Psalms 33

Psalms 32, 33
DESCRIPTIVE TITLE

Felicitations to the Forgiven, and Examples of the Songs that they Sing.

ANALYSIS

Part I., Psalms 32. Stanza I., Psalms 32:1-4, Happy the Forgiven; yet Divine Discipline has sometimes to Drive to Confession. Stanza II., Psalms 32:5-6, Confession brings Pardon, and promotes Exhortation. Stanza III., Psalms 32:7, Petitions prompted by Exhortation. Stanza IV., Psalms 32:8-9, Divine Response to Petitions. Stanza V., Psalms 32:10-11, A Moral and an Invitation.

Part II., Psalms 33. Stanza I., Psalms 32:1-5, Praise to Jehovah urged by his Word, Work, and Character. Stanza II., Psalms 33:6-9, Jehovah's Creatorship a Ground for Earth's Reverence. Stanza III., Psalms 33:10-12, Jehovah Overruleth ill Nations for the Good of his Own Nation. Stanza IV., Psalms 33:13-17, Jehovah's Regard for All Nations should Wean them from Trust in Brute Force. Stanza V., Psalms 33:18-22, Experience Gratefully Closes the Song.

(Lm.) By DavidAn Instructive Psalm.

1

How happy is he

whose transgressions is forgiven,[336]

[336] Ml.: lifted off, taken away.

whose sin is pardoned,[337]

[337] Ml.: covered.

2

How happy the man

to whom Jehovah reckoneth not iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3

When I refused to confess[338] my bones became old with my loud lamentation;[339]

[338] Ml.: when I kept silence.
[339] M.T. adds: all the day.

for day and night heavy on me was thy hand,

4

I was changed into misery as when thorns smite me.[340]

[340] So Br., after Sep.

5

My sin I then made known to thee,

and mine iniquity did I not cover:

I saidI will confess concerning my transgressions to Jehovah,
and thou didst forgive mine iniquity my sin didst pardon.[341]

[341] Prob. s-l-h (=pardon) was omitted because of its close resemblance to s-l-h (=selah).see Br.

6

For this cause let the[342] man of kindness pray unto thee in a time of distress.[343]

[342] M.T.: every.
[343] So Br., reading m-z-k for m-z--'r-k. Cp. O.G. 848a.

At the outburst of waters unto him shall they not reach.

7

O thou my hiding-place! from distress wilt thou preserve me,

with jubilations of deliverance wilt thou encompass me!

8

I will give thee understandingI will instruct thee in the way thou shouldst go,

I will counsel theewill fix[344] on thee mine eye.

[344] So. Br. with Syriac.

9

Do not become as the horse as the mulewithout understanding,

having bridle and halter as his harness for holding him in.[345]

[345] M.T. adds: he will not come near thee.

10

Many pains hath the lawless one,

but he that trusteth in Jehovah kindness will encompass him.

11

Be glad in Jehovah and exult, O ye righteous ones;

and ring out your joy, all ye upright in heart.

(Nm.)

Psalms 33

(Nm.)

1

Ring out your joy ye righteous in Jehovah,

to the upright seemly is praise:

2

Give thanks to Jehovah with the lyre,

with a lute of ten strings make melody to him:

3

Sing to him a song that is new,

with skill sweep the strings with sacred shout.

4

For straightforward is the word of Jehovah,

and all his work is in faithfulness.

5

He loveth righteousness and justice,

of the kindness of Jehovah the earth is full.

6

By the word of Jehovah the heavens were made,

and by the breath of his mouth all their host:

7

Gathering as into a skin the waters of the sea,

delivering into treasuries the roaring[346] deep.

[346] Or: primevalBr.

8

Let all the earth be in fear of Jehovah,

of him stand in awe all the inhabitants of the world;

9

For he said Be![347] and it was,

[347] So Carter.

he commanded and it stood forth.

10

Jehovah hath frustrated the counsel of nations,

he hath brought to nothing the plans of the peoples.

11

The counsel of Jehovah to the ages shall stand,

the plans of his heart to generation after generation.

12

How happy the nation whose God is Jehovah,

the people he hath chosen as an inheritance for himself.

13

Out of the heavens hath Jehovah intently looked,

he hath seen all the sons of mankind:

14

Out of his fixed place of abode hath he directed his gaze

unto all the inhabitants of earth:

15

Who fashioneth together their heart,

who giveth heed unto all their doings.

16

Not the king can win victory by greatness of force,

a mighty man will not deliver himself by greatness strength:

17

A delusion is the horse for victory,[348]

[348] Or: safety (as Dr.)

and by his greatness of force shall he not deliver.

18

Lo! the eye[349] of Jehovah is toward them who revere him,

[349] Some cod. (w. Sep., Syr., Vul.): eyes (pl.)Gn.

to such as have waited for his kindness:

19

To rescue from death their soul,

and to keep them alive in famine.

20

Our own soul hath longed for Jehovah,

our help and our shield is he.

21

For in him shall our heart rejoice

for in his holy name have we trusted.

23

Be thy kindness O Jehovah upon us,

according as we have waited for thee.

(Nm.)

PARAPHRASE

Psalms 32

What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! What joys when sins are covered over! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record.
3 There was a time when I wouldn-'t admit what a sinner I was.[350] But my dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with frustration.

[350] Literally, When I kept silence.

4 All day and all night Your hand was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water on a sunny day
5 Until I finally admitted all my sins to You and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, I will confess them to the Lord. And You forgave me! All my guilt is gone!
6 After this experience, I say that every believer should confess his sins to God as soon as he becomes aware of them, while there is yet time to be forgiven. If he does this, judgment will not touch him.[351]

[351] Literally, When the great waters overflow they shall not reach him.

7 You are my hiding place from every storm of life; You even keep me from getting into trouble! You surround me with songs of victory.
8 I will instruct you (says the Lord) and guide you along the best pathway for your life; I will advise you and watch your progress.
9 Don-'t be like a senseless horse or mule that has to have a bit in its mouth to keep it in line!
10 May sorrows come to the wicked, but adding love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.
11 So rejoice in Him, all those who are His,[352] and shout for joy, all those who try to obey Him.[353]

[352] Literally, You righteous.
[353] Literally, All who are upright in heart.

Psalms 33

Let the joys of the godly well up in praise to the Lord, for it is right to praise Him.
2 Play joyous melodies of praise upon the lyre and on the harp!
3 Compose new songs of praise to Him, accompanied skillfully on the harp; sing joyfully.
4 For all God's words are right, and everything He does is worthy of our trust.
5 He loves whatever is just and good; the earth is filled with His tender love.
6 He merely spoke, and the heavens were formed, and all the galaxies of stars.
7 He made the oceans, pouring them into His vast reservoirs.
8 Let everyone in all the worldmen, women and childrenfear the Lord and stand in awe of Him.
9 For when He but spoke, the world began! It appeared at His command!
10 And all with a breath He can scatter the plans of all the nations who oppose Him,
11 But His own plan stands forever. His intentions are the same for every generation.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, whose people He has chosen as His own.
13, 14, 15 The Lord gazes down upon mankind from heaven where He lives. He has made their hearts and closely watches everything they do.
16, 17 The best-equipped army cannot save a kingfor great strength is not enough to save anyone. A war horse is a poor risk for winning victoriesit is strong but it cannot save.
18, 19 But the eyes of the Lord are watching over those who fear Him, who rely upon His steady love. He will keep them from death even in times of famine!
20 We depend upon the Lord alone to save us. Only He can help us, He protects us like a shield.
21 No wonder we are happy in the Lord! For we are trusting Him! We trust His holy name.
22 Yes, Lord, let Your constant love surround us, for our hopes are in You alone.

EXPOSITION

The headlines serve to individualize psalms. this fact will yield important results. There is no headline to Psalms 33, so on the surface it belongs to Psalms 32. A study of the material places the relation beyond question (Thirtle, O.T.P., 102). This witness is true; and, in the present case, adds quite an unusual interest to the sequence thus assumed. Kirkpatrick had already called attention to the close relationship between the two psalms. At the commencement of his comments on Psalms 33, he says: The psalm begins by repeating the call to praise with which the preceding psalm closed, and recites the grounds on which Jehovah is worthy to be praised. It stands here as an answer to the invitation of Psalms 32:11, an example of the -songs of deliverance-' spoken of in Psalms 32:7. Yet it differs widely in character from Psalms 32. That psalm is an instruction based upon a particular personal experience; this is a congregational hymn of praise, arising (if indeed any special event inspired it) out of some national deliverance. If to these observations we add the suggestion, that it is when a man receives and enjoys the forgiveness of his personal sins, that he is prepared to unite with all saints in the celebration of public mercies, we shall perhaps have received the inwardness of the connection between these two psalms. Not that a single reference to the fact of such connection can by any means exhaust its fruitfulness. It is nothing less than thrilling, to hear David, when forgiven, calling out in spirit, to his son Hezekiah in Psalms 32:6; to think of the latter (Psalms 32:7) coming into just such a time of distress; in imminent danger of being swept away by the outburst of the mighty (Assyrian) waters (cp. Isaiah 8:7-8); and that nevertheless they did not reach him. Thus in Psalms 33:7 we may detect the response to Psalms 33:6. The earlier verse said Let him pray: in the later verse he does pray, and we seem to hear Hezekiah crying unto Jehovah, and promising at the close of his petitions the very thing that he promised more explicitly in Isaiah 38:20. To complete the entwining of these bonds of connection between the two psalms, and Isaiah, it may be observed how admirably Psalms 33:10-11 compares with Isaiah 8:10; Isaiah 14:24-27; Isaiah 46:10.

To the reader who has grounded himself carefully in the text of these psalms, and has also grasped the illuminating connection between the two, little more assistance need be offered than a few brief notes on the successive groups of verses as they-' are rapidly passed in review.

Psalms 32:1-4 (Psalms 32). The great thing here is to ponder well the undoubted truth, that unforgiven sin must sooner or later be punished. Second only to this, is the reflection, that unconfessed sin cannot be forgiven. It follows that all Divine chastisements, whichfalling short of capital punishmentare fitted to lead to the confessing and forsaking of sin, are administered in mercy, whatever instruments are used to inflict them. How much misery might be spared us, if we would sooner humbly confess our transgressions!

Psalms 32:5-6. If sin can be pardoned, every other mercy may be hoped for and be made a subject of prayer. Hence the opening clause of Psalms 32:6 is perhaps wider than For thisnamely forgiveness. Rather does it suggest: That the man whose heart is touched by the Divine kindness may embolden himself to pray that a pardoning God would become a delivering God. In passing, we may note how well the various reading distress in Psalms 32:6 prepares for the distress of Psalms 32:7.

Psalms 32:7. To perceive in this verse a response to the appeal of the previous, is to discover a reason for its abruptness and brevity. It is graphic: neither advice to pray, nor promise, but PRAYER. As already suggested: it seemed like Hezekiah's practical response to David. What is stanzistical uniformity, compared with such tokens of life?

Psalms 32:8-9 are surely (with Kirkpatrick) Jehovah's words rather than (with Delitzsch and Perowne) the psalmist'S. The reference to horse and mule seems to say, Let us beware of becoming brutish, lest Divine Pity have to deal with us sternly.

Psalms 32:10-11. The lawless one reminds us of Rabshakeh Psalms 1:1 note, Psalms 9:17, and he that trusteth in Jehovah of Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:5).

Psalms 33:1-5 (Psalms 33). Jehovah is no tribal God, as men sometimes mistakenly say: With the kindness of Jehovah, the earth, and not merely the land of Israel, is full; for this alone leads on to what follows.

Psalms 33:6-9. Creation is wide as the earth, and furnishes reason why all the world should revere Jehovah, who, as Hezekiah delights to tell us (Psalms 121:2; Psalms 134:3) is Maker of heaven and earth.

Psalms 33:10-12. Nevertheless vain are the counsels of the other nations, when directed against the nation whom Jehovah has chosen as his own inheritance.

Psalms 33:13-17. Far from neglecting the nations, Jehovah severely discounts their trust in brute force.

Psalms 33:18-22. He has a watchful regard for all who in any nation revere him; but happy are they who know him and trust him. So sings one of a remnant who can speak from experience of what Jehovah has done for their own soul: knowing what they do, they long, they rejoice, they trust, they pray they wait!

QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

1.

Paul felt the teaching of this psalm was very much a part of the joys of a Christian. Read Romans 4:6-8 and discuss; both as the psalm relates to David and as the truth relates to each of us.

2.

Notice the fourfold description of evil. Discuss the meaning of these four words: (1) transgression, (2) sin, (3) iniquity, (4) guile.

3.

When we will not admit, confess and forsake our sin a terrible payment is exacted in our personalityin our physical bodiesin our minds. Discuss. Read Psalms 32:3-4.

4.

What therapeutic value is there in confessing our sins one to another? (James 5:16); or should this be only a confession to God?

5.

After we are forgiven we have a deep sense of securityrelief, but our relationship to God does not end here; we are not to be like a horse or mulehow so? Discuss.

Psalms 33

6.

Are we to understand by verses one through three of this psalm that it is possible that a Hebrew without Christ had such joy in his heart that he actually expressed it in the manner here described? Discuss.

7.

How can it be true that of the kindness of Jehovah the earth is full or the earth is full of His tender love.?

8.

Hallowed be Thy name! This was the first thought in the prayer of our Lord. When we consider the creation of our God is there any other response?

9.

Jehovah is not only the God of creationHe is the God of history. Read and discuss Psalms 33:10 through 19 with this thought.

10.

There is a way to be glad and have the highest hope. Read Psalms 33:20-22 for the divine formula. Make specific application of this to your life.