Psalms 33

The Steadfast Love of the Lord

1 ¹Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! ²Praise befits the upright.

2 Give thanks to the Lord with the ³lyre; make melody to him with ⁴the harp of ⁵ten strings!

3 Sing to him ⁶a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

4 For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in ⁷faithfulness.

5 He ⁸loves righteousness and justice; ⁹the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

6 By ¹⁰the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by ¹¹the breath of his mouth all ¹²their host.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea as ¹³a heap; he ¹⁴puts the deeps in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

9 For ¹⁵he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

10 The Lord ¹⁶brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

11 ¹⁷The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.

12 ¹⁸Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has ¹⁹chosen as his heritage!

13 The Lord ²⁰looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man;

14 from ²¹where he sits enthroned he ²²looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,

15 he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.

16 ²³The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

17 ²⁴The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.

18 Behold, ²⁵the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, ²⁶on those who hope in his steadfast love,

19 that he may ²⁷deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in ²⁸famine.

20 Our soul ²⁹waits for the Lord; he is our ³⁰help and ³¹our shield.

21 For our heart is ³²glad in him, because we ³³trust in his holy name.

22 Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

Psalms 33 Commentary

Chapter 33

God to be praised. (1-11) His people encouraged by his power. (12-22)

Verses 1-11 Holy joy is the heart and soul of praise, and that is here pressed upon the righteous. Thankful praise is the breath and language of holy joy. Religious songs are proper expressions of thankful praise. Every endowment we possess, should be employed with all our skill and earnestness in God's service. His promises are all wise and good. His word is right, and therefore we are only in the right when we agree with it. His works are all done in truth. He is the righteous Lord, therefore loveth righteousness. What a pity it is that this earth, which is so full of the proofs and instances of God's goodness, should be so empty of his praises; and that of the multitudes who live upon his bounty, there are so few who live to his glory! What the Lord does, he does to purpose; it stands fast. He overrules all the counsels of men, and makes them serve his counsels; even that is fulfilled, which to us is most surprising, the eternal counsel of God, nor can any thing prevent its coming to pass.

Verses 12-22 All the motions and operations of the souls of men, which no mortals know but themselves, God knows better than they do. Their hearts, as well as their times, are all in his hand; he formed the spirit of each man within him. All the powers of the creature depend upon him, and are of no account, of no avail at all, without him. If we make God's favour sure towards us, then we need not fear whatever is against us. We are to give to him the glory of his special grace. All human devices for the salvation of our souls are vain; but the Lord's watchful eye is over those whose conscientious fear of his name proceeds from a believing hope in his mercy. In difficulties they shall be helped; in dangers they shall not receive any real damage. Those that fear God and his wrath, must hope in God and his mercy; for there is no flying from him, but by flying to him. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us; let us always have the comfort and benefit, not according to our merits, but according to the promise which thou hast in thy word given to us, and according to the faith thou hast by thy Spirit and grace wrought in us.

Cross References

• 1. 33:1 [Ps. 32:11]
• 2. 33:1 Ps. 147:1
• 3. 33:2 Ps. 71:22
• 4. 33:2 Ps. 71:22
• 5. 33:2 Ps. 144:9
• 6. 33:3 Ps. 40:3; 96:1; Isa. 42:10
• 7. 33:4 Ps. 119:75
• 8. 33:5 Ps. 11:7; 36:5, 6; 45:7; 89:14
• 9. 33:5 Ps. 119:64
• 10. 33:6 Gen. 1:6, 7; Heb. 11:3; 2 Pet. 3:5; [John 1:3]
• 11. 33:6 [Job 26:13; Isa. 11:4]
• 12. 33:6 Gen. 2:1
• 13. 33:7 Ps. 78:13; Ex. 15:8; Josh. 3:13, 16
• 14. 33:7 See Job 38:8
• 15. 33:9 Ps. 148:5, 6; Gen. 1:3; [Ps. 147:15, 18]
• 16. 33:10 Isa. 19:3; Luke 1:51; [2 Sam. 15:34; 17:14; Neh. 4:15; Job 5:12; Isa. 8:10]
• 17. 33:11 Prov. 19:21; Isa. 46:10
• 18. 33:12 Ps. 144:15; Deut. 33:29
• 19. 33:12 Ps. 65:4; Deut. 7:6; [Ex. 19:5]
• 20. 33:13 Job 28:24; See Ps. 11:4
• 21. 33:14 1 Kgs. 8:39, 43, 49
• 22. 33:14 [Prov. 15:3; Jer. 32:19]
• 23. 33:16 [Ps. 44:6]
• 24. 33:17 Ps. 20:7; 147:10; Prov. 21:31; Hos. 1:7
• 25. 33:18 Ps. 34:15; Job 36:7; 1 Pet. 3:12
• 26. 33:18 Ps. 147:11
• 27. 33:19 [Acts 12:11]
• 28. 33:19 Ps. 37:19; Job 5:20
• 29. 33:20 Ps. 62:1, 5; 130:6; Isa. 8:17
• 30. 33:20 Ps. 115:9-11
• 31. 33:20 See Ps. 3:3
• 32. 33:21 Zech. 10:7; See Ps. 9:14
• 33. 33:21 See Ps. 11:1

Chapter Summary

INTRODUCTION TO PSALM 33

Though this psalm has no title to it, it seems to be a psalm of David, from the style and matter of it; and indeed begins with the same words with which the preceding psalm is ended. Theodoret is of opinion it was written by David as a prophecy concerning Hezekiah, as a song to be sung by the people after the destruction of the Assyrian army.