Tuesday, July 23 – Psalms 33, 36

1. What accompanying instrument/s does the Psalmist use in praise to God? Psalm 33:2,

2. According to the Psalmist, what was God’s agent in creation? Psalm 33:6-9

3. How certain can we be about the plans of God? Psalm 33:10-12

4. How does David describe God’s mercy, faithfulness, and righteousness? Psalm 36: 5, 6

It may be redundant to state that the Book of Psalms is about praise. These ancient songs were a constant refrain in Hebrew worship. They were born out of not only the psalmist’s personal experiences with God but also the collective experiences of the nation. Additionally, in the Psalms, God’s character is on full display in relation to His acts among His people.

In the thirty-third division, Psalm 33, we have the worshipping community at the sanctuary. I want you to observe how the leader in verses 1-3 calls them to worship as they praise God and how they end the worship with an affirmation of faith of sorts in verses 20-22. As believers, we must always appreciate the value of communal or collective worship. Certain blessings can only be experienced in congregational worship. We miss out on these blessings whenever we are absent from church services. Blessings such as fellowship, spiritual affirmation, and encouragement. We also miss out on an atmosphere of joy that oftentimes accompanies God-exalting worship.

In its twenty-two verses, this Psalm reveals both God’s goodness and greatness. These two elements of God’s character elicited the praise of His people. The people are reminded of how great God is, of how He is the one who spoke this world into existence, of how He can bring the plans of the nations to nothing while establishing His own plans.

According to this psalm, you and I can rest assured that God is the one who made this world, who sustains this world, and who will bring His counsels to pass. We can rest assured that we are under His eye and hand and that He is our hope and help. God is the One who made it all, keeps it all, and controls it all to accomplish His desires and plans.

Verse 3 says, “Sing to Him a new song.” I believe this line invites us to seek to have “a new” experience with God each and every time we come to worship. We must come with “new” expectations, “new” experiences, and encounters with the greatness and goodness of God. My prayer is that you will experience God anew today.

In Psalm 36’s twelve verses, the psalmist David highlights the stark contrast between God’s kindness and humanity’s evildoings. Clearly, he is menaced by the wicked, yet is assured by the victory of God over the wicked.

Observe with me how, in verses 1 and 2, David describes the “wicked’s” attitude toward sin, self, and God. He, the wicked, has “no fear of God…” In other words, he has no dread of God. If you please, there is no holy fear to deter his wicked behavior. Additionally, “…he flatters himself in his own eyes.” David then proceeds to describe the “wicked’s” behavior in verses 3 and 4. It causes me to shudder every time I read verse 4, which describes the wicked as devising “wickedness on his bed;” So, their wickedness was a way of being rather than just engaging in so-called maladaptive behaviors. Note, “he sets himself in a way that is not good; He does not abhor evil.”

Then David makes a shift in verse 5, and onward that, quite frankly, is dizzying. He shifts from the depths of man’s depravity to the heights of God’s mercy. I believe he found relief in shifting his focus from the attitudes and deeds of the wicked to meditating on the divine attributes of God, such as His “mercy…faithfulness…righteousness…lovingkindness…” I have found that it can become very discouraging when I focus on the wrong things or persons in my own walk with God. This world can be a very scary place. There are some very evil people who live among us. But then again, so were some of us before we met Jesus. However, you and I must never lose sight of the fact that God’s “mercy…faithfulness…righteousness…and lovingkindness are more powerful than the forces of evil and hate. As I have heard it said, “Haters are going to hate.” We should not be too bothered by that. The scope, reach, and depth of God’s mercy, faithfulness, righteousness, and lovingkindness should encourage our hearts.

David is careful to note in the final verse, that “the workers of iniquity have fallen; they have been cast down and are not able to rise.”

Will you trust in the God of mercy today? I pray that you will, like David, focus on God’s mercy. His faithfulness. His righteousness and His lovingkindness.

Pastor Noel Rose