1Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2Praise the LORD with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
3Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
4For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
5The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
6By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
7He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses.
8Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the people of the world revere him.
9For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
12Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
13From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;
14from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth—
15he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
16No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
and keep them alive in famine.
20We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
21In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.
Original Meaning
THIS PSALM IS a hymn of praise to Yahweh, celebrating his righteous character, creative power, and sovereignty—qualities that make him the only reliable foundation for trust and hope. As a communal hymn of praise and rejoicing, Psalm 33 roots out of the command in 32:11 that the “righteous” (cf. 32:11 and 33:1) and the “upright in heart” (cf. 32:11; 33:1) “rejoice” and “sing.” In its present position, and especially without its own psalm heading, Psalm 33 is bound closely to the preceding psalm and provides the song of rejoicing requested there.
Structurally the psalm is divided into four major sections: invocation to praise (33:1–3), motivation for praise (33:4–11), exhortation to trust Yahweh (33:12–19), and concluding affirmation of trust and hope (33:20–22). Because of its twenty-two verses, Psalm 33 is sometimes classified as an “acrostic song”1 or an “alphabetizing” song2 that conforms its length to the number of letters in the standard Hebrew alphabet, though it does not seek to begin each verse with successive letters of the alphabet (as do the acrostic songs).3
The lack of a psalm heading in this psalm is noteworthy, especially since it is only one of two psalms in Book 1 of the Psalter (Pss. 1–41, considering Pss. 1 and 2 as introductory) that do not have any heading. All the remaining thirty-seven psalms in this book are referred to David, and most have other indications of psalm type and musical performance notes included. As mentioned elsewhere, psalms without titles are frequently combined with the preceding psalm in the ancient Hebrew manuscripts, yielding a single composition. This is true of Psalm 33—at least ten ancient Hebrew manuscripts combine Psalms 32 and 33.4
In some cases (e.g., Pss. 9–10 and 42–43) the combination of such psalms seems to reflect an original unity. But that does not seem to be the case here; the two compositions seem distinct enough to warrant composition as separate psalms. However, the tradition for combination of these two originally distinct psalms certainly recognizes the verbal, grammatical, and thematic links that connect them. I will mention these as the commentary on these verses proceeds.
Invocation to Praise (33:1–3)
THE OPENING INVOCATION is made up of six half-verses, five of which are governed by second-person plural imperatives calling the reader/listener to praise Yahweh. The verbs describe various aspects of music-making, both instrumental and vocal, that must have played a regular part of worship in the Jerusalem temple. The righteous and upright are called to “sing joyfully,” “praise . . . with the harp,” “make music . . . on the ten-stringed lyre,” “sing . . . a new song,” “play skillfully,” and “shout for joy.” The scene is a noisy, joyous occasion with musicians, singers, and worshipers joining together in raucous praise.
Sing . . . a new song. The Hebrew phrase “sing to the LORD a new song” (širu lyhwh šir ḥadaš) appears as the opening phrase of the important enthronement Psalms (Pss. 96; 98) as well as the opening phrase of Psalm 149. Outside the Psalter, the identical phrase occurs only in Isaiah 42:10, where it introduces a song in praise of Yahweh’s “new” acts of deliverance.
Somewhat different references to a “new song” appear also in 40:3 (“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God”) and in 144:9 (“I will sing a new song to you, O God”). In the New Testament, a “new song” figures in the eschatological context of Revelation 5:9 and 14:3 in celebration of the eternal deliverance accomplished by the Lamb that was slain. Kraus, drawing on the use in Revelation, understands this “new song” to represent “that last, all-encompassing hymn that breaks out of the category of space and time.”5 Craigie emphasizes instead the continuing use of the phrase in the Psalter to designate “the ever-new freshness of the praise of God in his victorious kingship.”6 Longman connects this phrase closely to the theme of Yahweh as “divine warrior.”7
It does seem that a “new song” is a logical response to a “new act” of deliverance. For such new joy, the old expressions of joy just will not do! New praise must find its way to the singing lips and playing fingers. It also seems understandable that by association, the ultimate eschatological act of deliverance requires the ultimate “new song,” as Revelation recounts.
Motivation for Praise (33:4–11)
IN THE SECOND major section of the psalm, the psalmist lays out in sixteen lines the motivating reasoning behind the call to praise. The motivation falls into three categories: the right and faithful character of God (33:4–5), the powerful and creative word of God (33:6–9), and the enduring and unshakable purpose of God (33:10–11).
The right and faithful character of God. The first motivation for praising Yahweh is grounded in his essential character. What God says is “right and true.” The NIV evidently uses these two words to get at the full meaning of the single Hebrew word yašar (“straight, level, right”). The plural of the same word is used to describe the “upright,” who are called to praise Yahweh in 33:1. Moreover, Yahweh is characterized by being “faithful” (ʾemunah [“steadiness, reliability, honesty”]) in all he does (33:4). Because Yahweh is upright and reliable, he also loves righteousness and justice in the world he has created,8 and his own dealings with his creatures and creation demonstrate his “unfailing love” (ḥesed) to them.
The powerful and creative word of God. From this foundation of the trustworthy character of Yahweh that fills his creation with his “unfailing love,” the psalmist turns to God’s creative word (vv. 6–9). In a clear reference to the creation narrative of Genesis 1, the description focuses on the power of Yahweh’s spoken word to call things into existence. The passage is composed of a series of four examples of affirming parallelism, the first and last of which emphasize that spoken word (vv. 6, 9):
By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth. . . .
For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
Between these outer “bookends” are two verses that emphasize, on the one hand, the amazing power of God in gathering and controlling the mighty oceans like water in a jar (33:7),9 and, on the other hand, encourage the hearers to respond to this evidence of Yahweh’s creative power with appropriate dependence (“fear the LORD”) and respect (“revere him”).10
The enduring and unshakable purpose of God. Having explored God’s righteous character and creative power as reasons to praise him, the psalmist moves on to the last motivation. The righteous God who creates with power stands firm in his purpose despite the opposing plans of the nations around Israel. The purposes of Yahweh are enduring and will not be frustrated.
Verses 10–11 demonstrate a careful and balanced structure to highlight the contrast between the fleeting and ineffective “plan” (ʿaṣat) and “purposes” (maḥšebot [“plans, schemes, plots”]) of the opponents and the enduring “plan” and “purposes” (ʿaṣat and maḥšebot) of Yahweh. It is clear that Yahweh is the one in control as he “foils” the plan and “thwarts” the purposes of his opponents. By contrast, his plan and purposes are enduring, standing firm forever through all generations.
Exhortation to Trust Yahweh (33:12–19)
THE THIRD MAJOR segment of the psalm contains sixteen lines, like the preceding segment. The first verse (33:12) links back to the preceding discussion by using singular forms of the same nouns used to describe the “nations” (goyim) and “peoples” (ʿammim) whose futile plans and purposes were frustrated by the sovereign will of Yahweh (v. 10). The singular “nation” (goy) and “people” (ʿam) in verse 12 refer to Israel in her status as one of the nations populating the world created by Yahweh. As such, Israel’s plans and purposes are subjected to the same sovereign will of Yahweh as the rest of the nations.
Israel’s unique status, however, is set out forcefully by the use of the introductory word “Blessed” (ʾašre [“happy, blessed”]). Israel is “blessed” above all other nations because the righteous God who created the world and exercises sovereign control over the peoples within it has chosen Israel for special relationship—to be their God.11 Israel, by divine election, has become God’s “inheritance” (naḥalah)—a reference to land or property possessed in perpetuity by a family and which is inalienable and cannot be taken away.
This rehearsal of the “blessed” status of Israel is the first step in exhorting the listeners to trust in their God. The remainder of the section builds on this beginning in three movements that balance those of the preceding section: Divine scrutiny holds humans to the standard of Yahweh’s righteousness (33:13–15); reliance on human power is doomed to failure in comparison to the power of Yahweh (33:16–17); and Yahweh’s purpose for those who hope in him is deliverance (33:18–19).
Divine scrutiny. In 33:4–5, the readers of the psalm were motivated to praise Yahweh for his upright and faithful character, which “loves righteousness and justice.” Now we learn that this righteous God looks down from his heavenly vantage point to scrutinize the hearts and actions of humankind. This image of heavenly observation and critique is common in the Old Testament, beginning as early as the Flood account (Gen. 6) and the Tower of Babel narrative (11:5). The upshot of such heavenly observation is usually evaluation and critique of those observed, and often judgment.
Elsewhere, the divine scrutiny seems to be connected with imagery of the sun, which rises over the earth by day, exposing all to the brilliance of its rays.12 In both Egypt and Mesopotamia, the god of the sun was considered the god of justice because of his ability to dispel darkness and reveal all the actions of humans. In the face of such divine scrutiny there is no escape. Yahweh sees all—even the inward thoughts of the heart that he “formed” (yṣr [“shape, form (as a potter shapes clay)”]). Thus, the “plans” and “purposes” of humans (cf. 33:10–11) are transparent to him, as is their willingness or lack of willingness to trust in him.
The futility of self-reliance. The myth of human power is now debunked, with the purpose of encouraging the reader/listener to place trust and hope in the power of Yahweh rather than the futile pretense of self-power. The psalmist draws on the imagery of war and battle to make his point. While the size of an army is a significant factor in any engagement, it is vain to assume that superior numbers will inevitably provide victory. The books of Joshua and Judges are clear evidence of a small force empowered by God to defeat larger armies. By contrast, the books of Kings offer sufficient proof of the futility of relying for victory on superior numbers and military equipment. For example, in the account of the death of Ahab in 1 Kings 22, despite joining forces with the king of Judah against their mutual enemy and despite disguising himself so that no one would know he was the king, Ahab was killed by the arrow of an archer who “drew his bow at random.”
The divine purpose of deliverance. The psalmist turns in this third segment to consider how God’s purpose and plan for “those who fear him” are “to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine” (33:18–19). As Yahweh scrutinizes all humans from above, knows their plans and purposes, and foils those who rely on self, so “the eyes of the LORD” observe those who depend wholly on him in order to act for their deliverance. Once again it is important that the quality expressed by the “fear” of Yahweh is not fear or terror but an awareness of one’s absolute dependence on him. It is willingness to give up self-reliance and self-power in order to become “those whose hope [from yḥl; better translated ‘those who patiently wait’; cf. 31:24] is in his unfailing love.”
Concluding Affirmation of Trust (33:20–22)
THE PSALM CONCLUDES with a communal affirmation of trust in Yahweh, using vocabulary that links back to the immediately preceding section on the one hand, and all the way back to the concluding verses of Psalm 32 on the other. In the first case, the concluding affirmation is begun and concluded with references to hopeful “waiting” on Yahweh, which links to the mention in 33:18 of “those who wait hopefully for [meyaḥalim; NIV “whose hope is in”] his unfailing love.” In the concluding affirmation, the first reference to “waiting” employs the Hebrew verb ḥkh (“wait patiently for,” 33:20). This verb does not relate directly to the verb yḥl used in 33:18, but the appearance of yḥl at the end of the affirmation (33:22) indicates the same semantic range is intended for both verbs in this context.
Additional verbal links to the preceding section are found in the repetition in 33:22 of the important word ḥesed (NIV “unfailing love”) that appears as well in 33:18. In the earlier verse we learn that Yahweh’s eye is on those who wait hopefully for his unfailing love. In the concluding line of the final affirmation of trust, the speakers cry out, “May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we wait hopefully for [NIV put our hope in] you” (33:22). The community of faith lays claim to what has been promised, that Yahweh knows the heart of and delivers those who place their reliance wholly on him.
As far as links back to the conclusion of Psalm 32 are concerned, two are most persuasive. (1) The term “unfailing love” (ḥesed) occurs as part of the invocation to praise Yahweh, which concludes the previous psalm (32:10) and which Psalm 33 seems designed to fulfill. (2) Yahweh’s ḥesed is said to surround the one “who trusts in him” (32:10). In the concluding affirmation of Psalm 33, we hear the community who waits hopefully for the promised deliverance declare: “In him our hearts rejoice [cf. 32:11], for we trust in his holy name” (33:21).
Our help and our shield. Yahweh is the trusting community’s “help” and “shield.” The former term is used frequently in the psalms to describe Yahweh’s role as protector of those in trouble.13 As such there is no inherent sense of inferiority in the designation “helper,” as might be assumed in our culture of job classifications where the term is often used to describe subordinate groups of assistants. Here the word means one who supplies desperately needed service and is almost equivalent to the term “deliverer.”
The shield described by magen is one of several types of movable protective shields used by soldiers in the ancient Near East (see comments on 3:3–4). The speakers trust Yahweh because he provides the kind of protective covering in the midst of the fray that a shield provides the soldier in combat.
Bridging Contexts
WAITING FOR GOD. Psalm 33 teaches one of the cardinal lessons Israel had to learn again and again throughout her long history with God: Deliverance belongs to Yahweh (3:8), and salvation comes to those who “wait hopefully” for Yahweh rather than those who trust in any form of human power. The supreme example of this need to trust Yahweh in contrast to relying on human power is the picture of Israel between the Egyptians and the Red Sea in Exodus 14. Aware of the approaching Egyptian chariot forces behind them and with all escape seemingly cut off by the expanse of the Red Sea before them, the people panic and complain to Moses: “It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (14:12).
Moses, able to see with the eyes of God, responds serenely, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never seen again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still” (14:13–14). At this point the impossible happens: The sea opens up to allow the Israelites to pass through to safety, while the pursuing Egyptians, blinded by their seeming invincible military power, are destroyed pursuing their enemies into the sea.
Hopeful waiting—faithful endurance—rather than panicked action is the appropriate stance of God’s people. Joshua and his followers had to march around the seemingly impregnable fortress of Jericho seven times before the walls came tumbling down and the city was given into their hands (Josh. 6). The Aramean general Naaman similarly had to bathe himself seven times in the Jordan river before his leprosy was removed (2 Kings 5). By contrast, Saul was rejected as king when, confronted by the massing enemy and the gradual depletion of his own ranks, he failed to wait for the coming of Samuel before offering sacrifice to entreat Yahweh’s favor in the upcoming battle (1 Sam. 13).
Such waiting is a sign of surrender to the power of God rather than trusting in human strength and power. David manifested a similar trust and willingness to wait when he fled Jerusalem before the attacking forces of his rebellious son, Absalom. As he departed the city, the priests joined his retinue carrying the ark of the covenant as a sign of God’s invisible presence with the forces of the king. David sent the priests and the ark back to the city with this declaration of his willingness to wait on God’s restoring purposes: “Take the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the LORD’s eyes, he will bring me back and let me see it and his dwelling place again. But if he says, ‘I am not pleased with you,’ then I am ready; let him do to me whatever seems good to him” (2 Sam. 15:25–26).
The psalms are full of exhortations and descriptions of waiting hopefully for God.14 These references are particularly concentrated in Books 1 and 2 of the Psalter, where lament dominates and confidence and trust form an important aspect of the psalmists’ message. Despite suffering, struggle, and pain, Yahweh remains worthy of trust and is the only sure source of hope.
Contemporary Significance
THE ENDURING DESIGN OF GOD. I have mixed emotions about revealing that I once owned a 1976 Fiat Sport Coupe. When I bought the car, it was only three years old—bright orange with black pin-striping. It was a sporty little four-speed that appealed to my still youthful visions of driving a fast car. But over the years (I kept it for thirteen!) my sporty car began to deteriorate. It went through a cycle of replacement parts: starter, alternator, two fuel pumps, another starter. All this was made more difficult and expensive by the fact that Fiat dealerships had been phased out in the United States, and the available parts inventory was decreasing year by year. Along the way, one cynical mechanic told me what he thought FIAT really meant: “Fix It Again, Tony!”
Toward the end I was reduced to pulling used parts off two wrecked vehicles I had discovered rusting in a friend’s hazelnut orchard. As the collapsing car became subject to increasingly frequent and inconvenient breakdowns, I was at last convinced to trade it in for a newer vehicle. I still remember the grins and smothered laughter among the car sales personnel after I drove my once prized Fiat Sport Coupe up to the dealership—clutch slipping, exhaust smoking—and gladly took the $100 they offered me for it.
Something of the same scenario has repeated itself with almost every car I have owned. None was made to last forever! I am convinced that autos are produced with planned obsolescence. Designs change; equipment fails, necessitating replacement parts or replacement vehicles. I have grown to understand that one does not place trust in a car, no matter how new or well maintained it may seem to be.
I particularly like the way the Jewish Publication Society translation of Psalms renders Psalm 33:11: “What the LORD plans endures forever, what He designs, for ages on end.”15 Unlike the Detroit auto manufacturers, God’s designs are not subject to planned obsolescence. What God designs and makes endures.16 Psalm 33 celebrates the enduring quality of God’s creation and makes it the foundation of trust and hope. But it is not the enduring creation—as lasting and stable as it appears to be—that fills the psalmist with trust. It is, instead, the creator God himself who inspires hope and confidence. As Psalm 102:26–27 says, even the enduring earth and heavens will eventually “wear out like a garment” that God casts aside as no longer useful, but the creator God, who was there before the foundation of the earth, remains the same.
All human plans, purposes, and sources of power are ultimately subject to futility because of the transient nature of humans. People come and people go, but in the great scheme of the cosmos, they leave little lasting impression.17 But God endures and is therefore trustworthy.
It is not just God’s longevity that renders him worthy of trust. It is his essential righteousness that stands at the center of the psalmist’s confidence. It is not just because God is eternal that the psalmist trusts him, but because “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” (33:4–5). An evil god who was eternal would inspire neither confidence nor trust, only fear. Yahweh, however, is a God who “loves righteousness and justice.” This does not mean simply that he loves those who do righteousness and justice (although that is also true). It means that God’s essential character is grounded in justice and righteousness; it is who he is at his core, he can do no other.
The pagan gods of the ancient Near East had no such essential commitment to righteousness and justice. They are often depicted as combating, conniving, tricking, and overpowering one another to get their way. Yahweh, on the contrary, is committed to do what is right and just. He can be trusted to act in ways that are consistent with this essential character.
Even more, however, the psalmist trusts Yahweh because of clear evidences of God’s loving care for his people. As the Jewish Publication Society translation puts it: “The earth is full of the Lord’s faithful care” (33:5b). This is a grand translation of the Hebrew word ḥesed, which captures the enduring commitment and love that is so essential to its meaning. God is trustworthy, not just because he is eternal or because he is committed to righteousness and justice, but foremost because he daily evidences his “faithful care” throughout the world he has made.