Psalm 33
Joy and happiness are not the same thing. They are not synonyms. Happiness feels good. Happiness is conditional. If things go well I am happy. Because happiness is so dependent on what happens to me, it is a very superficial emotion. It comes and goes. I get an email from someone I like and I am happy. A taxi driver takes advantage of me and I am angry. My scholarship money comes and I am happy. My refrigerator stops working and I am frustrated.
It feels good when you are happy but joy is such a deep experience that it endures even through difficult experiences. You can be sad and filled with joy. Joy can be present even when I am not happy. Dwight Moody, the 19th century evangelist in the US and Britain said:
Happiness is caused by things that happen around me, and circumstances will mar it; but joy flows right on through trouble; joy flows on through the dark; joy flows in the night as well as in the day; joy flows all through persecution and opposition.
The Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman said, “Happiness is good health and a bad memory.”
So James wrote in James 1:2–3
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Joy gives us a perspective that allows us to see past the trial to our eternal future.
Psalm 33 is a psalm of joy and I will divide the preaching of this psalm into four sections: Joy in Worship, Joy from the Past, Joy in the Present, and Joy in the Future.
Joy in Worship
Psalm 33 begins with an exuberant call to worship:
Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.
2 Praise the Lord with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.
How we worship is cultural. Over the centuries God has been praised with harps and lyres, with organs and electric guitars. Gregorian chants gave way to hymns which are giving way to the newer praise songs. The style changes but the goal remains the same: we use the music of our generation to give praise to God.
In verse 3 the psalmist writes
Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
Here we see three aspects of our praise: sing a new song, play skillfully and shout for joy.
The psalmist urges us to sing a new song. There is always resistance to something new. In our youth we are open to new things but then as we age, we want to hold on to what we have known. We want to sing the songs we grew up hearing in church. There are those who resist the praise songs we sing because they prefer the hymns of their past, but this is not unique to our generation. It seems that for the first ten or twelve centuries of the church, singing was unaccompanied by instruments. The words being sung were viewed as so important it was felt that instruments detracted from worship. In the 10th or 12th century the organ began to be used in churches for worship. Gregorian chants were the norm for worship for four or five hundred years and then Martin Luther introduced popular songs with new lyrics into church worship in the 16th century, when congregational singing was encouraged. In the 18th century Bach and Handel added depth and beauty to the music of the church. At each point of change there was resistance by those who preferred the way it had been.
Change is always resisted but there is a strong theme in Scripture that God wants us to lean forward into new experiences of him and not hold on to what we have done in the past. In each generation God works through musically gifted people to create fresh and new expressions of praise and worship. Whenever God breathes new life into the church, new music is created. Especially as we age, we need to embrace, rather than resist, the new songs that come.
Secondly, the psalmist urges us to play skillfully. God gives us gifts and talents and wants us to use them with increasing skill. We are meant to use our gifts and practice so we become more able to serve God and his community. When God gave Moses instructions on how to build the tabernacle and provide the clothing and utensils for the priests, he kept saying, over and over, that skilled workmen were to make these things.
Skill makes a difference and I am grateful that Elliot teaches people, year after year, how to play musical instruments and sing in the choir. And I am grateful for the practice that is held each week to prepare for worship on Sunday morning.
Thirdly, the psalmist urges us to shout for joy. In the bulletin I listed four Hebrew words that are translated as joy. The word translated joy in Psalm 33:1 is rinnah. This is an exuberant expression of joy with particular reference to shouting. There are times in worship when the sense of the presence of God is so powerful, we are forced to shout out a “Hallelujah!” or “Praise be to God!”
Our worship is not meant to be sedate. On the other hand, a culture of shouting for joy is not meaningful or helpful. Shouting is just shouting, not praise. We do not shout so we can sense God’s presence, but if we have a sense of the presence of God as we sing and are filled with joy, we should feel free to express it, not keep it bottled up inside.
Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
4 For the word of the Lord is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.
5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
We are to sing joyfully but our praise needs to be informed by content. Praise without content tends to be empty and superficial. This happens especially in churches where there is a culture of exuberant praise and it seems the goal is to get excited and then that state of excitement is viewed as an experience of the presence of God. The best way to be authentic in our praise is to be grounded in the truth of God and then as we sing, we are drawn deeper into God’s truth and our praise is genuine and joyful.
“The word of the Lord is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.” We read that. We think about that. We reflect on how God has been faithful to us and then we can shout for joy as we sing praise.
“The Lord loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.” When we reflect on that, we sing out.
O Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made.
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art! How great Thou art!
We sing
God of wonders beyond our galaxy,
You are Holy, Holy
The Universe declares your majesty,
You are Holy, Holy
Joy from the Past
As Psalm 33 continues, the psalmist speaks of joy in the past, present and future. For this part of the sermon we will look at verses 6-11which speaks of what God has done for us.
By the word of the Lord were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars;
he puts the deep into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the people of the world revere him.
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
All over the world, in all cultures, in all times, people have looked around at the world and realized there was a creator. In our modern times, many have an arrogance that because we are so knowledgeable, we can dispense with the primitive idea there is a creator. We hold a rock in our hand and know it is made up of molecules which are made up of atoms which are made up of neutrons, protons and electrons. And then we discovered sub-atomic particles and now scientists are excited to have discovered the Higgs boson which gives mass to elementary particles. I don’t really understand this but what I know is that discovering how God created does not take away the reality of a creator.
There is debate between creationists and evolutionists but it is not that important what tools God used to create. What is important to understand is that God created. Regardless of the theory, the population of the world looks around in wonder at the beauty and power of our world and the universe in which it sits. And as we observe, creation speaks to us about who God is.
Psalm 19:1–2
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
2 Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge.
Creation speaks of the immense power and creativity of God. Creation speaks of God’s delight in beauty and symmetry. Creation speaks of God’s appreciation for diversity. Creation speaks of God’s order. Creation was and is not a chaotic event. There is precise order in the creation of the universe and this speaks of God’s plan. The intricacy and order of our world tells us that God thinks before he acts. He plans and then sets out to accomplish his plan.
10 The Lord foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.
God created. God has a plan and his plan is being worked out. As we have moved through the millennia of the history of man, God has been at work to create a people for himself. We work to create kingdoms on earth that rise and fall but God is at work building his kingdom which will endure for eternity.
We look at world powers and think they are so substantial, but empires rise and fall. In God’s eyes they are like flowers that bloom and then fade away.
Isaiah 40:15
Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are regarded as dust on the scales;
When we study world history we study about wars and economic power but while these events have such a profound impact on the history of the world, God moves steadily through these events, accomplishing his work. Through wars and plagues and natural disasters and times of peace, God moves, steadily drawing his children into his kingdom. Governments restrict the freedom of the church but God is not stymied. Day after day he works in the lives of people and they are drawn into his kingdom.
There is a great hymn we do not sing but I love the sense of purpose and inevitability in the words of this hymn (God Is Working His Purpose Out).
God is working his purpose out
as year succeeds to year:
God is working his purpose out,
and the time is drawing near;
nearer and nearer draws the time,
the time that shall surely be,
when the earth shall be filled
with the glory of God
as the waters cover the sea.
There is joy from the past because we see the power of God at work in the world. As relentless as the waves crashing on the shore, so is God relentless in his work among us. The power of earthquakes that lift unimaginable masses of earth is the power of God at work among us.
Jesus defeated the devil when he rose from the dead and the devil is now fighting a losing battle. God’s plan will not be thwarted. The gates of hell will not prevail against the growth of the Kingdom of God.
Psalm 46:6
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
We have joy in all of life’s crises because of the inevitability of God’s plan.
Joy in the Present
We have joy because of what God has done in the past and we have joy because God continues to be active in our world (verses 12-19).
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people he chose for his inheritance.
13 From heaven the Lord looks down
and sees all mankind;
14 from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth—
15 he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.
We are blessed when we are part of God’s family because he is all-knowing and all-powerful. From heaven God looks down, sees all mankind, and watches all who live on earth. God is all-discerning. Nothing escapes his attention. In school when the teacher turns her back she cannot see what you do, but God never turns his back. His eyes are always on us.
Psalm 139 affirms that God sees all we do but then goes further and tells us that God is present everywhere we go.
Psalm 139:1–12
O Lord, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
God sees all we do. God is present everywhere we go and then Psalm 33 continues to tell us that God has all power.
16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
The great strength of a warrior and the great strength of an army of warriors and the great strength of a horse or tank or aircraft carrier can all be defeated. Admittedly, it would take quite an attack to sink an aircraft carrier, but no military force is invincible.
It is not only military powers that can threaten us. Disease can destroy far more people than a war. My grandfather’s brother was a dentist in WWI and was one of 50 – 130 million people worldwide who were killed by a flu pandemic between 1918 and 1920.
When weather patterns change and crops fail, famine results. What military power can control the weather?
We put our trust in military and economic power but Psalm 33 points out the folly of this.
To have a God who sees everything, knows everything, is present everywhere could be good news or terrible news. If God was our enemy, he would be a terrifying enemy from whom there was no escape and no hope. Before we could think of a plan to evade him he would know what we were thinking. In a science fiction novel or movie, this would be a nightmare scenario.
But what makes the power and knowledge of God comforting rather than terrifying is that God loves us. His power and knowledge work for us, not against us, because he loves us.
18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,
19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.
We who do not take God for granted and try to use him to accomplish what we want to do with our lives, we who have an awesome, reverent fear of him, hope in his unfailing love. Because we know he loves us and has all power and knowledge, we submit to him, knowing that he will keep us safe, even as we approach death and even as we go through the crises of life.
This is where we have joy that takes us safely through the most difficult circumstances of life. We may not be happy, but when we have time to adjust to the reality of our situation, no matter how serious it is, we are able to come to a point of submission and trust and have joy that will take us through the crisis.
A few weeks ago I put in the RICEmail the testimony of three men condemned to die by Idi Amin in Uganda. When Bishop Festo Kivengere approached them in the stadium to pray with them before they were publically executed he discovered that:
Their faces were all alight with an unmistakable glow and radiance. Before we could say anything, one of them burst out: “Bishop, thank you for coming! I wanted to tell you. The day I was arrested, in my prison cell, I asked the Lord Jesus to come into my heart. He came in and forgave me all my sins! Heaven is now open, and there is nothing between me and my God! Please tell my wife and children that I am going to be with Jesus. Ask them to accept him into their lives as I did.”
The three men died waving their hands in the air, filled with joy.
Psalm 20:7–8 says:
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.
8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.
We are filled with joy in the present when we put our trust in the name of the Lord our God.
Joy in the Future
God has been faithful in the past and is present with us in the future. God has a plan and it will inevitably be fulfilled. Now the psalmist looks to the future.
20 We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
22 May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
The psalmist tells us we are to wait patiently, with confidence, being joyful because we know who he is.
We wait in hope for the Lord
Patience is required as we look to the future. God will act. God has a plan. God has a date set when Jesus will return. For two thousand years Christians have expected Jesus to return in their generation. Many expect Jesus to return in our generation but whether Jesus returns in this generation or several hundred years from now, we are two thousand years closer to the time than the writers of the New Testament books.
I want Jesus to come back today. The suffering in this world overwhelms me. But the world has suffered for all the history of man. As bad as our world is today, the world was much more difficult in the centuries before us. As unsafe as our world is today, it was much less safe in the past. The good old days, as people sometimes call them, were not all that good. But God has been patient, not wanting any to perish. God’s patience has allowed us to be included in his kingdom. God is not yet finished drawing people into his kingdom and so we join followers of Jesus from the past as we wait patiently for Jesus to come.
We wait patiently and with confidence because
he is our help and our shield.
We are safe because he is with us. We are safe even in famine or death because he has promised to be with us through all of life’s events and to take us to be with him when we die.
In him our hearts rejoice
We wait patiently with confidence and are joyful.
There is no more secure promise than the promises God has made to us. A father may promise his child that he will always be there for him but the father has no control over his life. A month later he can be hit by a bus and die. We cannot make promises like that. Only God who is eternal can promise to always be there for us and keep his promise. So we rejoice.
we trust in his holy name
Our joy is not based on some myth we try hard to believe. Our joy is based on God acting in history to save us. We can trust him because of who he has revealed himself to be.
20 We wait in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
The problems in your life may be big or small. Your life may be sailing smoothly along or you may be in stormy seas. Surrender to Jesus. Trust him. Submit to him. You are not alone. He is watching you. He is present with you. He will never leave you or forsake you.
Be patient. Listen to what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth: (2 Corinthians 4:16–18)
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Submit to the love of God and be filled with joy.
22 May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
