Psalms 33-35

Thoughts

Psalm 33

The Steadfast Love of the LORD (No author listed) 

Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.
Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

• “New song” can mean fresh gratitude 

For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.
He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.

• God’s words and actions match 
• The world may feel chaotic, but psalmist says it’s full of God’s love.

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

• Creation responds instantly to God’s voice 
• This section echoes Genesis 1.

The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

• Human plans = temporary but God’s plans = forever.

The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man;
from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.

• “Fashions” = yatsar (יָצַר)  the same verb for a potter shaping clay.

The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue.

• David rejects confidence in military 
• Anything we rely on more than God becomes an idol 

Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

• God’s protection is personal

Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.
For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.
Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

• Waiting is not passive 

Psalm 34

Taste and See That the LORD Is Good. Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away

Acrostic!

I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad.
Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!

• David praises God at all times- even in fear and embarrassment.
• “Boast in the LORD” = brag about God, not yourself.
• Worship grows stronger when shared with others.

I sought the LORD, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.

• God didn’t just fix the situation but He freed the fear.

Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!
The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

• Experience God’s goodness for ourselves

Come, O children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit.
Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

• “Fear of the LORD” is learned, not automatic? 

The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry.
The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

• We are given descriptions of God’s eyes, ears, and face 

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.
Affliction will slay the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
The LORD redeems the life of his servants; none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

• Following God doesn’t mean fewer troubles.
• “He keeps all his bones; not one is broken” applied to Jesus in John 19.

from https://basicsofthebible.org/projects/psalm34/

Psalm 35

 “Great Is the LORD” Of David.

Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
fight against those who fight against me!
Take hold of shield and buckler and rise for my help!
Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers!
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation!”

• “Shield and buckler” is a small shield + large shield so full protection.

Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life!
Let them be turned back and disappointed who devise evil against me!
Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them away!
Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them!
For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life.
Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it!
And let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it—to his destruction!

• Twice he mentions the angel of the LORD 
• David wants to be vindicated 

Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD, exulting in his salvation.
All my bones shall say, “O LORD, who is like you,
delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him,
the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

• “All my bones” = my whole being.

Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me of things that I do not know.
They repay me evil for good; my soul is bereft.
But I, when they were sick—I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting;
I prayed with head bowed on my chest.
I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;
as one who laments his mother, I bowed down in mourning.

• David had shown compassion to these people, but they betray him.

But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;
they gathered together against me; wretches whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing;
like profane mockers at a feast, they gnash at me with their teeth.
How long, O Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their destruction, my precious life from the lions!
I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you.

• “Stumbling” could mean a moment of weakness 
• David promises public thanksgiving after deliverance.

Let not those rejoice over me who are wrongfully my foes,
and let not those wink the eye who hate me without cause.
For they do not speak peace,
but against those who are quiet in the land they devise words of deceit.
They open wide their mouths against me; they say, “Aha, Aha!
Our eyes have seen it!”

• “Without cause” is repeated
• They pretend they “saw” something incriminating

You have seen, O LORD; be not silent!
O Lord, be not far from me!
Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication, for my cause, my God and my Lord!
Vindicate me, O LORD, my God, according to your righteousness,
and let them not rejoice over me!
Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, our heart’s desire!”
Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”
Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether who rejoice at my calamity!
Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me!

• David trusts God to make things right 

Let those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad
and say evermore, “Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant!”
Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long.

• David ends with praise, not bitterness.

Questions

What did David specifically mean about angel of the Lord? Angelic army or angel angel of the Lord?

Application

Psalm 33 teaches you to trust God amidst the chaos. God’s word is steady even when the world isn’t. Psalm 34 shows us God is near when we are brokenhearted. We are invited to experience Him personally. Psalm 35 is for when we are treated unfairly. David shows us how to pray when we are dealing with betrayal and how to cry out to God.