Psalms 33:1

Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright... For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord. By the word of the Lord the heavens were made... Let all the earth fear the Lord... The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing... Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord... The king is not saved by his great army... Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love... Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield... Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. (Psalm 33, ESV)

When the whole world feels like chaos, Psalm 33 reminds us who is providentially holding it together — and that He sees you.

Missing the Big Picture

There's a well-known camping story about Sherlock Holmes and his faithful friend Watson. Out in the mountains, Holmes wakes Watson in the night and asks, "Look up at the sky and tell me what you see." Watson replies that he sees millions of stars, and proceeds to explain what they tell him astronomically, astrologically, horologically, theologically, and meteorologically. "Theologically," he says, "I can see that God is all powerful and that we are small and insignificant." Then he asks, "What does it tell you, Holmes?" Holmes is silent, then answers: "Watson, you idiot, someone has stolen our tent."

We can sound very sophisticated, experts in all the theologies, and yet miss what is right in front of us. I think many of us today have missed the big picture. We have experts in every field trying to tell us how to get out of the mess we're in — how to think, respond, and act — yet they've failed to see that the tent is gone. They've missed the ultimate question: who is providentially in control of what's happening in our world today?

A Fragile Humanity

To say 2020 has been a chaotic year would be an understatement. And yet here I am, looking forward to the birth of my first child this month. In my plans, would I choose to bring a child into the world in the middle of a pandemic? Ideally, no. But it is a blessing, and it is in God's providence and plan that it's happening.

We've discovered just how fragile humanity is. People are coping with the stress and tension of our time in different ways — the top four being drug use, alcoholism, sex, and spending money. I see it everywhere; my UPS-driver friend at my second job is working ten-hour days delivering packages. But drugs, alcohol, and sex are ways people try to cover up the pain they feel inside, and that is not a good way to cover it.

The CDC recently released a poll with staggering statistics. Forty percent of U.S. adults reported struggling with mental health or depression; thirty-one percent reported anxiety and depression related to the COVID pandemic; twenty-six percent had trauma or stress-related symptoms; thirteen percent increased their substance abuse; and eleven percent had considered suicide within the last thirty days. Most of those considering suicide were young adults, ages eighteen to twenty-four, with sixty-two percent of that age group reporting higher anxiety and depression. It is affecting everyone. We have a problem, and there must be a solution.

Nothing New Under the Sun

I'm convinced this is a spiritual battle we're in the middle of, and as the writer of Ecclesiastes says, nothing is new under the sun. As a fan of church history, whenever something significant is happening in the church now, I like to look back and ask: has something like this happened before, and how did God use it for His kingdom? Many times throughout history both the church and the secular world have thought the end of the world was near. And yet here we are, two thousand years from the ascension of Christ.

Listen to what John Wesley wrote in 1755. It sounds like it could have been written today:

Thinking men generally believe that the greater part of modern Christians are not more virtuous than ancient heathens... covetousness, ambition, various injustice, luxury, and falsehood of every kind have infected every rank and denomination of people, the clergy themselves not excepted... How many hundreds of thousands of men have been swept away by war in Europe only within half a century? How many thousands... had the earth opened her mouth and swallowed up?

Wesley was responding to an event on Saturday, November 1, 1755 — the religious holiday of All Saints' Day. One of the deadliest earthquakes ever recorded struck with its epicenter at Lisbon, Portugal. It lasted about six minutes and opened sixteen-foot fissures through the city center. Survivors rushed to the port where they seemed safe, but in forty minutes the water receded, leaving mud and exposed shipwrecks. They didn't realize this was a sure sign of a tsunami. Thirty minutes later the water came crashing back. Some thirty to forty thousand people perished in that one city in a single day.

The devastation didn't stop there. Because so many candles were lit for the holiday, they were knocked over and created a firestorm that consumed the rest of the city. People were even caught looting and setting more fires. The Portuguese army had to be sent in, setting up gallows where about thirty people were publicly executed. Has humanity really changed? Is there anything new under the sun? Yet out of that chaos came a fresh openness to God, and a revival led by Charles and John Wesley brought many souls to a saving knowledge of Christ.

The Opposite of Depression

Every time the church has been confronted with a spiritual battle, there has been a great revival, because God softens hearts. There is pain here that the world cannot answer — questions that cannot be answered by social or racial justice. You have to go back to God.

Polls show many people are depressed. Let me ask: what is the opposite of depression? I don't think it's happiness. I think the opposite of depression is purpose. Many people today have lost their sense of purpose. We've forgotten who we are, and we've lost our tent.

Psalm 33 is a good starting place, because it is rich in theology. It paints a picture of a God who spoke and the world was created, who told the stars where to go and named them all, who created every plant and animal, who separated land from sea. And this same God created you — specifically, intentionally, with all the little intricacies that make you, you. He understands you better than anyone. He says His plans cannot be thwarted, and He gives you purpose and meaning in good times and in total chaos. Here we find a God who is both Creator and sovereign over human history.

Created to Worship

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.

The righteous are exhorted to praise God. Just as God intentionally created humanity in His likeness, we are intentionally created to worship. We are beings of worship. I shouldn't have to convince you of this, because whatever you care about most is where you spend your time, talents, and assets. We will all worship something.

Here's what God reminds us: when His people begin to worship anything other than God, they will ultimately become less cheerful, less joyful, and more depressed. We lose our sense of purpose. We're commanded to praise God corporately and individually, even when no one is watching. And we're declared righteous not by our actions or ability, but through Christ who died for us, that we might inherit the righteousness of God.

It's important to note that God appreciates your praise — He says praise benefits the upright. The upright person is one without deception, full of integrity. How many such people can you name today? The only way we get more upright people is by having more people surrender their lives to the plans and purposes of God.

Providence: God Is One Step Ahead

For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

We're called to praise God because of His excellent character. This brings us to point number one: all of the Lord's work in creation and history — none of it happened outside the providence of God. There are no anomalies in God's universe except what sin has made.

What is providence? I think of Proverbs 16:9: while we make plans, the Lord determines our steps. God's providence is always one step ahead of us. The best scriptural example is Joseph — sold as a slave by his own brothers, rising through the ranks in Egypt, accused of something he didn't do, thrown in jail, only to be in just the right place at just the right time to become the Pharaoh's right-hand man. Providentially, God positioned Joseph to save the world from a devastating seven-year famine, and to save his own family. All the works of the Lord are done in faithfulness.

Truth, Love, and the Silencing of Standards

Notice the cluster of God's attributes: righteousness, justice, love, faithfulness, truth. Our culture today is fixated on one of these — justice. But we cannot have real justice without righteousness, truth, and love. We want justice but throw out the rest, and this is where God is trying to teach us something.

Truth is the most powerful weapon in the world, and God says He is truth. Love is the most supreme ethic. In God we find both — the most powerful weapon and the most supreme ethic together. The greatest challenge facing the church is that we must be upholders of truth in a world that has so devalued truth that anyone can have "their own truth." As the body of Christ, we have the Word, the truth, and the love of God; we must uphold these things, have an apologetic for our faith, and live it out for the world to see.

G.K. Chesterton said it well: "When a man stops believing in God, it doesn't mean that he then believes in nothing. It means that he can then believe in anything." We're seeing a rise in what many call the "nones" — people who have disassociated themselves from any religion or God. The danger is that when a generation stops believing in God, anything goes; there is no longer any moral high ground or low ground.

In the garden, God had one rule: do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There was a reason behind that rule. God was warning that if we ate of it, we would try to define good and evil for ourselves. God is saying: I am the definer of good and evil, not you. We cannot come in as fallen humans and decide what is true and good. God is truth; He loves righteousness, justice, and mercy.

Sovereign Over Creation and Nations

By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host... Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him! For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.

We praise God for His sovereignty over creation. We should have reverence for the One who brought order out of chaos, who separated land and sea, who formed the world out of nothing. Here we also find a reference to the triune nature of God — the word and the breath, His Spirit.

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!

Between verses 9 and 10 we move from praising God in creation to praising God for His control over human history. The same God in control of creation is in control of the nations — and that should encourage you.

This is point number two: creation rests upon God's divine word; history rests upon God's divine plan. When have human plans ever lasted for generations? Our Constitution was created to be amended and changed. But the Word of God never changes; His plans and purposes have never changed from the beginning. The same power that brought the universe into existence now holds it together. God overrules evil and brings good out of it.

Blessing, Judgment, and a Silenced Conscience

We learn there is national blessing when we worship God. But when we turn from Him and His ways, we must expect chaos, destruction, and judgment. Romans 1:18 says plainly that the wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Would you agree the truth is being suppressed today? Where can you turn and be confident that what you hear or read is actually true? As Billy Graham said, "If the Lord doesn't judge America, He would have to apologize for Sodom and Gomorrah." Throughout the Old Testament we see the same cycle: God's people follow Him and are blessed, then turn away and experience His judgment.

The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man... he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. 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.

The God we worship is omnipotent and omniscient — all powerful and all knowing — and this same God cares for His people. This is cause for great praise: the God who fashions the hearts of kings also fashions the hearts of beggars.

Eight months ago, my wife Grace and I learned she was pregnant. At our first ultrasound, only six weeks in, I could see and hear my child's heartbeat. That changes a person. I have no control over the creation of that child's heart — God is in control of all of it. God fashioned the hearts of everyone and made us in His own likeness and image.

The God of the Individual

This is point number three: God is not just the God of the cosmos, but the God of the individual. He doesn't merely rule from a distant throne; He is providentially in control of everything, and He has a plan for your life.

I remember flying to Africa, looking down from 30,000 feet at night over the United States. All I could see was darkness, then cities coming into focus, little flickers of light where people were driving on the roads. It made me realize how many people are in this world. From my vantage point I could see only specks. From God's vantage point, He sees a heart in every one of those people, each one fashioned intentionally.

God has a plan for you. He sees each person individually and created you in His image. Nothing else can give you value like being made in the image of God — it's the greatest compliment He could give you. He also gave you the right and privilege of free will, though all our choices have consequences.

God seeing and understanding everything should encourage the believer, because He sees you right where you are. When you're home in the pandemic and feel lonely, know that God sees you. He understands your hurt, your emotions, what pushes your buttons, everything in your heart, because He intentionally created you and placed you where you are for a reason. It is no mistake that today breath fills your lungs, that you are alive in 2020 during a pandemic. What joy to know that the God of the universe, whose plans cannot be stopped, placed me into His plan.

The Remains of God's Image

This truth is the greatest encouragement to the believer and the greatest terror to those who don't believe — because if there is a God who sees everything, then He sees all they have done. That is why many people feel guilty.

Andrew Murray wrote something that struck a chord with me:

God's highest glory is His holiness, in virtue of which He hates and destroys the evil, loves and works the good. In man, conscience has the same work. It condemns sin and approves the right. Conscience is the remains of God's image in man... the guardian of God's honor amid the ruin of the fall. As a consequence, God's work of redemption must always begin with the conscience.

The conscience makes us feel guilty for disobedience to God's law. God gives it so we don't continually destroy our soul. Yet perhaps the scariest thing I see today is the silence of the conscience in our generation. We have essentially silenced it nationally. We allow millions of babies to be aborted every year; we allow so much wickedness, much of it because we've silenced the conscience inside us.

When we fully surrender to God, He opens the conscience and lets His heart beat inside us. We begin to see other sinners as He sees them — with love and mercy — and we act with patience and integrity. We grieve over sin and repent of it. But our culture says you shouldn't be held accountable for your decisions. The conscience, however, will hold you accountable whether the government does or not, and ultimately it tears you apart — which is why God offers freedom and salvation. It shouldn't surprise us that the conscience has been silenced before. In Hitler's own words, inscribed over the gas chambers at Auschwitz, he wanted to raise "a generation of young people devoid of a conscience, imperious, relentless, and cruel."

Truth and Hope: The Eye of the Lord

What we have in this psalm is a message of truth and hope. We should be grounded in truth, and our hope should remain only in Christ.

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. 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.

This is the third time in the psalm that God says He sees you — from His throne He sees the nations, He sees the workings of people, and the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him. God is merciful, and His plans never fail. No matter how chaotic your life is right now, if you have surrendered to Him you are part of His unstoppable plan. He gives us purpose: to go out and share this gospel with everyone who is hurting, depressed, lonely, and in need of hope.

"God is our help and our shield" points back to the Exodus. When Israel reached the Red Sea with Pharaoh's army chasing them, Moses trusted God, put his staff in the water, and God parted the sea. His people crossed on dry ground — not mud, not slush, but dry ground. When the enemy chased after them, the waters came crashing down. The war horse could not save them; the mighty warrior's strength could not save him. We serve a God who can save us from our sins, from eternal destruction and separation from Him.

Come to Me

The psalm ends with an important prayer, because we need to acknowledge our need for God's help and protection in every aspect of life. We receive the Lord's mercy when we enter into a covenant relationship with Him. Romans 10:9 says, "If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." And in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."

It is as simple as that — declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead. Come to Him with whatever burden, stress, depression, or anxiety weighs on your shoulders, and He will lift it. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us — so you don't need to become righteous before you come to Christ. Whatever mistakes you've made, God says, "I'm going to wash that all away. My Son has paid the price." His body on the cross and His blood poured out paid for all your sin. There is no sin too great for you to come to God.

So I beg you to consider this today. We are sinners, but God is our Savior. He has adopted us as sons and daughters, which guarantees our inheritance of eternal life with Him. I'll close with this from St. Augustine: "Trust the past to God's mercy, the present to God's love, and the future to God's providence."

Closing Prayer

Lord, I pray as Your psalm writes: let Your steadfast love and mercy be upon us, even as we hope in You. Lord, we hope in You today. Forgive any of us who have forgotten to hope in You, who have turned our hope into something in this world, who have looked for some other way to cover up the pain we feel inside. We turn to You and ask that You would take our burdens. We repent of our sins, and we want to follow You, Lord — would You help us follow You all the way to heaven, until we see You face to face. We pray all these things in Jesus' name. Amen.