Psalm 33 is the who, how, why, and what of worship instruction.  Notice that all the verbs are also plural.  It’s a community psalm for worshipping the Lord!  We were not meant to praise God alone.  We need the church body to worship the Lord together!  Verse 1 tells us we should worship the Lord:  the righteous should sing joyfully as it is fitting for them to praise the Lord.  The righteous are those who are saved.  The church should assemble to praise the Lord – that’s the priority and should be the foundation of everything the church does.  Verses 2-4 show us how to do it in the church:  with instruments, with singing, with the word of God! These verses tell us stringed instruments should be used in worship, giving (in my opinion) instruction for all instruments to be used in worship.  We should lift our voices and sing to the Lord with instruments in church as the church.  This is how we are to worship!

Verses 5-19 reminds us why we worship the Lord together in the sanctuary:  He is righteous, just, loving, the Creator, holy, and beautiful.  He cares for and sustains us.  Worship is about Him and for Him!  The singing and playing of instruments aren’t for us.  It’s not about our favorites but about His glory!  Verse 8 instructs us that worship is about holy fear and reverence of Him.  Verse 11 gives us hope that His plans and purposes are eternal.  He chose us (v. 12), watches over us (vv. 13-14), and formed our hearts (v. 15).  His strength is unmatched by any king, army, or horse (vv. 16-17).  We place our hope and holy fear in the Lord Who cares, watches, delivers, and sustains (vv. 18-19).  That’s why we worship the Lord!  Verses 20-22 tell us what happens when the who, how, and why happens:  souls receive help, hearts obtain peace, hope is strengthened, the church is encouraged, trust in the Lord is increased.  Notice that the Psalm begins in with joyful singing (v. 1) and ends with rejoicing hearts (v. 21). What an amazing result that faith (trust in v. 21), hope (v. 20), and love (v. 22) are the result of joyful worship!

Questions:

1. Do you regularly worship joyfully with singing and instruments with God’s people (the church)?
2. Does the reason for your worship (the why) center in His character or your circumstances?  How do these harmonize?
3. Is the result of your worship joy, peace, hope, faith, and love?

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for giving us the desire to worship You.  You are the only One we praise!  We do this with other disciples weekly so we can build a community of hope, joy, peace, faith, and love.  May our praise and worship be about You.  May our praise be centered in Your glory and splendor.  In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

Categories: Uncategorized

stephenrharrison

Stephen and his wife Haley have called Arkansas home all of their lives. Stephen has served in several ministry roles over the last 25 years and as a lead pastor for the last 8 years. Stephen attended Williams Baptist College and earned a BA in Biblical Studies from Ouachita Baptist University, an MA, MDiv, and DMin in Christian Leadership and Pastoral Ministries from Liberty University. When not pastoring, Stephen enjoys running, cycling, reading, writing, camping, fishing, and spending time with his family.