Spurgeon Verse Expositions - Psalms 33:1 - 33:22

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Spurgeon Verse Expositions - Psalms 33:1 - 33:22


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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:

Psa_33:1. Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.

False gods were worshipped with dolorous sounds, accompanied by cutting with knives and with lancets; but our God is the happy God, and he would have his people happy. “Rejoice in Jehovah, O ye righteous.” The praises of God are very beautiful when they are sung by holy people: “for praise is comely for the upright.” But the praises of God on the lips of godless men are altogether out of place. I wonder how Christians can allow those to lead their praises in the sanctuary who never can from their hearts praise God. They who sing to the worldling all the week should not be employed to sing to the God of the holy on the Sabbath, surely. “Praise is comely for the upright.” Hymns and psalms sung by the ungodly are but as sweet spices laid upon a dunghill; but “praise is comely for the upright.”

Psa_33:2-3. Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise.

Under a dispensation of types and shadows, the use of musical instruments seemed to be necessary and suitable; but in the early Christian Church, in her purest ages, these things were discarded as tending towards Judaism; and at this day, the sweetest singing in the world is heard in the assembly which utterly abjures the use of every musical instrument. Yet I believe that there is Christian liberty about these things; and, for my part, I like to think of Luther with his lute and of George Herbert with his harp. If they were helped to praise God the better, let them have the music. Yet the singing is never sweeter than when it is all song; and there is no better music than that which comes from hearts and tongues that are alive, and that know what sounds they make, and wherefore they make them. Anyhow, let us sing unto Jehovah. Hang not your harps on the willows, suspend not your music. Praise God somehow, praise him anyhow; but do praise him.

Psa_33:4. For the word of the LORD is right;

Praise him for his Word, then. It is truth, it is righteousness. If we had nothing else but the Bible for which. to praise God, there would be reason enough for giving him endless praise for bestowing upon us such a priceless treasure.

Psa_33:4. And all his works are done in truth.

Praise him for his providence. There is never a mistake in what he does “All his works are done in truth.”

Psa_33:5. He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

Therefore praise him. So good a God should not be without your gratitude.

Psa_33:6. By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

Praise your Creator, then, the Maker of the universe.

Psa_33:7-9. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

These are simple but grand words. The work of creation was very wonderful, and it was all wrought by the word of the Lord. There were no angelic agencies. “He spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.”

Psa_33:10. The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought

They plot and they contrive, but he baffles them; men may think and scheme as they will, but God has his way, after all.

Psa_33:10-11. He maketh the devices of the people of none effect. The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

His decrees stand fast. Still Jehovah reigns, and still he must reign for ever and ever.

Psa_33:12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

There is the reason why they are blessed, it is all owing to God’s electing love: “the people whom he hath chosen.” If God has chosen them, they are blessed people indeed. Whom he determines to bless, none can effectually curse.

Psa_33:13. The LORD looketh from heaven; he beboldeth all the sons of men.

As we look out of a window, and see the people passing in the street below, “he beholdeth all the sons of men,” whether at the pole or at the equator. None are hidden from his omniscient eye.

Psa_33:14-15. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashioneth their hearts alike;

Not that their hearts are alike, but it means that he only fashioneth all their hearts. They were all made by him. There is no understanding so great but he made it, and there is no mind so feeble but still he made it: “he fashioneth their hearts.”

Psa_33:15-16. He considereth all their works. There is no king saved by the multitude of an host

See what vast companies of soldiers Darius gathered together, yet Alexander smote them; and Napoleon led into Russia more than half a million of men, yet they melted away like snow.

Psa_33:16. A mighty man is not delivered by much strength.

Sooner or later, he dies, however strong he is.

Psa_33:17. A horse is a vain thing for safety:

It throws its rider, or falls upon him, or is killed with him.

Psa_33:17-18. Neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy,

Beautiful expression! I always like that mixture of fear and hope. An old fisherman used to compare it to his net. “Fear,” said he, “is the weight that sinks it, and hope is the cork that floats it.” To make a perfect character, there must he both fear and hope. The man that never fears may begin to fear; but he that is all fear is a miserable creature. God help him to begin to hope!

Psa_33:19. To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

When ethers die of want, the Lord will take care of them that fear him. I remember a story of the siege of Rochelle, when the city was in such straits that the people had to eat cats, and dogs, and rats, and all manner of filthiness. There was one Christian woman, who, having some stores, fed the poor therewith, whereat her friends said she was a fool, for she would soon be starving. They asked, “Who is to take care of you when all is gone?” She answered, “The Lord will provide for me.” At last her stores were exhausted. She went to beg of her friends, but they refused her. She was nearly famished when, strange to tell (as we put it), some one, unknown to her, shot down a sack full of wheat at her door. She never knew who it was, and then she said to her friends, “God has provided for me,” and. while others died she lived, for she had practiced holy charity. She had feared God, and given to her neighbours, she had not selfishly hoarded what she had; and the Lord rewarded her. Let me read these two verses again: “Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.”

Psa_33:20. Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.

Notice the three “ours.” Personal possession is the very soul of piety; all else is mere verbiage. Not, “What hearest thou?” but, “What hast thou?” Not, “What he thou talk about?” but, “What dost thou possess?” That is the thing: “Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield.”

Psa_33:21. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.

If you do but trust in his holy name, you shall one day rejoice in him. Trust him in the dark, and you shall see the light. Trust him in famine, and you shall surely be fed.

Psa_33:22. Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according us we hope in thee.

Let us each one pray that prayer now: “Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.” Amen. Now turn to the 1st chapter of the 1st General Epistle of John, that you may see what an apostle had to say concerning joy.

This exposition consisted of readings from Psalms 33. and 1 John 1.



Psa_33:1. Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.

Notice the connection between the words “rejoice “and “praise.” Joy is the soul of praise. God is not extolled by our misery, but by our holy mirth. Be glad in the Lord, for so can you make him glorious. “Rejoice and “praise “, “for praise is comely for the upright.” Praise is the beauty of a Christian. What wings are to a bird, what fruit is to the tree, what the rose is to the thorn, that is praise to a child of God.

Psa_33:2. Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.

In the old days of forms, and ceremonies, and outward worship, musical instruments were abundantly used; but in the early Christian Church there was no such thing as a musical instrument, because the believers were afraid of going back to Judaism. It is curious that, as men get further away from Christ, they get fonder and fonder of such things as these. Still, under certain conditions, they are lawful; though, we think, not expedient. God was acceptably worshipped in the olden time with harp and with psaltery, and he may be so now; yet we worship him, so we judge for our own selves, better without them.

Psa_33:3. Sing unto him a new song;

For, you see, that all the music had singing with it. “Praise the Lord with harp; sing unto him “Sing unto him a new song.” “Unto the Lord, unto the Lord, Oh, sing a new and joyful song!” It was only as it guided and strengthened the singing that the instrumental music was tolerated even in those early days.

Psa_33:3. Play skillfully with a loud noise.

God ought to be worshipped with our best: “Play skillfully.” God ought to be earnestly worshipped: “with a loud noise.” Hearty worship is what the Lord desires, and what he deserves; let us render it to him.

Psa_33:4. For the word of the LORD is right;

Let us praise him for his Word. Men are depreciating it; let us appreciate it. “The word of the Lord is right:” from the first page to the last it is right, emphatically right; let us praise him for it.

Psa_33:4. And all his works are done in truth.

The book of providence is full of truth; oh, for grace to read it with thankful hearts! Let us praise God, and sing unto him, as every page passes under our eye.

Psa_33:5. He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

You would think, from the way in which most people talk, that the world was full of misery and full of the anger of the Lord; but it is not. Notwithstanding all the evil that is in it, it is still true that “the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.”

Psa_33:6. By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.

They did not grow out of something that was there before; they were made out of nothing “by the word of the Lord.” All the hosts of stars innumerable were created “by the breath of his mouth.”

Psa_33:7. He gathereth the waters of the sea together as an heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.

We know not how much God hath in store, out of sight, in the vast abysses; but we know that he drowned the world when he broke up the fountains of the great deep.

Psa_33:8. Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

He is so great a God that all the oceans are in his sight but as a heap; let us worship, and adore, and bow down before him.

Psa_33:9. For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.

With God it is no sooner said than it is done; “He spake, and it was done.” All that he has to do is but to bid it be so, and so it is. And, as it was for creation, so is it for confirmation: “He commanded, and it stood fast.”

Psa_33:10. The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.

If the folly of man yields to God’s wisdom, so also shall the wisdom of man. No matter though men take counsel together against the Lord, and against his Anointed, God will certainly carry out his purposes.

Psa_33:11. The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

What the Lord intends to do, he will do; there is no turning him from his purpose, and his dispensations stand fast for ever.

Psa_33:12. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance.

If you have chosen God, God has chosen you. It is a happy thing when it is so; when these two elections meet,-your election of God, and God’s election of you,-then you are happy indeed.

Psa_33:13-14. The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.

Just as in a glass hive you can see all the bees, and all they do, so can God see us; and he can see all that we think, and read and know us through and through.

Psa_33:15-16. He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. There is no king saved by the multitude of an host:

Look at Napoleon, who marched more than half a million of men into Russia; but they nearly all melted away, and, after a time, he himself became a captive on the lone rock of St. Helena: “There is no king saved by the multitude of an host.”

Psa_33:16. A mighty man is not delivered by much strength.

Look at Goliath, stronger than all his fellows; yet how soon he lay prone upon the earth when a single stone from the sling of David smote him in the forehead.

Psa_33:17-19. An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.

Whatever becomes of kings and princes in the day of need, the Lord will take care of those who fear him, and put their trust in him. There have been vast numbers of cases of singular providence’s, so many that they have ceased to be singular, in which God has provided for those who have trusted in him,

Psa_33:20. Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.

Dear friends, notice those three “ours”-three firm clasps, three strong holdfasts: “Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield.” Why did he not say, “Our souls wait,” for there are many of us? Ah! but we are so alike in this one thing that it is as if we had only one soul in all these many bodies, so the psalmist says, “our soul.” You remember, when the disciples went to Emmaus, and Christ talked with them, they said, “Did not our heart burn within us?” There were two of them; then, why did they not say, “Did not our hearts burn?” Well, their hearts were so one that he who spoke called them “heart” rather than “hearts”; and it is so here: “Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield.”

Psa_33:21-22. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee.

That is a good prayer with which to close our reading; let us all present it at the throne of the heavenly grace.