The Song of the New Song

Psalm 33 begins loudly. “Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright. Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.” When there are many psalms that begin with “Save me, O LORD!” or “Where are you, God?”, it’s refreshing to start in a place of exuberant joy. This is the first psalm with an explicit mention of musical accompaniment and singing. Most of the Psalms were composed for singing or chanting in public worship, and while we don’t have the original tunes nor do we even know exactly what ancient instruments were like, we miss something important about the Psalms if we reduce them simply to poems or prayers. They are songs, and these verses show us, they were meant to be played with artistic flair. Derek Kidner has a painfully true insight: “Note the call… for freshness and skill as well as fervour; three qualities rarely found together in religious music.” This is the first time of many that the psalmists call for a “new song.” It likely doesn’t mean a literal new composition. Rather, it’s a reminder to sing old truths with fresh appreciation of God’s greatness and goodness. It’s the equivalent of saying, “Sing it again! God has surprised us again with his works, so encore!” There’s one more curious feature of Psalm 33: it has no title, which is unusual in Book 1 of the Psalms (other than the introductory Psalms 1 and 2, only Psalm 10 and this one lack a title). Some have suggested that just like Psalms 9-10, so also Psalms 32-33 are linked. And indeed, they do share a lot of vocabulary (words like blessed, rejoice, eye, trust), and the ending of Psalm 32 (“shout for joy, all you upright in heart!”) is answered by the first line of Psalm 33 (“Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous!”). Even so, the two psalms feel like allies more than companions. Both contain praises to God, but while Psalm 32 is about forgiveness, this one is about God’s majestic, sovereign authority. This is where the psalmist turns next.

In the middle section of Psalm 33, we’re given three reasons why we should sing a new song to the LORD. It’s a good example of a “hymn,” a song of pure praise to God for who he is and what he does. First, we praise God because of his creative word. Verse 4: “For the word of the LORD is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness.” God’s word and work are inseparable, as we see in the creation account of Genesis 1. God spoke, and reality came into existence. “By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses.” There’s some allusions here to Genesis 1:2, when the Spirit or breath of God hovered over the face of the deep waters. The psalmist also ties in the Exodus at the Red Sea with a mention of God putting the waters in “heap” like in Exodus 15. In just a few verses, we’re singing a recap of the biblical story. The LORD is the Creator who made everything by his word, and the LORD is the Redeemer who gathers and saves his people. In light of these amazing works, we’re commanded in verse 8, “Let all the earth fear the LORD; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!” This leads into the second reason to praise God: because his will prevails. Verse 10: “The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; he frustrates the plans of the peoples. The counsel of the LORD stands forever, the plans of his heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!” The subtext of these words is that human beings rebel against God in blatant defiance, but no power can truly oppose God, the source of all authority. He is the King who rules over all living things, and yet there is one particular people whom he has chosen to be his inheritance, his treasured possession. In the biblical story, God blessed the children of Abraham and the nation of Israel so that they in turn would be a blessing to the nations. The praise that befits the upright, therefore, is a humility before the One who made us and an obedience to the will of the King. God is not a clock-maker who stands back from his creation; he infuses this world with his righteousness, justice, and love. As verse 5 summarizes, “The earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.”

We’re given one final reason why we should praise God: because of his all-seeing gaze. Verse 13: “The LORD looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man.” God knows what we do, but more importantly, he knows what is in our hearts. As one scholar comments, “He sits enthroned, but he is not distant.” In this set of verses, we have four verbs that describe God’s omniscience (“looks,” “sees,” “watches,” and “considers”), as well as three repetitions of the word “all.” There is no limit to divine omniscience, so how then should we live? For the psalmist, it’s summarized in one word: hope. Listen to it appear twice: “The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.” God is a righteous judge who is in control of all things, and so in any situation — from war to daily survival — our hope cannot be in our own strength or resources. No, our hope is in the gracious love of the LORD, his hesed, his loyal, covenant love for his people. It is with this sobering reminder that we move to the final verses, which are much more subdued and pensive than the psalm began: “Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in you.” These words describe the quality of our hope in God. We are to be patient, confident, glad, trusting, focused on the person and character of God. St. Augustine wrote, “Before the world came into being he saw us, made us, corrected us, sent to us, redeemed us. That is his plan, the plan that abides forever, this is the thought of his heart that endures from age to age.” As we meditate on the heart of God expressed in the works of God, we will at times loudly shout for joy and at other times simply wait in hope. Both are worthy expressions of deep confidence in the Creator King who reigns above it all.