Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Psalms 33:4

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Psalms 33:4. The word of the Lord is right — He is infinitely wise, and can make no mistakes; and all his works are done in truth. All the words, laws, promises, and threatenings of God are perfectly true and just. The dispensations of his providence and mercy are equally so. When he rewards or punishes, it is according to truth and justice.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary

Psalms 33:0 Rejoicing in God

Israel’s musicians and singers are called to unite in joyous praise to God (1-3). He is worthy of people’s praise because of his faithfulness, seen in all his righteous works (4-5); because of his power, seen in creation and in his irresistible word (6-9); and because of his sovereign control, seen in the history of world events (10-12). God, being perfect in knowledge, sees the uselessness of all those achievements in which people put their trust (13-17).
Above all, God is worthy of people’s praise because of the salvation he gives to those who fear him. He gives them life, protection and provision (18-19). All who humbly trust in his mercy will find that their lives develop new qualities of patience, confidence and joy (20-22).

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

THE PRAISEWORTHINESS OF GOD

Psalms 33:4-11 develop this thought from a number of viewpoints:

"For the word of Jehovah is right; And all his work is done in faithfulness. He loveth righteousness and justice: The earth is full of the lovingkindness of Jehovah."

In these verses, the praiseworthiness of God is based upon, "His being the God of revelation in the kingdom of Grace."F. Delitzsch, Vol. V, p. 402. A number of the moral attributes of God are listed here, such as uprightness, faithfulness, justice and lovingkindness.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

For the word of the Lord is right - The command; the law; the promise of God. Whatever he “says” is right; or, is true. It is worthy of universal belief; and should, therefore, be a reason for praise. The fact that God says a thing is the highest proof that it is true.

And all his works are done in truth - Or rather, “in faithfulness.” That is, All that he does is executed faithfully. He does all that he promises, and all that he does is such as to claim universal confidence. Whatever he does is, from the very fact that He does it, worthy of the confidence of all his creatures. None, however they may be affected by what he does, have any reason to doubt that it is perfectly right. God is the only Being of whom we have any knowledge, concerning whom we can feel this certain assurance.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

4.For the word of Jehovah is right. As I have just remarked, the Psalmist first sets forth God’s general providence by which he governs the whole world; and he tells us that he so exerts his power in the whole course of his operations, that the most perfect equity and faithfulness shine forth everywhere. Some will have the terms word and work to be synonymous; but I think there is a distinction, and that word means the same thing as counsel or ordinance, while work signifies the effect or execution of his counsel. I grant that here the same subject is repeated in different words, as is the case in other places; but a slight variation will be found in such repetitions, that the same thing may he expressed in various ways. The amount of what is stated is, that whatever God appoints and commands is right; and whatever he brings to pass in actual operation is faithful and true. Meanwhile, it ought to be observed, that the term word is not to be understood of doctrine, but of the method by which God governs the world.

Smith's Bible Commentary

Psalms 33:1-22

Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely [or beautiful] for the upright ( Psalms 33:1 ).

Now, this is something that you might not be able to do as you read it.

Praise the LORD with a harp: sing unto him with a psaltery ( Psalms 33:2 )

Another instrument in those days.

and an instrument of ten strings ( Psalms 33:2 ).

Actually, David was quite a musician. These were all written to be sung. And he invented many instruments. David was actually an inventor of instruments. And so he had some instruments that he had made with strings, and he was a skillful player on the harp himself, and he was called the beautiful psalmist of Israel.

Sing unto him a new song; and play skillfully with a loud noise ( Psalms 33:3 ).

And that is the motto of our Maranatha groups.

For the word of the LORD is right; and all of his works are done in truth. He loves righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD ( Psalms 33:4-5 ).

If you will look around you can find the goodness of God that has been extended to us in so many ways.

Now he speaks of the power of God's word.

By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all of the host of them by the breath of his mouth. He gathered the waters of the sea together as a heap: he laid up the depth in storehouses. Let all the earth reverence the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. For he spake and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast ( Psalms 33:6-9 ).

I was up at the conference center last weekend with a lot of the fellows, and we had just a beautiful night up there. And after the service I took a walk out through the woods, just the Lord and I. I could see the Pleiades, because it was getting close to midnight and the winter constellations are starting now. If you wait until after midnight you can see the Pleiades, and Taurus and Orion, and of course, right above head was Corona. And I was looking up, and of course, you can still see up there the Milky Way. And looking up into the skies I thought of this verse, "For the word of the Lord is right. His works are done in truth, and by the word of the Lord were the heavens made." Created by His word. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. And God said, "Let there be light holders, the stars, the sun," and it was so. And I got to thinking of the power of God's word. "He spake and it was done." And then he said, "Let the earth stand in awe of Him." And I will tell you, when you look at those skies up there, you stand in awe of God. Oh, how great is the power of His word.

The LORD brings the counsel of the heathen to nothing: he makes the devices of the people of none effect. For the counsel of the LORD stands for ever, and the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah; and the people whom he hath chosen as his own inheritance ( Psalms 33:10-12 ).

Oh, how blessed is that nation who will honor God and who will serve God, and who will put God at the heart of their national life. Blessed, happy is the nation whose God is Jehovah. Not whose God is materialism, but whose God is Jehovah. And you look at the nations that have honored God, and put God at the heart of the nations, and you'll see nations that have been blessed. I think of our forefathers and the founding of our nation, and I would recommend to you the book, "The Light and the Glory," which brings out some interesting facets of the history of the United States that you don't find in your usual textbooks. Gives you a little insight on the spiritual foundations of our nation. Putting on the coinage, "In God We Trust." Placing within the Pledge of Allegiance, "One nation, under God." Oh blessed, happy is the nation whose God is Jehovah.

"And those people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance," that is you. You are God's inheritance. Oh, that you might know what is the hope of His calling and the riches of His inheritance in the saints.

The LORD looks from heaven; and behold all the sons of men ( Psalms 33:13 ).

Now, God is watching you. That can be very comforting; it also can be very terrifying. It all depends on what you are doing. "The Lord looks from heaven; He beholds the sons of men."

From the place of his habitation he looks upon all of the inhabitants of earth. He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considers all their work. There is no king that is saved by the multitude of a host: a mighty man is not delivered by his great strength. A horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon those that reverence him, upon those that hope in his mercy; To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD: he is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee ( Psalms 33:14-22 ). "

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Psalms 33

This psalm calls the godly to praise Yahweh for His dependable Word and His righteous works, specifically His creative activities in nature and human history. The psalmist also assured the readers that He will be faithful to those who trust in Him.

"If the purest form of a hymn is praise to God for what He is and does, this is a fine example. The body of the psalm is occupied with the Lord as Creator, Sovereign, Judge and Saviour, while the beginning and end express two elements of worship: an offering of praise, doing honour to so great a King, and a declaration of trust, made in humble expectation." [Note: Kidner, p. 136.]

The Hebrew text does not identify the writer of this psalm, though the Septuagint translators believed he was David. Perhaps they concluded this because other psalms that David composed surround this one (cf. Psalms 72:20). The occasion of writing appears to have been a national victory.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Two qualities of God that the writer stressed in this second section of the psalm are that Yahweh is dependable and righteous. We can rely on everything He says and does, and He does what is right in loyal love for His people.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

2. Reasons to praise the Lord 33:4-19

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

For the word of the Lord [is] right,.... The revealed word of God: the law of God is right; its precepts are holy, just, and good; its sanction or penalty is righteous; it is impartial unto all; it is just in condemning the wicked, and in acquitting believers on the account of Christ's perfect righteousness, by which it is magnified and made honourable: the Gospel part of the word is right; it publishes right and good things; it directs to the right way, to heaven and happiness; it makes men right when it works effectually in them; it engages them to walk in right ways; and its doctrines are right or plain to them that have a spiritual understanding given them; and all this is matter of joy and praise;

and all his works [are done] in truth; his works of creation are done in the truth of things, with the utmost exactness and accuracy, and are a wonderful display of his power, wisdom, and goodness: his works of providence are according to the counsel of his own will, and are done in the wisest and best manner; and his work of redemption is a proof of his veracity and faithfulness to his covenant oath and promise; and his work of grace upon the hearts of his people is truth in the inward parts; and which, as he has promised to carry on and finish, he is faithful and will do it; in short, his way of acting both towards the godly and ungodly agrees with his promises to the one and his threatenings to the other, and so is in truth; and the whole of this is a reason why the saints should praise the Lord.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

      1 Rejoice in the LORD, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.   2 Praise the LORD with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings.   3 Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.   4 For the word of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth.   5 He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.   6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.   7 He gathereth the waters of the sea together as a heap: he layeth up the depth in storehouses.   8 Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.   9 For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast.   10 The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.   11 The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

      Four things the psalmist expresses in these verses:

      I. The great desire he had that God might be praised. He did not think he did it so well himself, but that he wished others also might be employed in this work; the more the better, in this concert: it is the more like heaven. 1. Holy joy is the heart and soul of praise, and that is here pressed upon all good people (Psalms 33:1; Psalms 33:1): Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous; so the foregoing psalm concluded and so this begins; for all our religious exercises should both begin and end with a holy complacency and triumph in God as the best of being and best of friends. 2. Thankful praise is the breath and language of holy joy; and that also is here required of us (Psalms 33:2; Psalms 33:2): "Praise the Lord; speak well of him, and give him the glory due to his name." 3. Religious songs are the proper expressions of thankful praise; those are here required (Psalms 33:3; Psalms 33:3): "Sing unto him a new song, the best you have, not that which by frequent use is worn, thread-bare, but that which, being new, is most likely to move the affections, a new song for new mercies and upon every new occasion, for those compassions which are new every morning." Music was then used, by the appointment of David, with the temple-songs, that they might be the better sung; and this also is here called for (Psalms 33:2; Psalms 33:2): Sing unto him with the psaltery. Here is, (1.) A good rule for this duty: "Do it skilfully, and with a loud noise; let it have the best both of head and heart; let it be done intelligently and with a clear head, affectionately and with a warm heart." (2.) A good reason for this duty: For praise is comely for the upright. It is well pleasing to God (the garments of praise add much to the comeliness which God puts upon his people) and it is an excellent ornament to our profession. It becomes the upright, whom God has put so much honour upon, to give honour to him. The upright praise God in a comely manner, for they praise him with their hearts, that is praising him with their glory; whereas the praises of hypocrites are awkward and uncomely, like a parable in the mouth of fools,Proverbs 26:7.

      II. The high thoughts he had of God, and of his infinite perfections, Psalms 33:4; Psalms 33:5. God makes himself known to us, 1. In his word, here put for all divine revelation, all that which God at sundry times and in divers manners spoke to the children of men, and that is all right, there is nothing amiss in it; his commands exactly agree with the rules of equity and the eternal reasons of good and evil. His promises are all wise and good and inviolably sure, and there is no iniquity in his threatenings, but even those are designed for our good, by deterring us from evil. God's word is right, and therefore all our deviations from it are wrong, and we are then in the right when we agree with it. 2. In his works, and those are all done in truth, all according to his counsels, which are called the scriptures of truth,Daniel 10:21. The copy in all God's works agrees exactly with the great original, the plan laid in the Eternal Mind, and varies not in the least jot. God has made it to appear in his works, (1.) That he is a God of inflexible justice: He loveth righteousness and judgment. There is nothing but righteousness in the sentence he passes and judgment in the execution of it. He never did nor can do wrong to any of his creatures, but is always ready to give redress to those that are wronged, and does it with delight. He takes pleasure in those that are righteous. He is himself the righteous Lord, and therefore loveth righteousness. (2.) That he is a God of inexhaustible bounty: The earth is full of his goodness, that is, of the proofs and instances of it. The benign influences which the earth receives from above, and the fruits it is thereby enabled to produce, the provision that is made both for man and beast, and the common blessings with which all the nations of the earth are blessed, plainly declare that the earth is full of his goodness--the darkest, the coldest, the hottest, and the most dry and desert part of it not excepted. What a pity is it that this earth, which is so full of God's goodness, should be so empty of his praises, and that of the multitudes that live upon his bounty there are so few that live to his glory!

      III. The conviction he was under of the almighty power of God, evidenced in the creation of the world. We "believe in God," and therefore we praise him as "the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth," so we are here taught to praise him. Observe,

      1. How God made the world, and brought all things into being. (1.) How easily: All things were made by the word of the Lord and by the breath of his mouth. Christ is the Word, the Spirit is the breath, so that God the Father made the world, as he rules it and redeems it, by his Son and Spirit. He spoke, and he commanded (Psalms 33:9; Psalms 33:9), and that was enough; there needed no more. With men saying and doing are two things, but it is not so with God. By the Word and Spirit of God as the world was made, so was man, that little world. God said, Let us make man, and he breathed into him the breath of life. By the Word and Spirit the church is built, that new world, and grace wrought in the soul, that new man, that new creation. What cannot that power do which with a word made a world! (2.) How effectually it was done: And it stood fast. What God does he does to purpose; he does it and it stands fast. Whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever,Ecclesiastes 3:14. It is by virtue of that command to stand fast that things continue to this day according to God's ordinance,Psalms 119:91.

      2. What he made. He made all things, but notice is here taken, (1.) of the heavens, and the host of them,Psalms 33:6; Psalms 33:6. The visible heavens, and the sun, moon, and stars, their hosts-- (2.) Of the waters, and the treasures of them, Psalms 33:7; Psalms 33:7. The earth was at first covered with the water, and, being heavier, must of course subside and sink under it; but, to show from the very first that the God of nature is not tied to the ordinary method of nature, and the usual operations of his powers, with a word's speaking he gathered the waters together on a heap, that the dry land might appear, yet left them not to continue on a heap, but laid up the depth in store-houses, not only in the flats where the seas make their beds, and in which they are locked up by the sand on the shore as in storehouses, but in secret subterraneous caverns, where they are hidden from the eyes of all living, but were reserved as in a store-house for that day when those fountains of the great deep were to be broken up; and they are still laid up there in store, for which use the great Master of the house knows best.

      3. What use is to be made of this (Psalms 33:8; Psalms 33:8): Let all the earth fear the Lord, and stand in awe of him; that is, let all the children of men worship him and give glory to him, Psalms 95:5; Psalms 95:6. The everlasting gospel gives this as the reason why we must worship God, because he made the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, Revelation 14:6; Revelation 14:7. Let us all fear him, that is, dread his wrath and displeasure, and be afraid of having him our enemy and of standing it out against him. Let us not dare to offend him who having this power no doubt has all power in his hand. It is dangerous being at war with him who has the host of heaven for his armies and the depths of the sea for his magazines, and therefore it is wisdom to desire conditions of peace, see Jeremiah 5:22.

      IV. The satisfaction he had of God's sovereignty and dominion, Psalms 33:10; Psalms 33:11. He over-rules all the counsels of men, and makes them, contrary to their intention, serviceable to his counsels. Come and see with an eye of faith God in the throne, 1. Frustrating the devices of his enemies: He bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought, so that what they imagine against him and his kingdom proves a vain thing (Psalms 2:1); the counsel of Ahithophel is turned into foolishness; Haman's plot is baffled. Though the design be laid ever so deep, and the hopes raised upon it ever so high, yet, if God says it shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass; it is all to no purpose. 2. Fulfilling his own decrees: The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever. It is immutable in itself, for he is in one mind, and who can turn him? The execution of it may be opposed, but cannot in the least be obstructed by any created power. Through all the revolutions of time God never changed his measures, but in every event, even that which to us is most surprising, the eternal counsel of God is fulfilled, nor can any thing prevent its being accomplished in its time. With what pleasure to ourselves may we in singing this give praise to God! How easy may this thought make us at all times, that God governs the world, that he did it in infinite wisdom before we were born, and will do it when we are silent in the dust!