Read
Sing Praises to the Lord
1You are the Lord's people.
Obey him and celebrate!
He deserves your praise.
2Praise the Lord with harps!
Use harps with ten strings
to make music for him.
3Sing a new song. Shout!
Play beautiful music.
4The Lord is truthful;
he can be trusted.
5He loves justice and fairness,
and he is kind to everyone
everywhere on earth.
6The Lord made the heavens
and everything in them
by his word.
7He scooped up the ocean
and stored the water.
8Everyone in this world
should worship and honor
the Lord!
9As soon as he spoke
the world was created;
at his command,
the earth was formed.
10The Lord destroys the plans
and spoils the schemes
of the nations.
11But what the Lord has planned
will stand forever.
His thoughts never change.
12The Lord blesses each nation
that worships only him.
He blesses his chosen ones.
13The Lord looks at the world
14from his throne in heaven,
and he watches us all.
15The Lord gave us each a mind,
and nothing we do
can be hidden from him.
16 Mighty armies alone
cannot win wars for a king;
great strength by itself
cannot keep a soldier safe.
17In war the strength of a horse
cannot be trusted
to take you to safety.
18But the Lord watches over
all
who honor him
and trust his kindness.
19He protects them from death
and starvation.
20We depend on you, Lord,
to help and protect us.
21You make our hearts glad
because we trust you,
the only God.
22Be kind and bless us!
We depend on you.
Reflect
What do you hope for? When you let your mind drift on the seas of your longings, where does it go?
Here’s an even more important question: What do you hope in? When you consider the things you most want, how do you imagine achieving them? Hard work? Wise maneuvering? Winning the lottery?
Given Israel’s story of recurring oppression and exile, it’s not hard to imagine what they hoped for. Peace. Protection. Plenty. Needs familiar to us today. And, like us, the Israelites had a tendency to put their hopes in their own resources and idols, with disastrous results.
In Psalm 33, we see the Israelites meeting together to remind themselves to place their hope in Yahweh alone. What unfolds is an ancient church service, and we’re invited to participate. (1)
First, the choir director calls us to worship (vv 1-3).
Then, the choir accepts the invitation, singing out numerous reasons why Yahweh is indeed worthy of our praise (vv 4-19).
- His character is defined by loving-kindness (vv 4-5).
- His identity as Creator makes it obvious that the created world should worship him (vv 6-7).
- His good plans are never permanently thwarted, and his protective gaze is never diverted (vv 10-19).
Finally, we join the rest of the congregation in response (vv 20-22). “We depend on you, Lord!” we shout. “You make our hearts glad.” And then, recognizing that our needs are met only in God, we plead, “Be kind and bless us! We depend on you.”
The word “depend” shows up twice in that response. In other translations, the same word is rendered “hope.” In fact, in the NIV translation, the word “hope” appears three times (verses 18, 20, 22)—each time reminding us that utter dependence on Yahweh’s unfailing love is, in fact, our only hope.
1. The suggestion that the choir director spoke verses 1-3, the Levitical choir sang verses 4-19, and the people responded with verses 20-22 is made in the commentary notes of the NIV Study Bible.
Respond
Almighty God. Thank you for your unfailing love. You alone are worthy of praise, and you alone are able to make life work the way it should. Help me not to default to operating out of my own resources. Help me place my hope in you alone. Amen.
Carolyn Arends
Carolyn Arends (MA, Theological Studies, Regent College), has released 12 award-winning albums and 3 critically-acclaimed books. Her prose has been recognized by The Word Guild, The Evangelical Press Association, and the Canadian Church Press. Carolyn is currently the Director of Education for Renovaré, a far-reaching organization that encourages and nurtures spiritual renewal. She continues to be available on a select basis for speaking, retreat facilitation, concerts, worship leading and songwriting and performance seminars. She lives in Surrey, BC with her husband Mark and their two children. Book Releases 2012 Theology in Aisle 7 (CTE Books) 2008 Wrestling With Angels (Harvest House/ConversantLife)* Album Releases 2014 Christmas: The Story of Stories (2B Records), 2009 Love Was Here First (2B Records/Signpost Music).