STUDY THEME: CREATION SPEAKS: WHAT CREATION SAYS ABOUT THE CREATOR. “GOD RULES: PSALM 33: 6-17, 20-22.
PSALM 33: 6-9, 10-11, 12-15, 16-17, 18-22.
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO PSALM 33.
Today’s lesson logically follows last Sunday’s lesson. Psalm 33 is a festival hymn and calls the saints to praise God for who He is and what He does. The focus is on His work of creation and His faithful concern and provision for the people who confess Him as Lord.
If God is Creator, then God has the right to rule, in keeping with His loving character. If God has created everything then He has the right to control and has the authority to do so.
Yielding to God’s authority, or living in submission of God is the emphasis of this lesson. Resistance to God’s authority is not brave rebellion against a heavenly agent but a rebellion against a lovingly Heavenly Father. Rebellion against a great God and His authority is a sin against Love.
Contrary to the view of some people, God’s authority is fair, loving, and gracious. God is not an arbitrary ruler! He rules with intelligence and concern.!
All people should stand in awe before God, who created all things with His word. God thwarts the plans of those who do not live under His authority, and He accomplishes His own plans. God blesses the nation He has chosen and looks on all the people of the world. Substituting human resources of power for God’s power is foolish. Believers rejoice and trust in the God who is our help and hope.
The failure in the lives of many Christians is the unwillingness to translate a theological concept of the Sovereignty of God into practical application. Until this is done, the truth of God’s sovereignty remains only a theological concept, one contradicted by a lifestyle that refuses to submit to His just claims over all of life.
LET’S LOOK NOW AT THE DISPLAY OF GOD’S AUTHORITY.
PLEASE READ PSALM 33: 6-9.
Vs. 1-3 are a call to praise God with instrumental music. vs. 4 introduces the idea of God’s word. Vs. 5 affirms God’s righteousness, justice and goodness.
Building on the mention of God from vs. 4, vs. 6 focuses on divine creation by God’s word. This vs. 6 recalls God’s second and fourth day of creation. One theme of Gen. 1 is that God created by speaking the universe into being. Then God said, “Let there be…” and a new phase of creation came into being.
Here in Psalm 33 we read, “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made.” Drawing upon the language of Genesis, the psalmist stressed that everything in the skies above and even beyond came instantaneously into existence as God commanded them by the authoritative utterance of His word. This is affirmed in Heb. 11:3, “Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God.”
In vs. 6 stars refers to the vast host of luminaries that populate the universe. God’s creative word brought the sky into existence and made it better with the added sparkle of a host of stars. He used his power to make good even better.
In. vs 7 the psalm moves from the creation of the sky above to the structure of the water below. “Consider the mighty ocean. God keeps its turbulent waters under control with the ease with which a man pours water into a leathern bottle—a customary sight in the Orient.” The vast resources of water involved are to be thought of as laid up in store by Him in special places of deposit. He sets the boundaries for the oceans.
Genesis records that at first there was one vast ocean covering the whole earth and that God then divided its waters into many seas, allowing the dry land to appear.
How can mere mortals, in the face of such stupendous displays of power, respond in any other way than to tremble before the Lord? To tremble or fear is to respond appropriately to the God of limitless power---not so much in the sense of terror but in reverential worship and submission.
Not all people on the earth realize that everything is the product of an omnipotent and sovereign God. The psalmist therefore appealed to all to examine things for themselves so they can see that only God is a sufficient explanation for the created order he described in vs. 6-7.
Synonymous with trembling before the Lord is the posture of standing in awe of Him.
The present generation has largely become indifferent or even deliberately opposed to the notion of God’s awesomeness. Sadly this is true even in evangelical churches where God is perceived as a friend, a companion, a benefactor, or virtually anything but the sovereign King of the universe who in His character and through His works ought to inspire holy fear and the deepest reverential awe. This was the psalmist’s appeal, which is as relevant today as it was when he penned these words.
As though to drive home his admonition with unmistakable clarity and force, the poet again turned to the theme of creation in vs. 9. God spoke, and it came into being. The “it” refers to the universe, all that humanity can see and beyond. That which had never existed came into existence in response to His command. Theologians call the emergence of something out of nothing as “creation.” Humans can shape or form something, but only God can create.
Notice that inanimate objects such as stars and the seas submit willingly to the spoken word of God. Human beings created in His image should willingly submit to Him also. Sadly, this is rarely the case, and the psalmist felt compelled to offer exhortation after exhortation to God’s people to tremble and stand in awe of Him. To do so is to live in harmony with His purposes and to enjoy the blessings that inevitably follow. Failure to do so brings serious consequences.
This is a faith issue: God is King of the universe that He created, but He is unseen except to the eyes of faith. People of faith believe that God has revealed Himself in many ways, including in His creation. Believers says in Ps. 19:1, “The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament showeth His handiwork.”
Unbelievers, however, see the same universe but refuse to believe what they cannot see and prove by their own standards of proof. Some not only don’t believe but also seek to thwart God’s purposes. Evidence of this attitude, which is the opposite of submitting to God, is in vs. 10.
LETS LOOK NOW AT THE EXTENT OF GOD’S AUTHORITY.
PLEASE READ PSALM 33: 10-11.
The core of sin is the rejection of God and substituting our own authority for His. That is what Adam and Eve did. They yielded to the tempter’s subtle suggestion that they could become as gods. That basic sin is what Paul described in Romans 1: 19-21. Having deposed God from His throne in their hearts, people ignore Him and His will. Instead they make their own selfish and ungodly plans in defiance of God.
Vs. 10 refers to these plans as the counsel of the heathen and the devices of the people. Looked at from the perspective of forever, God “frustrates” or “brings to naught,” these ungodly claims to authority. This applies to the ungodly leaders of great movements and to the individual plans of anyone who sets aside God’s authority for his or her own.
Psalm 2 is a good parallel to Ps. 33: 10: “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against his anointed, saying in psalm 2: 2-3, “Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us.” The psalmist then described how God will break the rebellious and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
Rebelling against God would be like trying to sink the Rock of Gibraltar by ramming it with a wooden rowboat. The rock would remain unchanged, but the rowboat and its occupants would drown. The only plans that avoid regret are those that follow God’s guidance. Every decision apart from God creates its own victims. Plans without God always fail. To leave God out is to plan to fail. His authoritative rule is not a burden to be shunned but a blessing to be sought.
In contrast to the plans and schemes of people who reject God and His authority, “the counsel of the Lord standeth forever.” God’s kingdom will come and His will shall be done---in His own time and way. History is strewn with the wreckage of ungodly systems that defied the authority of God. Ungodly leaders ride high fro a time, but in the end they utterly fail.
Authority is not a popular word, especially when it is used of the authority someone has over us. It calls for submission to the one who has the authority. Resentment to authority is rooted in two things. One is the human desire to be free from any limitation on what we want to do.
This can lead to resistance even to legitimate authorities. Children resist the authority of their parents. People resist the authority of God.
The other reason for resenting authority is that those in places of authority often abuse and misuse their authority. We see this acted out on the stage of history and in personal experience and observation.
This perversion of authority is called authoritarianism, and it often results in exploitation. Governments have legitimate authority to ensure rights, but some governments deny rights. Parents have God-given authority to guide children from their dependence as children to become mature, responsible adults; but some parents provoke their children to wrath. Most of us have had bad experiences with someone who claimed authority over us. But we make a serious mistake if this leads us to reject God’s authority. God created all things---including human beings---by His word; we ought to stand in awe before the Lord.
PLEASE READ PSALM 33: 12-15.
Vs. 12 is a pivotal verse. It picks up previous thoughts and makes a summary statement. Happy is a condition of life that only comes when one is guided by God’s wisdom. When the Lord is in first place, a nation or person experiences the benefits of His creative wisdom. To ignore God’s direction is to place a nation or person at risk. Perhaps the most familiar line in Psalm 33 for many Christians is the one that declares: “Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord”
Proverbs 14:34 is the counterpart to this verse: “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.” The nation in Psalm 33: 12 is Israel, the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance. They were blessed and called to be a blessing to all nations of the earth. The Hebrew verb for chosen is never used in the O.T. with reference to any people other than Israel. Immediately following the exodus, this exclusive choice of Israel was made clear to Moses in Ex. 19: 4-6, and explained later when Moses said to the nation assembled in the plains of Moab in Deut 9:17that “the Lord your God has chosen you to be His own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.” The Psalmist said the same thing by referring to Israel as His own possession.
Although the primary referenced is to Israel as the chosen nation. God’s concern is for the
whole world, and to the whole world He gives His full attention. Any nation (or group or individual) that exalts the true God and lives according to His principles can expect His blessing. Psalm 9: 17 says the converse is also true: “The wicked will return to Sheol----all the nations that forget God.” God’s people are blessed because our God is the Lord of all the people in the world, Christians should be the examples of submission to God’s authority.
The thrust of vs. 13 is to reinforce the fact that God is all-seeing and all-knowing. The psalmist in these verses made extra effort to say that you can run but you can’t hide from God’s watching eye. He is everywhere at once and knows all that happens everywhere simultaneously.
God is acquainted with everything that goes on in His world. God not only sees what we do, but He also sees why we do it. He has all the facts, therefore, He stands as the only one qualified to judge our actions.
As the original heart designer, God is also the only heart knower. He considers all their works, meaning God never misreads our actions. With this in mind, the psalmist makes us understand that all we do must face His evaluation. In the end it is God’s evaluation that counts.
4. PLEASE READ PSALM 33: 16-17.
These verses run counter to traditional wisdom that measures by earthly standards.
Powerful people tend to be self-reliant or at least reliant on resources they can command. They are most inclined to ignore God, to consider Him irrelevant, and unnecessary in what they hope to achieve. Thus a King thinks that he has adequate protection if he can marshal a large army. This is delusional, for though it might appear to the king and to his enemies that he has prevailed because of military prowess, in reality only God can save him. The Lord gives victory, despite appearances to the contrary.
The same is true of the ordinary warrior. No matter how well trained and efficiently equipped he might be, his strength will not deliver him. Should he survive, it is because of God’s providence.
Although God is not mentioned in vs. 16-17, He is clearly present. The point is that success in any human endeavor must, in the final analysis, be attributed to God and not to humans.
The Bible states, “A mighty man is not delivered by much strength.” By the world’s standards, David had no chance to defeat Goliath: And again, a horse is a vain thing for safety. The ancient people were awed by the strength of horses. Mounted cavalry and chariots were fearful instruments of war. But the Bible is filled with examples of God giving victory to smaller armies or weaker men. Pharaoh’s army met death in their chariots being drawn by swift horses. The army’s initial charge quickly turned into an attempted escape. The Israelites on foot were safe, while Pharaoh’s army and his swift horses drowned. Pharaoh learned too late the psalmist’s lesson of misplaced trust.
We repeat again, “resistance to God’s authority is not brave rebellion against a heavenly tyrant but rebellion against heavenly Father. Rebellion against God and His authority is a sin against LOVE.”
All of our powers, whether a large army, brute strength, or a strong horse cannot provide the security that God can provide. It is not what a person has that brings security but who has that person. Only under God’s authority can a person be delivered.
As in the case with the army of the king, victory is achieved or defeat permitted only by the Lord. As Master of history and all its events, He is in control and will bring about His own desired ends.
WE LOOK NOW AT THE EFFECTS OF GOD’S AUTHORITY.
5. PLEASE READ PSALM 33: 20-22.
Psalm 33 starts with a command to praise and ends with a prayer. Recognizing God’s authority influences dramatically the way God’s people live. This does not mean that certain actions bring salvation, but salvation brings certain actions. These verses are a summary that describes three actions lived out in the lives of those who live under God’s authority.
Dependence on God shows itself in three activities outlined by the psalmist. The first may be the most difficult. It is to wait for the Lord. None of us enjoy waiting. We want to reach our destination with the least delay possible. We sometimes become frustrated or even angry while waiting for the Lord.
Waiting requires patient trust. Pushed by our feelings, we often run ahead of God only to create places of pain. Sarah in Gen. 16 is one who tried to force her solution to God’s situation. It didn’t work then, and it doesn’t work now. God develops our character as we wait for His instructions instead of moving out on our own. He knows what is the right action at the right time. Waiting for God produces not only Godly character but also the appropriate response.
One of the disciplines of the Christian life to be most cultivated is the ability to wait for God as He brings about His perfect plan for us.
In Psalm 33: 20 the one who waits gets to know the Lord he or she is waiting for. In this way, waiting for God is always worth the wait.
The waiting room becomes God’s disclosure of His help and shield. The word help means a ready resource while shield carries the meaning of protection. Waiting for God means to hope in God’s help to supply the emotional strength to keep going. It also means securing His defense against wrong responses. One only receives God’s help and shield as he or she waits.
Here is knowledge that comes through experience. There is a disclosure of God ‘s presence in the waiting room that is on y understood by those who have had the faith to wait. When God is all you have, you will find God is all you need. This is a truth to be sung about, but more importantly, it is to be acted on. Only the Lord can deliver us from the perils of life.
A second activity of those living under God’s authority is to rejoice in the Lord. Anyone can rejoice in good times, but only genuine believers find reasons to rejoice at any time. It is proper to rejoice in praise to fulfill promises, but it is a matter of trust to rejoice while waiting for a promise to be fulfilled.
Rejoicing is an activity of believer’s hearts. Rejoicing causes a believer to stand firm in a crisis and then rejoice after the crisis because he or she stood firm. The wellspring of a rejoicing heart is God’s unchanging character, meaning His holy name. Trust inspires bold rejoicing even when one does not feel bold. It holds on to God even in the darkest moments with the trusting expectancy that He will always live up to His promises. When rejoicing is not an overflow, it can still be a heartfelt outflow because it is based on trust. Paul, and Silas sang a rejoicing song in the middle of misunderstanding and mistreatments in Acts 16:25-34. There is no situation in life for which there is not a corresponding solution in the nature of God.
A third act of dependent believers is hopeful praying for God’s loving action. It is significant that the final verse of Psalm 33 is a singing prayer. God’s faithful love is one of the key terms in the Book of Psalms The Hebrew word for faithful love is “chesed.” It is the covenant love originating with God, an attribute that leads to action. It is a steadfast love that focuses on the needs of the receiver.
God, the ultimate Giver, comes to the need of the receiver even when undeserved. Throughout the history of the Israelite people, their cry for help triggered the ready response of God’s chesed or faithful love. Whatever their need, God’s love came to the rescue. David is a good example of one who received God’s love. The mark of his life was not that it was without problems, but that it had the distinguishing presence of God’s love. He sang in Ps. 23: 6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of he Lord forever.”
This magnificent psalm of praise asks for God’s faithful love to rest on those who offer the prayer. This verb of rest is not a come-and-go experience, but one that comes and stays. The askers are aware of the need for strength beyond themselves to face challenging times. Their hope for the future is not based on themselves but on the Lord of heaven and earth.
Their trust in vs. 21 and their hope in vs. 22 complement each other and together provide a pattern for genuine Christian expectation while waiting.
OUR THANKSGIVING LESSON NOV. 21 FROM PSALM 65: 1-13 COMMANDS US TO “BE THANKFUL.” A.V. DAUGHERTY <altav@swbell.net>