The God of Israel

Studies in the Psalms

Text: Psalm 33

Title: The God of Israel

Introduction

It is supposed by some that Psalm 33 is intended to be an extension of Psalm 32. It bears no superscription as in the relation between Psalms 9 and 10, and it fulfills the exhortation at the end of Psalm 32, Be glad in the Lord, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you that are upright in heart. If we ask the question, “Why are we to rejoice?” the answer is because God has forgiven sin. Thus the psalmist says in verses 1-3, Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him. Praise the LORD with the harp; make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre. Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy. Although Psalm 33 exalts the omnipotent sovereignty of God, it does so from the vantage point of Israel. They are God’s chosen people and the recipients of Yahweh’s blessings. They are the ones he has forgiven. It is fitting for the upright to praise the Lord. The pivotal point in the Psalm is verse 12, Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. All that precedes is leading up to this declaration of God’s covenant love. All that follows explains the blessings of that relationship. Although this verse is often taken as an exhortation to all nations to acknowledge the God of Israel. The point in the Psalm is that Israel is the nation which acknowledges Yahweh and they are the objects of his special love. In verses 1-11 The God of Israel is identified and in verse 12-22 His blessings upon his people are declared. We consider then two questions, who is the God of Israel? and who is the Israel of God?

I. Who is the God of Israel?

A. His Person

After the lengthy exhortation to praise Him, God is identified in three ways, his person, his power and his plan. There is a progression here in which the Word of the Lord is described. For Israel the Word of God is like God himself. It represents Him as He is revealed to them. The first thing that is affirmed is that God is right and true in verses 4 and 5, For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. These are not naïve people. They know about sin and death, trials and suffering, misery and pain. Job is an ancient book. In the face of that they are saying that whatever God does is right. His character cannot be impugned. The earth is full of his unfailing love.

B. His Power

Verses 6-9 celebrate the power of God and His Word, By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth. He gathers the waters of the sea into jars; he puts the deep into storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the people of the world revere him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. This Word of the Lord which is right and true made the heavens and earth. He spoke and it was done. Although the focus of verses 6-9 is the absolute power of God, we must not separate this from the previous declaration that God is right and true. In other words when God made the world or spoke it into being, the Word by which he did that was full of unfailing love. In bringing the world into being God was manifesting his truth and righteousness. Thus whatever has happened is part of His plan.

C. His Plan

Verses 10 and 11 describe this plan, The LORD foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. The affirmation that God has a plan encompasses all the present troubles of the world. The purposes of his heart have been stated clearly in verses 4 and 5. Consequently the providential government of God and his control over history is to bring about the conclusion which satisfies Him and Him alone. What we have in this description of God is a revelation of his righteous character and absolute control. The author does not attempt to explain evil, sin, sickness, and death in this Psalm. His starting point is God. This is what God is like and everything else must be fitted into the picture accordingly. The great argument of the atheist is that God cannot be both good and almighty. They say either He is good and the presence of evil is something he could not control and therefore he is not almighty. Or they say he is almighty and the presence of evil proves that he is not good. It is precisely this wrong conclusion that is addressed in this exhortation to praise Yahweh. He is both perfectly righteous and infinitely powerful.

II. Who is the Israel of God?

Who then is the Israel of God? They are the people who worship Yahweh, which for the Psalmist is God’s chosen people. They follow the true God as in verse 12, Blessed is that nation whose God is Yahweh, the people he chose for his inheritance. Israel is part of His plan.

A. The Plan

Israel has been chosen by God as His inheritance. Admittedly verse 13 through 15 are difficult, From heaven the LORD looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth-he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do. But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We can see what they are saying but how do they relate to the Psalmist’s assertion in v. 12? If verses 13-15 are meant to explain verse 12, then the Psalmist is simply saying that God’s omniscience and omnipotence are revealed in his choosing of a people for himself. He is the creator and the judge, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end and it is His right to do as he wishes with his creation. This is certainly true. But perhaps these verses are meant to be an introduction to verses 16 and 17 or in other words, asserting his power in protecting his people.

B. The Power

I think it is more likely that verses 13-15 are an introduction to verses 16 and 17, No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. The meaning would be that God delivers his people. This is the result of His choosing them. Verse 15 says He forms the hearts of all and verse 16 says “No king is saved by the size of his army.” The implication is that all men whether they are kings or commoners, high or low are after all powerless apart from God. Verses 18 and 19 seem to agree with this and support this view because in verses 13 and 14 we read that God sees everyone, but in verses 18 and 19 we read, But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.

C. The Person

Thus we come full circle back to the person of God. His people hope in his unfailing love. Though undeserved it is God’s choosing of Israel which is the foundation of their hope. Thus we read in verses 20-22, We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you. Israel worships their God. The concluding prayer recognizes both sovereign love and human responsibility. The true people of God are those who hope in God alone and conversely his love rests upon them. Their hope is not the cause of his love, but rather his love is the cause of their hope, but the Psalmist affirms that no one can have this hope apart from his active trust in Yahweh.

Summary of Psalm 33

Psalm 33 is a song of rejoicing in the Lord’s favor. This is the fulfillment of the mandate at the end of Psalm 32, Rejoice in the Lord, and be glad. The Psalm begins with repeated commands to praise the Lord because he is so great. He has revealed Himself to Israel by His Word and that Word reveals his character as righteous and true, faithful and loving. In creating the world and in his all-controlling providence God reveals this character. Yahweh has shown His special love to Israel which makes them blessed above all other nations. He has shown them that neither his omnipotence nor his goodness is to be questioned. Following such a God, the only true and living God, they know that their strength comes from Him. The humble and the poor are mightier than the greatest King and warrior when they have God on their side. Who would not worship Yahweh and trust Him to deliver. We know that the ultimate deliverance comes to us through Christ and his atoning death and resurrection. In First Corinthians 1, the Apostle Paul reminds us that God has chosen the foolish to shame the wise and the weak to shame the strong, so that no one may boast in anyone but God. This Psalm boasts in the Lord.