3Sing to Him a new song;
         Play skillfully with a shout of joy.

4For the word of the LORD is upright,
         And all His work is done in faithfulness.

5He loves righteousness and justice;
         The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the LORD.

6By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
         And by the breath of His mouth all their host.

7He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;
         He lays up the deeps in storehouses.

8Let all the earth fear the LORD;
         Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

9For He spoke, and it was done;
         He commanded, and it stood fast.

10The LORD nullifies the counsel of the nations;
         He frustrates the plans of the peoples.

11The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
         The plans of His heart from generation to generation.

12Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
         The people whom He has chosen for His own inheritance.

13The LORD looks from heaven;
         He sees all the sons of men;

14From His dwelling place He looks out
         On all the inhabitants of the earth,

15He who fashions the hearts of them all,
         He who understands all their works.

16The king is not saved by a mighty army;
         A warrior is not delivered by great strength.

17A horse is a false hope for victory;
         Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.

18Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,
         On those who hope for His lovingkindness,

19To deliver their soul from death
         And to keep them alive in famine.

20Our soul waits for the LORD;
         He is our help and our shield.

21For our heart rejoices in Him,
         Because we trust in His holy name.

22Let Your lovingkindness, O LORD, be upon us,
         According as we have hoped in You.

Parallel Verses

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; Sing praises to Him with a harp of ten strings.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
Give thanks with a lyre to the LORD. Make music for him on a ten-stringed harp.

King James Bible
Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Give praise to the Lord on the harp; sing to him with the psaltery, the instrument of ten strings.

Darby Bible Translation
Give thanks unto Jehovah with the harp; sing psalms unto him with the ten-stringed lute.

English Revised Version
Give thanks unto the LORD with harp: sing praises unto him with the psaltery of ten strings.

Webster's Bible Translation
Praise the LORD with harp: sing to him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.

World English Bible
Give thanks to Yahweh with the lyre. Sing praises to him with the harp of ten strings.

Young's Literal Translation
Give ye thanks to Jehovah with a harp, With psaltery of ten strings sing praise to Him,

Cross References

Psalm 43:4 Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And upon the lyre I shall praise You, O God, my God.

Psalm 61:8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever, That I may pay my vows day by day.

Psalm 71:22 I will also praise You with a harp, Even Your truth, O my God; To You I will sing praises with the lyre, O Holy One of Israel.

Psalm 92:3 With the ten-stringed lute and with the harp, With resounding music upon the lyre.

Psalm 144:9 I will sing a new song to You, O God; Upon a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,

Psalm 147:7 Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving; Sing praises to our God on the lyre,

Psalm 150:3 Praise Him with trumpet sound; Praise Him with harp and lyre.

Commentary

Matthew Henry's Whole Bible Commentary

PSALM 33

This is a psalm of praise; it is probable that David was the penman of it, but we are not told so, because God would have us look above the penmen of sacred writ, to that blessed Spirit that moved and guided them. The psalmist, in this psalm, I. Calls upon the righteous to praise God (v. 1-3). II. Furnishes us with matter for praise. We must praise God, 1. For his justice, goodness, and truth, appearing in his word, and in all his works (v. 4, 5). 2. For his power appearing in the work of creation (v. 6-9). 3. For the sovereignty of his providence in the government of the world (v. 10, 11) and again (v. 13-17). 4. For the peculiar favour which he bears to his own chosen people, which encourages them to trust in him (v. 12) and again (v. 18-22). We need not be at a loss for proper thoughts in singing this psalm, which so naturally expresses the pious affections of a devout soul towards God.

Verses 1-11

Four things the psalmist expresses in these verses:

I. The great desire he had that God might be praised. He did not think he did it so well himself, but that he wished others also might be employed in this work; the more the better, in this concert: it is the more like heaven. 1. Holy joy is the heart and soul of praise, and that is here pressed upon all good people (v. 1): Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous; so the foregoing psalm concluded and so this begins; for all our religious exercises should both begin and end with a holy complacency and triumph in God as the best of being and best of friends. 2. Thankful praise is the breath and language of holy joy; and that also is here required of us (v. 2): "Praise the Lord; speak well of him, and give him the glory due to his name." 3. Religious songs are the proper expressions of thankful praise; those are here required (v. 3): "Sing unto him a new song, the best you have, not that which by frequent use is worn, thread-bare, but that which, being new, is most likely to move the affections, a new song for new mercies and upon every new occasion, for those compassions which are new every morning." Music was then used, by the appointment of David, with the temple-songs, that they might be the better sung; and this also is here called for (v. 2): Sing unto him with the psaltery. Here is, (1.) A good rule for this duty: "Do it skilfully, and with a loud noise; let it have the best both of head and heart; let it be done intelligently and with a clear head, affectionately and with a warm heart." (2.) A good reason for this duty: For praise is comely for the upright. It is well pleasing to God (the garments of praise add much to the comeliness which God puts upon his people) and it is an excellent ornament to our profession. It becomes the upright, whom God has put so much honour upon, to give honour to him. The upright praise God in a comely manner, for they praise him with their hearts, that is praising him with their glory; whereas the praises of hypocrites are awkward and uncomely, like a parable in the mouth of fools, Prov. 26:7.

II. The high thoughts he had of God, and of his infinite perfections, v. 4, 5. God makes himself known to us, 1. In his word, here put for all divine revelation, all that which God at sundry times and in divers manners spoke to the children of men, and that is all right, there is nothing amiss in it; his commands exactly agree with the rules of equity and the eternal reasons of good and evil. His promises are all wise and good and inviolably sure, and there is no iniquity in his threatenings, but even those are designed for our good, by deterring us from evil. God's word is right, and therefore all our deviations from it are wrong, and we are then in the right when we agree with it. 2. In his works, and those are all done in truth, all according to his counsels, which are called the scriptures of truth, Dan. 10:21. The copy in all God's works agrees exactly with the great original, the plan laid in the Eternal Mind, and varies not in the least jot. God has made it to appear in his works, (1.) That he is a God of inflexible justice: He loveth righteousness and judgment. There is nothing but righteousness in the sentence he passes and judgment in the execution of it. He never did nor can do wrong to any of his creatures, but is always ready to give redress to those that are wronged, and does it with delight. He takes pleasure in those that are righteous. He is himself the righteous Lord, and therefore loveth righteousness. (2.) That he is a God of inexhaustible bounty: The earth is full of his goodness, that is, of the proofs and instances of it. The benign influences which the earth receives from above, and the fruits it is thereby enabled to produce, the provision that is made both for man and beast, and the common blessings with which all the nations of the earth are blessed, plainly declare that the earth is full of his goodness-the darkest, the coldest, the hottest, and the most dry and desert part of it not excepted. What a pity is it that this earth, which is so full of God's goodness, should be so empty of his praises, and that of the multitudes that live upon his bounty there are so few that live to his glory!

III. The conviction he was under of the almighty power of God, evidenced in the creation of the world. We "believe in God," and therefore we praise him as "the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth," so we are here taught to praise him. Observe,

1. How God made the world, and brought all things into being. (1.) How easily: All things were made by the word of the Lord and by the breath of his mouth. Christ is the Word, the Spirit is the breath, so that God the Father made the world, as he rules it and redeems it, by his Son and Spirit. He spoke, and he commanded (v. 9), and that was enough; there needed no more. With men saying and doing are two things, but it is not so with God. By the Word and Spirit of God as the world was made, so was man, that little world. God said, Let us make man, and he breathed into him the breath of life. By the Word and Spirit the church is built, that new world, and grace wrought in the soul, that new man, that new creation. What cannot that power do which with a word made a world! (2.) How effectually it was done: And it stood fast. What God does he does to purpose; he does it and it stands fast. Whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever, Eccl. 3:14. It is by virtue of that command to stand fast that things continue to this day according to God's ordinance, Ps. 119:91.

2. What he made. He made all things, but notice is here taken, (1.) of the heavens, and the host of them, v. 6. The visible heavens, and the sun, moon, and stars, their hosts-(2.) Of the waters, and the treasures of them, v. 7. The earth was at first covered with the water, and, being heavier, must of course subside and sink under it; but, to show from the very first that the God of nature is not tied to the ordinary method of nature, and the usual operations of his powers, with a word's speaking he gathered the waters together on a heap, that the dry land might appear, yet left them not to continue on a heap, but laid up the depth in store-houses, not only in the flats where the seas make their beds, and in which they are locked up by the sand on the shore as in storehouses, but in secret subterraneous caverns, where they are hidden from the eyes of all living, but were reserved as in a store-house for that day when those fountains of the great deep were to be broken up; and they are still laid up there in store, for which use the great Master of the house knows best.

3. What use is to be made of this (v. 8): Let all the earth fear the Lord, and stand in awe of him; that is, let all the children of men worship him and give glory to him, Ps. 95:5, 6. The everlasting gospel gives this as the reason why we must worship God, because he made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, Rev. 14:6, 7. Let us all fear him, that is, dread his wrath and displeasure, and be afraid of having him our enemy and of standing it out against him. Let us not dare to offend him who having this power no doubt has all power in his hand. It is dangerous being at war with him who has the host of heaven for his armies and the depths of the sea for his magazines, and therefore it is wisdom to desire conditions of peace, see Jer. 5:22.

IV. The satisfaction he had of God's sovereignty and dominion, v. 10, 11. He over-rules all the counsels of men, and makes them, contrary to their intention, serviceable to his counsels. Come and see with an eye of faith God in the throne, 1. Frustrating the devices of his enemies: He bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought, so that what they imagine against him and his kingdom proves a vain thing (Ps. 2:1); the counsel of Ahithophel is turned into foolishness; Haman's plot is baffled. Though the design be laid ever so deep, and the hopes raised upon it ever so high, yet, if God says it shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass; it is all to no purpose. 2. Fulfilling his own decrees: The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever. It is immutable in itself, for he is in one mind, and who can turn him? The execution of it may be opposed, but cannot in the least be obstructed by any created power. Through all the revolutions of time God never changed his measures, but in every event, even that which to us is most surprising, the eternal counsel of God is fulfilled, nor can any thing prevent its being accomplished in its time. With what pleasure to ourselves may we in singing this give praise to God! How easy may this thought make us at all times, that God governs the world, that he did it in infinite wisdom before we were born, and will do it when we are silent in the dust!

Calvin's Commentary

1. Rejoice in Jehovah, ye righteous; praise is comely [670] for the upright. 2. Praise Jehovah upon the harp; sing unto him upon the viol, and an instrument of ten strings. 3. Sing a new song to him; sing loudly with joyfulness: 4. For the word of Jehovah is right; and all his works are in faithfulness. [671]

1. Rejoice in Jehovah, ye righteous. Here the inspired writer addresses believers or the righteous by name, because they alone are capable of proclaiming the glory of God. Unbelievers, who have never tasted his goodness, cannot praise him from the heart, and God has no pleasure in his name being pronounced by their unholy tongues. But the context shows more distinctly why this exhortation is suitable for believers only. Many, accordingly, expound the latter clause, Praise is comely for the upright, as meaning, that if the ungodly or hypocrites attempt this exercise, it will turn to the reproach and dishonor of God rather than to his praise; nay, more, that they only profane his holy name. It is, no doubt, very true, as I have already remarked, that God creates for himself a church in the world by gracious adoption, for the express purpose, that his name may be duly praised by witnesses suitable for such a work. But the real meaning of the clause, Praise is comely for the upright, is, that there is no exercise in which they can be better employed. And, assuredly, since God by his daily benefits furnishes them with such matter for celebrating his glory, and since his boundless goodness, as we have elsewhere seen, is laid up as a peculiar treasure for them, it were disgraceful and utterly unreasonable for them to be silent in the praises of God. The amount of the matter is, that the principal exercise in which it becomes the righteous to be employed is to publish among men the righteousness, goodness, and power of God, the knowledge of which is implanted in their minds. Following other interpreters, I have translated the clause, Praise is comely, but the word rendered comely may also be properly rendered desirable, if we view it as derived from the Hebrew word 'vh, avah, which signifies to wish or desire. And certainly, when God allures believers so sweetly, it is proper that they employ themselves in celebrating his praises with their whole hearts. It is also to be observed, that when the prophet, after having in the first clause used the appellation, the righteous, immediately adds the words, the upright, which comprehend the inward integrity of the heart, he defines what true righteousness is, or in what it consists.

2. Praise Jehovah upon the harp. It is evident that the Psalmist here expresses the vehement and ardent affection which the faithful ought to have in praising God, when he enjoins musical instruments to be employed for this purpose. He would have nothing omitted by believers which tends to animate the minds and feelings of men in singing God's praises. The name of God, no doubt, can, properly speaking, be celebrated only by the articulate voice; but it is not without reason that David adds to this those aids by which believers were wont to stimulate themselves the more to this exercise; especially considering that he was speaking to God's ancient people. There is a distinction, however, to be observed here, that we may not indiscriminately consider as applicable to ourselves, every thing which was formerly enjoined upon the Jews. I have no doubt that playing upon cymbals, touching the harp and the viol, and all that kind of music, which is so frequently mentioned in the Psalms, was a part of the education; that is to say, the puerile instruction of the law: I speak of the stated service of the temple. For even now, if believers choose to cheer themselves with musical instruments, they should, I think, make it their object not to dissever their cheerfulness from the praises of God. But when they frequent their sacred assemblies, musical instruments in celebrating the praises of God would be no more suitable than the burning of incense, the lighting up of lamps, and the restoration of the other shadows of the law. The Papists, therefore, have foolishly borrowed this, as well as many other things, from the Jews. Men who are fond of outward pomp may delight in that noise; but the simplicity which God recommends to us by the apostle is far more pleasing to him. Paul allows us to bless God in the public assembly of the saints only in a known tongue, (1 Corinthians 14:16.) The voice of man, although not understood by the generality, assuredly excels all inanimate instruments of music; and yet we see what St Paul determines concerning speaking in an unknown tongue. [672] What shall we then say of chanting, which fills the ears with nothing but an empty sound? Does any one object, that music is very useful for awakening the minds of men and moving their hearts? I own it; but we should always take care that no corruption creep in, which might both defile the pure worship of God and involve men in superstition. Moreover, since the Holy Spirit expressly warns us of this danger by the mouth of Paul, to proceed beyond what we are there warranted by him is not only, I must say, unadvised zeal, but wicked and perverse obstinacy.

3. Sing unto him a new song. As the Psalmist afterwards treats of the mighty works of God, and particularly concerning the preservation of the Church, it is not wonderful that he exhorts the righteous to sing a new, that is, a rare and choice song. The more closely and diligently that believers consider the works of God, the more will they exert themselves in his praises. It is no common song, therefore, which he exhorts them to sing, but a song corresponding to the magnificence of the subject. This is also the meaning of the second clause, in which he urges them to sing loudly. In this sense, I understand the Hebrew word hytyv, heytib, although others refer it rather to the proper setting of the notes.

4. For the word of Jehovah is right. As I have just remarked, the Psalmist first sets forth God's general providence by which he governs the whole world; and he tells us that he so exerts his power in the whole course of his operations, that the most perfect equity and faithfulness shine forth everywhere. Some will have the terms word and work to be synonymous; but I think there is a distinction, and that word means the same thing as counsel or ordinance, while work signifies the effect or execution of his counsel. I grant that here the same subject is repeated in different words, as is the case in other places; but a slight variation will be found in such repetitions, that the same thing may he expressed in various ways. The amount of what is stated is, that whatever God appoints and commands is right; and whatever he brings to pass in actual operation is faithful and true. Meanwhile, it ought to be observed, that the term word is not to be understood of doctrine, but of the method by which God governs the world.

Footnotes:

[670] "Ou, digne d'estre aimee par les," etc. -- Fr. marg. "Or, is worthy of being loved by them."

[671] "Fideles, c'est, fermes et permanentes." -- Fr. marg. "Faithful, that is, firm and permanent."

[672] "Et neant moins nous voyons ce que Sainct Paul en determine." -- Fr.

Links

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"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth."-- Psalm xxxiii. 6. The work of the Holy Spirit that most concerns us is the renewing of the elect after the image of God. And this is not all. It even savors of selfishness and irreverence to make this so prominent, as tho it were His only work. The redeemed are not sanctified without Christ, who is made to them sanctification; hence the work of the Spirit must embrace the Incarnation of the Word …
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Easter Tuesday
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Psalms
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