Psalms 33
Good morning Class and Merry Christmas!
Question of the day: What is your earliest memory of Christmas?
This Christmas I keep finding myself drawn to the word "joyfully." There is a song that I love that keeps running though my head, I have bought 2 ornaments that say joy, and the new wrapping paper I bought has joy written all over it. So when I read this Psalm I was drawn to it because right off the bat, David writes, "joyfully."
This Christmas I keep finding myself drawn to the word "joyfully." There is a song that I love that keeps running though my head, I have bought 2 ornaments that say joy, and the new wrapping paper I bought has joy written all over it. So when I read this Psalm I was drawn to it because right off the bat, David writes, "joyfully."
Psalms 33:1-22
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.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.
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.
3 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.
he is faithful in all he does.
5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars[a];
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.
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars[a];
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
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 be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
1. Verses 1-3
I want to draw our attention to two points....
a. "it is fitting for the upright to praise Him"
At first glance I felt very unworthy of praising Him. I'm not upright or righteous, so how can I? Do you ever feel that way?
One day I was struggling with feeling particularly insecure about me... I was complimenting Chris, OK I was laying it on thick about how awesome he was and how much I loved him, and then it hit me... "what if it doesn't mean much....because I'm such a disaster, so for a disaster to be affirming him, doesn't say much.."
SAD, yep.... but that is the truth about how I was feeling...
What does David mean here?
Who are the righteous?
Who are the upright?
b. "play skillfully and shout for joy"
I can't play skillfully anything, but we can all shout for joy! This says two things to me.
First, we need to make an effort in our practice, in learning the art of praising. If we play or sing we should practice! Second, but we should always lay it all out there. Shouting for joy isn't perfect, or practiced, it is genuine and with feeling. It is bold and loud.
Verse 2: Verses 4 and 5
This is perhaps my favorite of the verses in this song. Every word is fantastic!
I will only highlight one thing...
"The earth is full of His unfailing love."
How often do we say this and feel it?
What do we usually hear people say about this earth?
"The world is evil." "There is so much hurt and destruction." "This world has to end soon."
All these are true. However David reminds us that the earth is full of His unfailing love. It is in the nature we see all around us, in each other, it is full of His unfailing love! The question here is... Do you see it? Do we focus on it? Or are we only rubber necking as we go through life. Are we only looking at the disasters?
Where is your focus?
Verse 3: Verses 6-9
This verse so beautifully follows the previous. It is simply stating why we need to be focusing on Him and his greatness not the other.
HE is awesome!!!!
What most reminds you of His grandeur?
Verse 4: Verses 10-11
This verse is so hopeful! To think that through all generations, even ours.... His purposes are still present. He hasn't changed. He isn't phased by all that is going on in our world... He is still on the throne!
How does this understanding affect our daily lives, or how should it?
Verse 5: verses 12-15
What do the thoughts of God watching you in all you do make you think of?
Does that bring dread and fear into your heart or...
Does it make you think of someone who is lovingly interested in your life?
Is it a look of judgement.
I have heard people dish Santa Clause because they say we have made him out to be God like... "He sees you when your sleeping, he knows when your awake, he knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake."
I would like to argue that Santa Clause has not been made to be god like at all! Because that is not what God does.
What is the clue to that here...
Verse 15 basically says, that He knows you because he made your heart so He understands all you do. What David is saying here is not that is "Santa" like, but that he knows you and he cares about how you are doing. He understands everything about you.
God, the King of Kings, knows you and cares about you so much, he enjoys just watching you.
This past week I had the opportunity of holding a 10 day old baby. What a joy it was for us to just sit there and stare at this amazing little creature! Do you remember that feeling? Chris and I used to just sit by Anna's bassinet and stare as she slept! Amazed at her lips, her fingers, her little facial expressions. We serve a God who knows you and loves to gaze upon you too!
Verse 6: verses 16-19
Verses 18-19 are so rich. No matter what is going on in our lives.... He's got you!
This same God who loves to just gaze upon you, also has your back.
Have you ever seen the YouTube video of dad SAVES.....
Enjoy
That is what God is for us..... Ok, I know we do get hurt, and so do our kids. But he has saved us!
Verse 7: 20-22
It is my hope that this week especially we will each spend some time focusing on His unfailing love. It is unfailing. Think about that word. No earthly fathers love is unfailing. Nothing that you purchase or put your hope in is unfailing. There is really only one thing that gets the title of unfailing and for it to be the love of God, Wow!
Unfailing Love.
Just contemplate that for a moment.
At the age of 12 my family moved back from Ethiopia to Berrien Springs Michigan. I felt very much alone. I didn't understand the culture at school, I had no friends and I was 12. Being a 12 year old girl is difficult enough. I don't know why but my dad bought me a cassett tape of EVIE. It was my first very own music. It was my first "contemporary" music. This was back in 1981. I listen to it daily. My next album was Amy Grant, but my first, was EVIE. Of all the songs she sang this was my favorite and I couldn't help but hear it the entire time I was studying this psalm.
Unfailing love..... flows from his heart and heals my soul....
Today as we focus on celebrating. Let's keep in our hearts and minds, in all our praises, that we serve and we celebrate a God whose love is UNFAILING!
He is watching you, adoringly, His creation, he is there for you, He's got you!
UNFAILING LOVE!!!
CELEBRATE IT!!!!!!!!!
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