Scripture Daily

Context No. 1019 of 4322 · Psalms

Context · Reflection

Psalms 33:1-16: in context

1Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous! Praise is fitting for the upright. 2Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre. Sing praises to him with the harp of ten strings. 3Sing to him a new song. Play skillfully with a shout of joy! 4For the LORD’s word is right. All his work is done in faithfulness. 5He loves righteousness and justice. The earth is full of the loving kindness of the LORD. 6By the LORD’s word, the heavens were made: all their army by the breath of his mouth. 7He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap. He lays up the deeps in storehouses. 8Let all the earth fear the LORD. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. 9For he spoke, and it was done. He commanded, and it stood firm. 10The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing. He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect. 11The counsel of the LORD stands fast forever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. 12Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance. 13The LORD looks from heaven. He sees all the sons of men. 14From the place of his habitation he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, 15he who fashions all of their hearts; and he considers all of their works. 16There is no king saved by the multitude of an army. A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

This psalm calls the righteous to praise, and to do it well: rejoice in the LORD, sing a new song, play skillfully with a shout of joy. Then it gives the reasons. The LORD's word is upright and his work faithful; by his word the heavens were made and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He spoke, and it came to be. He brings the counsel of the nations to nothing, but his own counsel stands forever. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD. He looks down from heaven, sees everyone, fashions every heart, and no king is saved by the size of his army.

The psalm sets two kinds of power against each other and declares which one actually holds. On one side are the plans of the nations, the schemes of peoples, the great army, the strength of the warrior, everything that looks decisive in the world. On the other side is the word and counsel of God. And the psalm insists that God's plans nullify theirs: the LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing, while his own counsel stands firm to all generations. The same word that made the heavens by simply speaking is the word that steers history, and against it no army is large enough. No king is saved by a great army; a warrior is not delivered by his own strength. This is bracing for anyone tempted to measure security by visible force, whether armies, money, or influence. The God who spoke the stars into being is not impressed by the numbers, and the safest place is not behind a great army but under the counsel that outlasts every empire.

Where am I measuring my security by visible strength, armies or savings or influence, when the psalm says no one is saved by these, only by the God whose counsel stands forever?

Sources