Psalm 33
God deserves a song
Singing looks good on you
1Sing the LORD a happy song,Everyone who’s devoted to him.
Singing to the LORD
Looks good on you.
2Thank the LORD out loud.
Wrap it in the music of a small harp.[1]
Create him a sweet melody.
Make those 10 strings twang.
3Write him a new song.
Practice the music till you get it right.
Then sing that song with joy.
4The LORD tells the truth.
And everything he does is the right thing to do.
5He loves to see goodness and justice.
The LORD cares about this world,
And he fills it with love.
6The LORD made the heavens
With nothing more than words.
With a breath from his mouth,
He spoke the angels into life.
7He can scoop up the ocean
And pour it in a jug.
He can store the deep ocean
In a tub if he’d like.
God tells the world how high to jump
8May everyone on earth respect the LORD.Everyone in the world should stand in awe of him.
9When he commanded something done, it got done.
When he gave an order, that order stood.
10The LORD vetoes worldly plans.
He makes sure those plans go nowhere.
11But the plans the LORD makes live on
From generation to generation.
12It’s a happy nation
that says the LORD is their God.
These are the people
God chose for himself.[2]
13The LORD sees what’s going on down here.
He sees every human being in the world.
14From his heavenly home he looks down
And he sees everyone who lives on earth.
15He created us with the minds we have,
So he understands what’s going on inside us.
We don’t save ourselves
16Kings can’t save themselves with a strong army.Soldiers can’t save themselves with their muscles.
17They’d better not count on a horse to win the battle.
A horse with all its power can’t save them.
18Look, it’s the LORD who watches over everything.
He keeps a close eye on those who respect him.
He’s the one who protects people who trust in his kindness.
19He’s the one who saves them from death
And keeps them alive in a famine.
20Whatever happens, we’re waiting for the LORD.
He’s the one who will help us.
He’s our shield, standing between us and trouble.
21We’re happy because of him.
We trust him. He’s as good as his holy name.
22Keep the love and kindness coming, LORD.
As we put our trust in you.
Footnotes
133:2
The Hebrew word is kinnor, which could mean a full-sized harp or a small harp called a lyre. The root beneath the word means “twang.” By the time of Jesus’ century, kinnor seemed to refer just to a small harp. That’s how a first-century Jewish historian named Josephus described it: 10-stringed portable harp.
233:12
Many scholars, especially Jewish ones, say the writer was probably talking about the special relationship God had with the descendants of Abraham, father of the Jews and Muslims. Many Christian scholars say they can see Christians predicted here because God chose everyone, though not everyone chose him. “He doesn’t want anyone annihilated. He wants everyone to reject sin instead of rejecting him” (2 Peter 3:9).
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