Psalms 33:1-16: a reflection

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.

Psalm 33 praises the God who spoke the heavens into being and whose purposes cannot be thwarted. The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing, it declares; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. But the counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. Against all the shifting plans and schemes of nations and peoples, God's own counsel stands firm, unshakable, enduring through all generations. And the psalm adds that no king is saved by his great army, no warrior by his great strength; deliverance is from God alone.

Notice the contrast: the plans of the nations come to nothing, but the counsel of the LORD stands forever. Human plans and schemes, however grand, however carefully laid, can be frustrated and brought to nothing; they are not ultimately in control. But God's counsel, his purpose, stands firm forever, unshaken by all the plotting of nations. His purpose, not the plans of the strong, is what finally prevails.

That is a steadying truth in a world full of human plans and powers. We can feel that the plans of nations, powers, and people around us determine everything, that we are at their mercy. But the psalm reminds us that human plans come to nothing before God, while his counsel stands forever. His purpose, not the schemes of the strong, will finally prevail. When you feel small before the plans and powers of the world, remember that the LORD's counsel stands forever, and that no army or strength can deliver apart from him. Rest not in human plans and powers, which come to nothing, but in the enduring counsel of God, which stands firm through all generations. His purpose prevails.

Lord, your word declares that you bring the plans of the nations to nothing, but your own counsel stands forever, through all generations, and that no king is saved by a great army nor a warrior by great strength. Steady me with that truth. In a world full of human plans and powers, I can feel at the mercy of the schemes of nations and people around me, as though they determined everything. But you remind me that human plans come to nothing before you, while your counsel stands forever. Your purpose, not the schemes of the strong, will finally prevail. When I feel small before the plans and powers of the world, help me rest not in them, which come to nothing, but in your enduring counsel, which stands firm. Deliverance is from you alone; help me trust your purpose, which prevails.