Psalm 33 (short)
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Introduction
Introduction
Illustration: Mountain bike Wreck - “I couldn’t remember anything.”
Tweet: Memory is as essential in spiritual life as it is in our physical life.
Clarify: Just like in this physical life we can’t forget who we are, and how we got here.
Further: The bible tells us not to forget the Lord, his redemption, and our identity in Christ.
9 “Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children—
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
Historically humanity has suffered from a spiritual dementia.
Adam and Eve forgot the Lord’s goodness when they gave into temptation and disobeyed God’s command.
The day after the Lord miraculously rescued the Israelites they began to grumble and forget the Lord’s goodness.
In fact the book of Deuteronomy is the second giving of the law because the previous generation died in the wilderness after a life time of grumbling. This book was written to that next generation because the first generation forgot.
We must never forget… especially the essentials like how we got here, who we are,
and WHY we are here...
Why are we here? We are here to praise the Lord!
Westminster says: Our chief end is to Glorify God and enjoy him forever.
In short: We are here to Praise the Lord for who he is and what he has done…forever
Psalm 33 reminds us to Praise the Lord.
There are commands to praise the Lord in scripture
there are encouragements to praise the Lord in scripture
This one is like a reminder to praise the Lord
Illustration: You’ve heard “don’t forget to breathe.”
...Well this psalm says “don’t forget to praise the Lord!”
Often times we forget to praise God.
Like when we are grumpy (Sebass tells Josie to shut up on Christmas morning. So when we are grumpy or salty we forget to praise the Lord.)
or when we are selfish. (self-pity parties rarely feature praise because your too busy explaining to yourself and to others how bad you have it. It’s like you become your own defense lawyer defending your crumby downcast sorry pitiful case. There is no room for praise in this courtroom. So we forget to praise the Lord)
Or when we are covetous (It’s really difficult to praise God if your nose is stuck to your phone or if you are in a state of constant comparison. So we forget to praise the Lord)
Or when we are going through a difficult season. (I remember going through some tough things a few years back. It was like the devil was having a field day in my life and everything was literally falling apart.) (Renee and i were so tired and weary. But the bible says do not grow weary in well doing.) (But the very thing that was hardest to do during this time namely, “trust the Lord” and to “praise him in all circumstances” was the very thing that brought us hope and life during a dark time.) (and honestly 2020 has been such a heavy year for all of us… maybe just maybe God needs to remind us to trust in him and praise his name in the midst of the storm”
This doesn’t turn us into the weird happy clappy people who pretend they have no problems.. I love what the end of this Psalm says in Psalm 33:20-22
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.
This is a reminder of what true praise in the midst of life’s difficulties looks like… It looks like waiting in hope and trusting God as our protector and shield. He in turn turns our sour heart glad because we trust in him. His love washes over us and turns the nihilist in us into the faithful and hopeful servant of God!
Let’s start at the top...
1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.
This psalm from the outset reminds us to praise God for it is fitting for us.
This actually answers the first of 3 questions. Who should praise the Lord?
Who should praise the Lord? (v.1)
Who should praise the Lord? (v.1)
1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.
Fill in the blank
Those who are righteous should praise the Lord
Tweet: Actually all creation was all created for his Praise!
Psalm 148:2-13
2 Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his hosts! 3 Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars! 4 Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! 5 Let them praise the name of the Lord! For he commanded and they were created. 6 And he established them forever and ever; he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away. 7 Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all deeps, 8 fire and hail, snow and mist, stormy wind fulfilling his word! 9 Mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars! 10 Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds! 11 Kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth! 12 Young men and maidens together, old men and children! 13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven.
Praise is something we do naturally
We praise what we enjoy at a deep level. Music like Mozart – a good meal – a good time -
We praise what we adore – our Child’s skill level - oh look he said ‘mama’ ...he’s so smart.
We praise what we awe – grand canyon, a mountain vista, a Beautiful sunset – a crazy experience
Praise is something we do vocally
“this is so beautiful” “I love this”
“Look at my child, he can walk so well and he’s only 8 months old” (Ty)
“she can play ball so well” or she is so “kindhearted”
Praise is something we do emotionally
There are things in this world that move us emotionally sometimes to tears (Love – Hallmark movies)
Happy tears are a form of emotional praise, sad tears mourn the loss of something worthy – in this sense sad tears can be a form of praise.
or sometimes to laughter (Ren usually laughs when someone gets hurt! But sometimes we laugh because we are so moved and surprised at something that just shouldn’t have happened but it did.)
or sometimes to action (singing a song, writing a poem, serving)
Praise is something we do volitionally
We can direct our praise like we can direct our breathing. We can choose to praise certain things or choose not to praise other things. Yes we involuntarily do this for the things that we enjoy, adore, and awe over. Yet one of the most frequent commands of the bible is for us to praise the Lord. It is fitting for us to adore God. To Enjoy God. To awe over God. Praise is fitting because it’s what we were meant to do. It is natural. It is right. It is indeed deeply satisfying. We were made to praise God.
Isaiah 43:7 ; 21
“Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
“…..people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.”
Humanity was created with a will as a moral agent, with the capacity to walk in your original design or rebel against it. We were created with the ability and responsibility to direct our praise to our creator.
unlike all other creation we were made in the image of God which means we were created with a unique privilege and responsibility as a moral agent to represent God to creation
Tweet: So we were all created for his Praise! Yet some have pulled back praise from their lives and lips.
It is fitting for True believers to praise the Lord for it fits their identity and standing before God; they have the righteousness of Christ
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name.
Christianity is different in this way. Many religions teach us to praise God or pray to God in order to be righteous, Christianity teaches us we praise because in Christ we are righteous!
Application: Do you come to church in order to be righteous or simply because it befits and refreshes your soul?
Do you serve Christ in order to have him do something for you or do you serve him simply because he is worthy?
Many Churches in the west have gone the route of serving faithfully in order to be blessed with money,
Shia Linne says If you come to Jesus for money, then He's not your God- money is!
so we could also say: ...If you come to jesus for comfort, Jesus isn’t your God comfort is
if you come to jesus for fame and power, Jesus isn’t your God fame and power is.
So Praise Jesus for Jesus is worthy of Praise… He has already made you righteous and it is fitting for the righteous to praise, so praise his holy name!
It is fitting for Obedient believers to praise the Lord for it fits their heart condition
23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
Application: The Holy Spirit teaches us all things. We are the ones who are yeilding to the Spirit. Keeping is step with the Spirit, Walking in the Spirit, Without the Spirit of God we are nothing. Apart from Christ’s Spirit we can accomplish nothing. It’s God’s Spirit who lives within us and He makes us wholehearted and willing from now on to live for him. Like the Heidelberg Catechism states:
“Therefore, by his Holy Spirit he also assures me of eternal life and makes me heartily willing and ready from now on to live for him.”
When this is our life our heart and our demeanor, we are Praising the Lord in all things.
How should we praise the Lord? (v.1-4)
How should we praise the Lord? (v.1-4)
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.
God’s people should praise the Lord with emotion and truth, skill and instruments, growth and freshness.
Emotion is encouraged as we sing and praise the Lord (v.1)
Psalm 33:1 - “Shout for Joy” - “give thanks” - “Sing”
A Psalm for giving thanks. 1 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! 2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! 3 Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! 5 For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits,
Application: We could use more emotion around here.
Truth is vital as we live, sing, and worship the Lord. (v.4)
18 The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
5 Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.
10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. 12 Blessed are you, O Lord; teach me your statutes!
Application: Our singing and emotions give us no permission to sing heresy.
Instruments and skills are encouraged as we sing to the Lord (v.2)
16 David also commanded the chiefs of the Levites to appoint their brothers as the singers who should play loudly on musical instruments, on harps and lyres and cymbals, to raise sounds of joy.
1 Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! 2 Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! 3 Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! 4 Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! 5 Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! 6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!
Illustration:
Johann Sebastian Bach said, “All music should have no other end and aim than the glory of God and the soul’s refreshment; where this is not remembered there is no real music but only a devilish hub-bub.”He headed his compositions: “J.J.” “Jesus Juva” which means “Jesus help me.”Closing them with “S.D.G.” “Soli deo gloria” which means “To God alone the glory.”
Application: We should use instruments to praise the Lord. We should be skilled when we play.
Growth and freshness is encouraged as we praise the Lord (“new song”, v.3)
1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!
10 Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it, the coastlands and their inhabitants.
1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 2 He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
Application: There will be no new songs without a steadfast walk with the Lord! Serve the Lord with freshness
Why should we praise the Lord? (v.5-19)
Why should we praise the Lord? (v.5-19)
His creative word (5-9); His triumphant will and counsel (10-12); His discerning gaze (13-19)
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.
We should praise the Lord for his good & powerful characteristics
For His righteousness (v.5)
Psalm 33:5 ESV5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible
Righteousness is fulfillment of the expectations in any relationship, whether with God or other people. It is applicable at all levels of society, and is relevant in every area of life. Therefore, righteousness denotes the fulfilled expectations in relationships between man and wife, parents and children, fellow citizens, employer and employee, merchant and customers, ruler and citizens, and God and man. Depending on the fulfillment of one’s expectations, an individual could be called righteous and his or her acts and speech could be designated as righteous. The opposite of righteous is “evil,” “wicked,” or “wrong” (cf. Ps 1:6; Zep 3:5). Righteousness is the fiber which holds society, religion, and family together.
Psalm 1:6 6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Zephaniah 3:5 5 The Lord within her is righteous; he does no injustice; every morning he shows forth his justice; each dawn he does not fail; but the unjust knows no shame.
For his steadfast love (v.5b)
Psalm 33:5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
6 The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
For his powerful word (v.6; 9)
Psalm 33:6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
Psalm 33:9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are going camping. They pitch their tent under the stars and go to sleep. In the middle of the night Holmes wakes Watson up: “Watson, look up, and tell me what you deduce.”Watson: “I see millions of stars and even if a few of those have planets, it’s quite likely there are some planets like Earth, and if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life.”Holmes: “Watson, you idiot, somebody’s stolen our tent!”sometimes we tend to get all up into our head and theories and miss the obvious...
If God Wanted to Remain Silent…
If God Wanted to Remain Silent…
If God wanted to remain silent about His existence, He wouldn’t have bothered creating the stars; He wouldn’t have made the Milky Way. In fact, He wouldn’t have made the majestic Rocky Mountains, the rippling oceans, or the magnificent hummingbird. If His goal was to remain quiet and anonymous, He wouldn’t have created anything at all. Instead, He spoke into existence a smorgasbord for our senses. Wonder for our eyes, beauty for our ears, fragrances for our noses—and rapture for our hearts.His creation screams about His unseen beauty; it shouts about His unseen qualities and His magnificence. When Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, he crafted an outward expression of his inner person. In the same way, God’s creation exhibited through the mountains, stars, and oceans is an expression of the God we can’t see. . . . God didn’t remain anonymous because He didn’t want to. Rather, He wanted to display His glory throughout the universe as His gift to man.
Michael Kendrick, Your Blueprint for Life (Nashville: Nelson, 2012), 18-19.For his creation (v.6-7; 9)
For his Creation (v.6-7)
Psalm 33:6–7 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.
For his sustaining power (v.9b)
Psalm 33:9 For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
For his sovereignty (v.10)
10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
Aren’t you glad God is in control?
For his counsel which stands forever (v.10-11)
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.
For his good plans to all generations (v.11)
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations.
For his blessing of his people (v.12)
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!
For his knowledge and understanding and care for all people (v.13-15)
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.
For his good control over all rulers and authorities (v.15)
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.
For his great salvation and power to save eternally (v.16-19)
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.
How to praise God when times are tough? (v.20-22)
How to praise God when times are tough? (v.20-22)
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.
This leaves us in a hopeful state as we wait upon the Lord who is our shield.
This leaves us with a glad hopeful heart trusting in his holy name.
This leaves us with God’s love within us as we faithfully hope in the Lord.
Pay off our debt...
.We owe around 290 thousand dollars. on our Children’s wing. Everything else is paid in full. The house and lot next door we have purchased. The youth building along with its major renovations are paid in full. The new parking lot is paid for. All the renovations of the main building including the sanctuary and fellowship hall renovations are all paid for. This is an amazing testimony to God’s faithfulness and your giving heart. I am so thankful for your generosity. I believe we can pay this $290,000 off by the end of the year if we make this our goal in December. I would love to be able to hit the ground running debt free for the new year 2021. With so much financial uncertainty in the air right now with the apparent change of leadership in our country I can’t think of a better goal for Tunnel Hill First Baptist Church for such a time as this. I believe we can do this. 290,000 dollars by the end of the year may seem like a large amount but if we all chip in God will indeed bless our efforts.
Now just so you know God has been working behind the scenes with his blessing and grace. We have an anonymous donor who has offered to match donations up to $200,000. This is a huge blessing of the Lord. But we need everyone to give as the Lord lays on your heart. This is a unique opportunity to double your contribution. I pray the Lord will see fit to allow us to be debt free for 2021. Lets pray for this endeavor...