God Speaks
33 1 Let the godly sing for joy to the Lord;
it is fitting for the pure to praise him.
2 Praise the Lord with melodies on the lyre;
make music for him on the ten-stringed harp.
3 Sing a new song of praise to him;
play skillfully on the harp, and sing with joy.
4 For the word of the Lord holds true,
and we can trust everything he does.
5 He loves whatever is just and good;
the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.
6 The Lord merely spoke,
and the heavens were created.
He breathed the word,
and all the stars were born.
7 He assigned the sea its boundaries
and locked the oceans in vast reservoirs.
8 Let the whole world fear the Lord,
and let everyone stand in awe of him.
9 For when he spoke, the world began!
It appeared at his command.
10 The Lord frustrates the plans of the nations
and thwarts all their schemes.
11 But the Lord’s plans stand firm forever;
his intentions can never be shaken.
12 What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord,
whose people he has chosen as his inheritance.
13 The Lord looks down from heaven
and sees the whole human race.
14 From his throne he observes
all who live on the earth.
15 He made their hearts,
so he understands everything they do.
16 The best-equipped army cannot save a king,
nor is great strength enough to save a warrior.
17 Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory—
for all its strength, it cannot save you.
18 But the Lord watches over those who fear him,
those who rely on his unfailing love.
19 He rescues them from death
and keeps them alive in times of famine.
20 We put our hope in the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
for our hope is in you alone.
34 A psalm of David, regarding the time he pretended to be insane in front of Abimelech, who sent him away.
1 I will praise the Lord at all times.
I will constantly speak his praises.
2 I will boast only in the Lord;
let all who are helpless take heart.
3 Come, let us tell of the Lord’s greatness;
let us exalt his name together.
4 I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy;
no shadow of shame will darken their faces.
6 In my desperation I prayed, and the Lord listened;
he saved me from all my troubles.
7 For the angel of the Lord is a guard;
he surrounds and defends all who fear him.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.
Oh, the joys of those who take refuge in him!
9 Fear the Lord, you his godly people,
for those who fear him will have all they need.
10 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry,
but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, and listen to me,
and I will teach you to fear the Lord.
12 Does anyone want to live a life
that is long and prosperous?
13 Then keep your tongue from speaking evil
and your lips from telling lies!
14 Turn away from evil and do good.
Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
15 The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right;
his ears are open to their cries for help.
16 But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil;
he will erase their memory from the earth.
17 The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help.
He rescues them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
19 The righteous person faces many troubles,
but the Lord comes to the rescue each time.
20 For the Lord protects the bones of the righteous;
not one of them is broken!
21 Calamity will surely destroy the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.
22 But the Lord will redeem those who serve him.
No one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Psalm 33 begins with a call to praise the LORD with music and singing. It should be a new song skillfully played. The singer is celebrating the truth of the word of the LORD and His trustworthiness. The lyrics tell us that His justice, goodness, and unfailing love fill the earth. The LORD created the vast heavens by merely speaking. He breathed out the word and galaxies of stars were formed. He set the limits for the oceans. Because of this, everything on earth should stand in fear and reverent awe of Him. After all, He spoke it all into existence. No one or nothing would be here without Him. He made it all, and He keeps it all going. Besides being the great Creator, this God is very wise. He thwarts the plans of earthly rulers while His loving purposes will always be fulfilled. He looks down and sees all that is going on in people’s lives, especially His chosen ones. The LORD blesses the nations that follow His ways. He sees all that is going on in every person’s heart. Mighty kings with their armies and all their equipment can’t truly rescue people and give them salvation, but the LORD God sees all that is happening and delivers the souls that trust in Him from death and famine. God is absolutely faithful. He remains reliable when everything else fails. There are two kinds of hope–hope in mankind and hope in God. Hope in man fails, while God and hope in Him always succeeds.
Psalm 34: Who is the person who wants to really live? This is how you can recognize him or her. He/she constantly speaks God’s praises. They urge those who are helpless or hopeless to take heart in the LORD. They talk of the LORD’s greatness and exalt His name along with others. They look to Him for help and find joy instead of shame. He frees them from all their fears. They seem to radiate joy most of the time. No shadow of shame seems to darken their face. God watches carefully over such people. They have tasted and seen that God is good. Why is all this true for these people? They fear the LORD (hold His viewpoint in high regard and want to please Him). They trust God above all else.
Prayer: I praise You, LORD, with music and singing. It’s a new song skillfully played (by me or someone else). I’m celebrating the truth of Your word, LORD, and Your trustworthiness. The lyrics say that Your justice, goodness, and unfailing love fill the earth. You, LORD, created the vast heavens by merely speaking. You breathed out the word and galaxies of stars were formed. You set the limits for the oceans. Because of this, everything on earth should stand in fear and reverent awe of You. After all, You spoke it all into existence. No one or nothing would be here without You. You made it all and keep it all going. Besides being the great Creator, You are very wise. You thwart the plans of earthly rulers. Your loving purposes will always be fulfilled. You look down and see all that is going on in people’s lives, especially Your chosen ones. You, LORD, bless the nations that follow Your ways. You see all that is going on in every person’s heart. Mighty kings with their armies and all their equipment can’t truly rescue people and give them salvation. But You, LORD God, see all that is happening and deliver the souls that trust in You from death and famine. You are absolutely faithful. You remain reliable when everything else fails. There are two kinds of hope–hope in mankind and hope in You. Hope in man fails, while You always succeed. Who is the person who wants to really live? This is how one can recognize him or her. He/she constantly speaks Your praises, O God. Please make me someone who urges those who feel helpless or hopeless to take heart in You, LORD. I’ll talk of Your greatness and exalt Your name along with other people. I look to You for help and find joy instead of shame. You free me from all my fears. I want to radiate joy most of the time, no shadow of shame seeming to darken my face. You watch carefully over me. I have tasted and seen that God is good. Why is all this true for me? I fear the LORD. I hold Your viewpoint in high regard and want to please You. I trust You, LORD, above all else. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will look in hymnals and/or on YouTube to find songs that speak of the creative majesty of the LORD and learn at least one of them.
- I will try to write an original poem or song about this wondrous God.
- I will talk of the LORD’s greatness and exalt His name along with others,
- I will keep a journal of things for which I am trusting God.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.