The Sovereignty of the Lord in Creation and History
1 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.
2 Praise the Lord with the harp; Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a new song; Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord is right, And all His work is done in truth.
5 He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.
10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, The plans of His heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.
13 The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men.
14 From the place of His dwelling He looks On all the inhabitants of the earth;
15 He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works.
16 No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength.
18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy,
19 To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name.
22 Let Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.
Psalm 33 bursts forth as a call to worship, urging the righteous to rejoice in the Lord with music and a new song, a fitting response to the God who is the author of truth and reality. Historically, this psalm likely emerged in a post-exilic context, when Israel was rebuilding its identity after the Babylonian captivity (around the 5th century BCE). The people, having experienced the fragility of human plans and the might of empires, were reminded that God’s counsel endures forever (v. 11). The psalm’s emphasis on God’s sovereignty over nations and creation would have been a powerful reassurance to a people surrounded by powerful neighbors, reminding them that no army or king can rival the Creator’s power (vv. 16-17). The imagery of God gathering the waters and speaking the heavens into existence (vv. 6-7) echoes the creation account in Genesis 1, where “God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light” (Genesis 1:3). This connection underscores God as the ultimate source of all reality, the One whose word is not just true but brings truth into being.
The deeper wisdom of Psalm 33 lies in its portrayal of God as the foundation of righteousness, justice, and goodness (v. 5). For all people, this truth invites us to align our lives with the One who sees all hearts and considers all works (vv. 13-15). In a world often shrouded in deception—where human plans, pride, and power lead to chaos—Psalm 33 reveals that true security and hope rest in God alone. Those who do not yet see this truth live in a kind of darkness, misled by the illusion that human strength or wisdom can suffice. The psalmist counters this by declaring that “no king is saved by the multitude of an army” (v. 16), a reminder that worldly power is fleeting compared to God’s eternal purpose.
This truth finds its ultimate expression in Jesus, who declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Jesus embodies the word of the Lord that is “right” and “done in truth” (v. 4). In Him, the creative power of God’s word (v. 6) takes on flesh, as John 1:1-3 affirms: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” Jesus is the fulfillment of the psalm’s vision of God’s word shaping reality, and His life reveals the righteousness and justice that God loves (v. 5). The psalm’s call to fear the Lord and hope in His mercy (v. 18) is echoed in Jesus’s parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), where the father’s mercy welcomes the wayward son home. In Luke 15:20-22, we read, “But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.’” This parable illustrates the mercy of God that Psalm 33 celebrates, a mercy that delivers from death and sustains in famine (v. 19).
The psalm’s emphasis on God’s watchful care over those who fear Him (v. 18) also connects to Jesus’s teaching in the parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7). In Luke 15:4-6, Jesus says, “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’” This reflects the same divine attentiveness described in Psalm 33:13-14, where God looks from heaven on all humanity, seeking those who will trust in Him. For those living in darkness—trapped in deception or misunderstanding—these parables and Psalm 33 together offer a beacon of hope: God seeks us out, not to condemn but to redeem.
As believers, we are called to carry this truth to a world stumbling in the shadows. The psalm’s declaration that “the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord” (v. 5) is a charge to proclaim God’s reality over the lies of a broken world. Jesus, as the truth incarnate, shows us the way to live as children of light, not children of deception. Ephesians 5:8-9 reinforces this: “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth).” Our mission is to reflect God’s truth and mercy, inviting others to rejoice in the Lord as Psalm 33 urges (v. 1).
So, let us sing a new song to the God who authors reality, who speaks and it is done (v. 9). Let us trust in His holy name (v. 21) and rest in His mercy, knowing that Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life, has revealed the Father’s heart. To those still in darkness, let us be bearers of this light, sharing the hope that delivers from death and sustains through famine (v. 19). Choose today to be a child of Truth, not a child of deception and darkness, and let your life echo the joyful praise of Psalm 33, for the Lord is our help and our shield (v. 20).