Sing a New Song: Help to Win the Worship War (Ps 33)

Read Psalm 33:

¹ Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. ² Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! ³ Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

⁴ For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. ⁵ He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD. ⁶ By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. ⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses. ⁸ Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! ⁹ For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰ The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. ¹¹ The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. ¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

¹³ The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; ¹⁴ from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, ¹⁵ he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. ¹⁶ The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. ¹⁷ The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. ¹⁸ Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, ¹⁹ that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. ²¹ For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. ²² Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

Understand Psalm 33:

Psalm 33 was composed as a new song (most likely by King David).[1] In a fresh way, his joy in being forgiven (see Ps 32) overflows into a song of praise before the Lord. Likewise, believers in Christ who have been cleansed of our sins can claim this song as well.

A.    Our Call to Worship (vv. 1-3)

Psalm 33 begins with a call to worship: “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” (vv. 1-3). Consider the following principles for the way we are to worship:

1. The psalmist first calls us to worship with joyful exuberance: “Shout for joy. . . . Give thanks to the LORD. . . . Sing to him.” The Lord commands the volume and intensity of our emotional best. To “shout for joy” (v. 1) is a raucous cry of exultation like when your team scores the winning goal in extra time or when you receive a college acceptance letter from your school of choice. The psalmist exhorts us to, “Let it out!” since worship songs are the war cries of God’s holy ones. Our jubilant shouts (v. 3) are like blasts from a shofar which declare our victory in battle. Our voices become divinely designed instruments to praise the Lord and our worship remains full of life before the One who has given us life. “Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!” (95:1).
2. Second, we worship with integrity of character. The psalmist calls only the “righteous” to worship and declares the heart of praise as befitting the “upright.” Integrity characterizes the worshiper who has been forgiven of sin and whose guilty conscience has been cleansed (Ps 32). So we prepare ourselves to worship with an undivided heart by asking the Lord to show us any sins we must confess or relationships to make right: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (139:23-24). If our heart’s not right, then we’re not really worshiping (Heb 11:6).
3. Third, we worship in both spirit and truth (John 4:23-24). Our worship must be undergirded by biblical doctrine, sound theology, and Spirit-empowered knowledge. Psalm 33, for example, is directed to Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel, for only by knowing the Lord are we able to worship rightly. As we sing the name of God, our praise encompasses every truth in Scripture contained within that name. Perhaps the psalmist, in this call to worship, meditates on Yahweh’s self-revelation, “[I AM] the LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exod 34:6-7a). Thus, we must know the Lord in truth if we would worship his holy name. In addition, we must know ourselves in relation to our God. “Give thanks” (Ps 33:2), means “to acknowledge as true” in our confession of sin (32:5). For as David declared his sin, he declared the Lord to be his Savior. It is good news that we worship a God who is not only just in his holy wrath against our sin, but also merciful and kind to those who know him well. Only God’s redeemed can shout and sing in such a way because we’ve been forgiven. Therefore, we worship the Lord on the basis of gospel truths.
4. Psalm 33 also calls for skillfully played instruments: “the lyre [and] the harp of ten strings” (vv. 2-3). Certain Christians throughout history have discouraged accompaniment in worship, yet Scripture celebrates how instruments express our praise in ways the human voice cannot (see Ps 150; 1 Cor 14:7; Rev 5:8; 15:2).[2] God-honoring worship also requires disciplined skill and practice as we present our best to God (e.g., 1 Sam 16:16).
5. Finally, we worship with a fresh wind: “Sing to him a new song” (Ps 33:3). God’s saving work provides his people with new occasions for worship (e.g., Pss 96:1; 98:1; 149:1; Isa 42:10; see Pss 40:3; 144:9; Isa 43:18-19; Rev 5:9; 14:3). A new song grips us with childlike joy in the majesty and wonder of our great God. A new song unveils a fresh voice to declare the ancient truths of God and every “timeless tune” was once new as well. Martin Luther wrote hymns as the anthem of the Protestant Reformation, while Charles Wesley and Isaac Watts were the soundtrack to the First Great Awakening. Every generation must produce new songs to declare God’s monumental victories. As Spurgeon wrote, “Let us not present old worn-out praise, but put life and soul and heart into every song, since we have new mercies every day and see new beauties in the work and word of our Lord.”[3] May those in the church who are creatively-minded or musically-gifted write new songs of praise which tell our story and celebrate the present work of Christ. These songs don’t need to be published or popular to be sung by members of our own congregation. As we meditate on gospel truths, may the passions of our heart give rise to songs of praise.

B.    Our Causes for Worship (vv. 4-19)

The psalmist calls us to worship the Lord in vv. 1-3. Then, in the body of Psalm 33, he presents three causes for our worship: The Lord’s omnipotent Word, his omniscient will, and his omnipresent watchfulness.

1. The Lord’s omnipotent Word (vv. 4-9). The Lord’s Word is his enduring work as all his promises come to fruition: “For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness” (v. 4). His Word is straight and level, for his perfect character flows from everything he says and does. His “righteousness and justice” then stand alongside his “steadfast love” (v. 5). We first witness God’s omnipotent Word in his creation of the world: “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host” (v. 6; see Gen 1-2; Job 26:13). What more tangible expression of God’s power than in the world we see around us? In creation, the Lord displays his glorious omnipotence: “Let there be. . . . And there was light; . . . And there were sun and moon and stars. Let there be. . . . And all creation stood before our God.” We also witness God’s omnipotent Word in the exodus from Egypt. According to Psalm 33:7, “He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses.”[4] The oceans of this world contain over 300 million cubic miles of water which the Lord Almighty cups within the hollow of his hand (Isa 40:12a; see Gen 1:7, 9). Therefore, “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” (Ps 33:8-9). Worship the Lord for the power of his Word (Exod 15:14-15). Worship the Lord as we will sing for all eternity: “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created” (Rev 4:11).
2. The Lord’s omniscient will (vv. 10-12). Our second cause for worship is the Lord’s omniscient will. In Psalm 33:10, “The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.” In this wicked counsel, the godly do not walk (1:1a) and the people’s schemes will surely fail (2:1-2), for none can rule the righteous King (vv. 3-12; Eph 1:10). Psalm 33 reminds us that the sovereign God, who knows all things, remains in charge: “The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations” (v. 11; Prov 19:21). The Lord guides us by his everlasting wisdom (Pss 32:8; 73:24; 107:11; Isa 28:29). Therefore, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!” (Ps 33:12; see 144:15). This chosen nation refers to Israel—the people of God’s holy covenant.[5] Yet if you are in Christ Jesus, even as a Gentile, you have been adopted into the family of God: “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9; see Eph 1:18). Blessed are you, the people of God, as his eternal inheritance.
3. The Lord’s omnipresent watchfulness (vv. 13-19). Our third cause for worship is the Lord’s omnipresent watchfulness. Psalm 33 presents multiple metaphors for sight: “The LORD looks down from heaven [and] sees all the children of man” (v. 13; see 11:4; Exod 15:7; Heb 4:13). “He looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth” and perceives everything they do (v. 14; see Gen 6:5; 11:5). He knows them fully because he fashioned them in their mother’s womb (Ps 139:13-14) and because, even now, he “observes all their deeds” (33:15). God reigns sovereign over nations and armies and weapons of war (vv. 16-17). He discerns when we have trusted in earthly authorities or human strength (20:7; e.g., Exod 14:12-14; 15:1-4), for God’s judgments are based on his perfect knowledge (Ps 33:13-15), perfect control (vv. 16-17), and perfect love (vv. 18-19). Therefore, his omnipresent watchfulness should give us pause to turn from such temptation. His unfailing presence graciously limits our depravity and deters us from self-defeating sins. The Lord’s omnipresent watchfulness, however, is not only a terror, but also a cherished mercy: “Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love” (v. 18). God’s watchful eye remains on those who reverently obey him, who joyfully worship him, and who place their hope in the knowledge of his love (32:8b). His ever-presence may terrify the wicked who do not know him, but provides tremendous comfort for his children whom he loves. The Lord preserves his people from certain death, the famine of siege warfare, and other curses they incur for disobeying his commands (Gen 3:17-19). As children of the living God, he promises to care for us (Deut 11:12), answer prayers (1 Kgs 8:29), and give aid in times of trouble (2 Chr 16:9). The Lord upholds his promises through the sacrifice of his beloved Son on our behalf (Rom 3:24-26). For when Christ died, he satisfied both his Father’s justice and his mercy. God’s watchful eye discerns our sin as we claim forgiveness at the cross. God’s judgment then falls upon the sinless sacrifice of Christ, so he can look on us with love. Therefore, his omnipresent watchfulness becomes still another cause for worship as he cleanses us from sin.

C.     Our Confidence in Worship (vv. 20-22)

The psalmist began with a call to worship (Ps 33:1-3), then expressed three causes for worship grounded in God’s greatness (vv. 4-19). Here, he concludes the final three verses with our confidence in worship.[6] Listen to his words of confident faith as he speaks on behalf of God’s covenant people: “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” (vv. 20-22). Waiting upon the Lord expresses our confident faith in his authoritative, unbroken Word. Our corporate worship then propels us to confident faith in him throughout the week.

We trust in the Lord to be our Help and Shield—two metaphors frequent in the psalms.[7] As our Help, the Lord provides in times of need (Phil 4:19), grants us wisdom when we don’t know what to do (Jas 1:5-8), and infuses us with courage when we’re weak (Ps 20:6). As our Shield, the Lord surrounds us with protection, keeps us safe in spiritual battle, and guards against the enemy’s attack (3:3-4). Our confident trust in God then results in joyful gladness as we glory in his holy name and recount examples of his goodness (105:3; 1 Chr 16:10). We find our satisfaction in the God who loves us as we meditate on his unchanging attributes (Exod 33:18-19; 34:5-7). Therefore, the psalmist prays for Yahweh’s love to remain upon his people, for we confidently hope in the One who covenants his love toward us. This is the life of faith when our difficulties reveal God’s grace and our joy in the midst of trials composes new songs within our heart.

Apply Psalm 33:

1. Consider the nature of your personal and corporate worship. Does it reflect the call to worship in Psalm 33:1-3? Evaluate whether you worship the Lord today with freshness, passion, skill, knowledge, and integrity of character. If not, what needs to change?
2. Make it your practice before every worship service to let God’s Holy Spirit examine your heart for hidden sin (139:23-24).
3. Meditate on the attributes of God which lead you into worship: his omnipotent Word (33:4-9), his omniscient will (vv. 10-12), and his omnipresent watchfulness (vv. 13-19). How do each of these terrify the wicked, but bring joy to the righteous?
4. What “worship wars” do you encounter in your own heart? In what way do psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs serve as weapons to win this battle (Eph 5:18-20; Col 3:16-17)?
5. Set aside a few hours (perhaps with others) to compose a new song to the Lord. Start with the reasons you are grateful for his person and his work.
6. Reflect on the lyrics of Mark Altrogge, I Stand in Awe of You (1986). What other hymns or worship songs direct your heart to God?

Counsel Psalm 33:

Learn to use worship songs, both old and new, in your counseling ministry to others. Keep a timeless hymnal on hand and several go-to worship songs. Many artists have even set the psalms to music for various Bible versions (see Shane & Shane, The Corner Room, The Psalms Project). For further insight, read Bijou Green, “The Role of Music in Counseling,” ACBC (blog), April 8, 2021, accessed at https://biblicalcounseling.com/resource-library/articles/the-role-of-music-in-counseling.

Projects for Growth (Psalm 33)

1. Ask God’s Holy Spirit to examine your heart for any conflicts of worship (Ps 139:23-24). Who or what has captured your heart, mind, and affection more than God? What painful consequences have you experienced as a result of your divided heart?
2. Evaluate whether you worship the Lord today with joyful exuberance, integrity of character, biblical truth, skillful music, and a freshness of the Spirit (33:1-3). If not, what needs to change?
3. Slowly read Psalm 33 several times and allow its truths to transform your attitude in worship. Meditate on God’s omnipotent Word in both creation and the exodus (vv. 4-9), his omniscient will to govern both the wicked and the righteous (vv. 10-12), and his omnipresent watchfulness as the God who sees your sin, your suffering, and your need for a Savior (vv. 13-19).
4. Pray back Psalm 33 to the Lord, line-by-line, as a prayer of your own. Then listen to this psalm set to music.
5. Memorize verses 20-22 and meditate on the Lord’s identity as your “Help” and “Shield” (Pss 20:2; 30:10; 54:4; 70:5; 72:12; 79:9; 107:12; 109:26; 119:86, 173; 121:1, 2; 124:8; 146:5; esp. 115:9, 10, 11). Let your soul wait on him and your heart be glad in him (33:20-21). Then transfer your hope and confidence to his unfailing love for you (v. 22).
6. Listen to the words of Keith Getty and Stuart Townend, In Christ Alone (2001). Consider how the life, death, and resurrection of Christ are your only hope for salvation. What other hymns or worship songs direct your heart to God?

Pray Psalm 33:

• O Lord, I praise you for who you are and what you’ve done in my life and in this world (vv. 1-3).
• Thank you for both your unfailing words and wonderful works (vv. 4-7, 9).
• O My Creator, I stand in awe of you (v. 8).
• You know the hearts and plans of all my enemies (vv. 10-15), yet you keep your eye on me (vv. 18-19).
• Teach me to stop depending on my feeble strength (vv. 16-17), but to wait on you for help (vv. 20-21).
• Let your steadfast love be upon us, Lord, as we place our hope in you (v. 22).

[1] All 37 of the psalms with headings in Book I (Pss 1-41) were attributed to David, so it is likely that David wrote Psalm 33 as well. The composers of the Jewish psalter also grouped Psalm 33 with Psalm 32 because of their repeated language. In fact, ten Hebrew manuscripts even joined the two as one since Psalm 33 had no superscription. We will view them here as separate psalms written by King David which address related themes.

[2] Psalm 33 makes the first mention of musical instruments in the psalter (outside of the superscripts). The Greek words psallo and psalmos also refer to singing with the accompaniment of stringed instruments (see 1 Cor 14:15, 26; Eph 5:19; Col 3:16; Jas 5:13).

[3] Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David (Psalm 33).

[4] Psalm 33 appears to reflect the “Song of the Sea” (Exod 15:1-18), which celebrates both the exodus from Egypt and God’s creation of his people Israel.

[5] See Deut 4:20, 37; 10:15; 32:9; Pss 78:62, 71; 94:14; 106:5, 40; Jer 10:16; Joel 3:2.

[6] This psalm is bracketed by three verses at the front and back. The main section is divided into two equal sections of eight verses each (vv. 4-11, 12-19). The twenty-two verses total characterize this as an alphabetizing psalm (which maintains internal structure and balance; formulaic and repeated language), though not an acrostic psalm (in which each stanza begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet).

[7] See “help” and “shield” in Psalms 20:2; 30:10; 54:4; 70:5; 72:12; 79:9; 107:12; 109:26; 119:86, 173; 121:1, 2; 124:8; 146:5; esp. 115:9, 10, 11. This “shield” (magen) is a movable protective shield used by soldiers in the ancient Near East for protection in battle. “To trust” means “to cling on tight” like a rescued hostage sticking close to the special forces soldier who is leading him to safety.