such focus stirs the heart to a glad trust: “For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name” (33:21). And the language of a heart stirring with glad trust is prayer: “Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you” (33:22). The LORD’s steadfast love extends to the ends of the earth (33:5), it delivers those who fear and wait (33:18-19); and therefore it is what we are prompted to pray will be upon us, that is, will cover our lives (33:22).
As we reflect of Psalm 33, we can consider Jesus, who John says is the Word of God: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (See John 1:1-3). Jesus, who is the Word through whom the Father made the world, is also the Word made flesh: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (See John 1:14). The power of God’s Word to create, as utterly impressive and praiseworthy as that is, is only magnified further by the power of God’s Word, the God-Man, Jesus Christ, to deliver His people—the people that His Father has given Him (See John 6:37), the heritage that He has chosen (33:12). The Lord’s people should and can respond to His saving work, not only with our prayers that express our trust in Him, but also our songs that freshly sing to Him.
That’s all for Embrace the Word for Friday, March 6, 2026. I look forward to being back with you for the Monday, March 9, 2026 episode of Embrace the Word as we take a look at Psalm 34.