Psalm 33: Sing joyfully to the LORD
Sing joyfully to the LORD.
It is good for the upright
And righteous to praise him.
Praise him with music of harps and lyres;
Skillfully play, sing a new song,
Shout out with joy to the LORD.
For the word of the LORD is right and true;
He’s faithful in all that he does.
The LORD loves justice and righteousness;
The earth it is full of his love.
By the word of the LORD, the heaven’s were made;
The stars by the breath of his mouth.
He gathers the watery depths in jars;
In storehouses puts the deep sea.
So let all earth fear the LORD;
Let all of the world, all its people revere him.
For when he spoke the world came to be;
At his command, the earth it stood firm,
At his command it stood firm.
The LORD sees the ways of nations great,
And he thwarts their purpose and plans.
But the plans of the LORD stand firm thro’ time,
Thro’all generations to come.
The nation whose God is the LORD
Is blest: his inheritance, chosen to serve him.
For he looks down seeing all mankind,
Watching their lives and forming their hearts,
Considers all that they do.
No king is saved by armies great,
No warrior escapes by his strength.
A horse is a vain hope; it cannot save,
Despite its great strength cannot save.
The eyes of the LORD are on those,
Who fear him and hope in a love that’s unfailing.
For he’ll deliver their lives from death,
In famine or strife, he will save their lives;
They who have hope in the LORD.
We wait, all our hope is in the LORD
For he is our shield and our guide.
Our hearts will rejoice in his holy name;
His love always resting on us.
Always resting on us,
Always resting on us,
We who hope in you.
Jeff Lowe: lead vocal, backing vocals, electric piano, bass, drums
Paul Bellingham: piano
Listen on Spotify, Amazon or Apple Music
Comments
Singing joyfully to the Lord is something which the Lord wants and which will be good for us. Whether we sing in a cathedral choir or in a modern worship rock band, we are to sing praises to God and each other, with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. (Colossians 3:16). Verses 2&3 encourage us to write new songs and also to develop our instrumental skills.
And why? Because we have so many things to thank the Lord for: his inspired and God-breathed Bible; his faithfulness; his righteousness and justice; and his unfailing love. We live on an astonishing planet in an astonishing universe created by an astonishing God. He spoke and the universe with all its quarks, black holes and starry host came into being. He spoke and the oceans, teaming with plankton and fish came into being. The Lord is not some regional ruler, he is the Creator God of a trillion, trillion stars and every atom and sub-particle and the people of the world will only begin to gain wisdom when they fear and revere him. Singing songs of worship is a fitting response to all this and according to passage in Colossians singing truth about God enables us to grow in wisdom.
The plans and ambitions of the nations are thwarted but God’s people are blessed. Nations may break treaties, arms dealers may make vast profits, but those who fear the Lord find security and protection in God’s unfailing love. Let us ensure that our songs of worship reflect on all of this.