Episode Transcript
Psalm 33 (NIV)
Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
Praise the LORD with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
...
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;
from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth—
he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
May your unfailing love be with us, LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.
CONSIDER THIS
Today’s post is from A Meditative Journey Through the Psalms by Timothy and Julie Tennent. He holds the Methodist Chair of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School and served as president of Asbury Theological Seminary for fifteen years. Julie is a gifted musician and was one of the driving forces that helped bring to fruition the Seedbed hymnal, Our Great Redeemer’s Praise. We will share some of their writing on the Psalms on Sundays.
Psalm 33 celebrates the awesome majesty and kingly sovereignty of God. This psalm, in particular, calls the righteous to gather and celebrate the power of God’s word. The psalmist rejoices in the power of God’s word which is the source of the whole created order: “By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth” (v. 6). This psalm teaches an important doctrine of creation known as ex nihilo. This is a phrase that means, “out of nothing.” God did not use previously existing materials to shape and form the universe. Rather, he created the entire universe out of his spoken word: “For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded and it stood firm” (v. 9). The psalm establishes that God is the Creator and that the power of his word created the universe. It then moves from the power of God to the purpose of God. We can be confident in the purposes of God in creating the world. “But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations” (v. 11). As sure as the earth’s presence, so sure are we to be of the purposes of God. Therefore, the psalm calls the nations of the world to trust in the Lord: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (v. 12). The leaders of the nations are called to not put their hope in their military strength (size of armies or numbers of horses), but to trust in his great strength and power.
If you feel powerless today, or that the purposes of God are somehow being thwarted in the world, then take heart. God is in control of human history. His plans will unfold according to his eternal and unchanging purposes. The last headline of the newspapers of the world will be: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15).
For the Awakening,
Timothy and Julie Tennent
THE HYMN
Sing Psalm 33 with the Seedbed Psalter today. We suggest the tune THE ASH GROVE ("Let All Things Now Living"). You can hear the tune played online by Julie here. If you listen to the podcast audio version, we will sing the psalm in this same tune. For your convenience, the words from the Psalter are printed below.
1 Sing unto the Lord with joy, all of you righteous;
It’s fitting for all of the upright to praise.
2 With harp and with ly-re, make music before Him;
3 Sing new songs, play skillfully, joyous shouts raise.
4 The word of the Lord is both righteous and true, and
the Lord’s ever faithful in all that He does.
5 The Lord loves pure justice and righteousness ever;
The earth overflows with His unfailing love.
6 The Lord by His word made the heavens above us;
Their starry host came by the breath of His mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of seas into jars, and
He puts the deep oceans into His storehouse.
8 Let all the earth fear Him; let people revere Him;
9 He spoke and creation all came forth to be.
10 The Lord foils the plans of the peoples and nations,
11 But His plans and purpose firm ever will be.
12 How bless’d is the nation whose God is the Lord, and
the people He chose for His own heritage.
13 From heaven, He looks down and sees all the people;
14 From where the Lord dwells, He sees all on the earth.
15 He forms all their hearts, and sees all that they do, and
16 no king can be saved by his army or might.
17 A horse is a vain hope, for it can’t deliver;
Despite its great strength, it can’t save from your plight.
18 The eyes of the Lord are on all those who fear Him,
Upon those who hope in His unfailing love.
19 Our hope is in Him who alone can deliver
from death, and keep life when the famine does come.
20 We wait for the Lord who’s our help and our shield, and
21 in Him we rejoice as we trust in His name.
22 O Lord, may Your unfailing love rest upon us,
As we place our hope in You—always the same.
