Psalm 33 – Blessed is the Nation whose God is the Lord
By Bunni Pounds
*This blog is part of our weekly, virtual Bible Study through the book of Psalms. For information on how to participate, please visit this page.
When the foundations of our nation and the nations of the world seem to be unraveling – God calls us, as believers in Himself, to look higher and see the eternal nation that He is building.
This eternal nation is a place where the “word of the Lord is right and all His work is done in truth” and where “He loves righteousness and justice.” (verses 2 and 3). In our current times – we do not see this promise in reality but “the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord” is still truth, and it will be manifest in all its fullness soon – when the new heaven and the new earth comes.
There has been much talk recently in the Body of Christ about the remnant and the true church. That talk will probably not die down because as the dark gets darker – the light will get brighter. There will be a greater separation of the sheep and the goats and a shifting in the Body of Christ; but even in the middle of all of the uncomfortableness – God gives us a command here in Psalm 33 – “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful.” (verse 1)
“Let all the earth fear the Lord: Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done: He commanded, and it stood fast.
The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect. 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 He has chosen as His own inheritance.” (verses 8-12)
Great hope fills my heart when I read this passage because God is so POWERFUL. His counsel is transformative and will not fade away. His plans for the earth and individual nations cannot be shifted regardless of what the national leaders do. This truth should give us all much hope and peace that ultimately God is in control and that His plans will stand.
God sees what is going on upon the earth in two ways – He sees the big picture of the nations and He sees the individual stories of our lives. He cares about both.
There are collective stories of nations and how they impact history for the glory of God. God cares about the systems of government and the individual people that are affected.
For instance – God has used the United States to impact the nations of the world – through the promotion of freedom and liberty and through the funding of the gospel to the ends of the earth. Through religious freedom, economic freedom and prosperity, and through our founding principles – God has used the U.S. as a beacon of hope in the world and a “City set on a Hill” as President Ronald Reagan proclaimed so eloquently.
God has used other nations to be lights in regions as well.
Nations like Zambia even with many imperfections has kept Islam at bay by declaring itself a “Christian nation”. Simple declarations by national leaders even in the middle of imperfect people and systems can keep evil systems from gaining a stronghold in those areas.
“The Lord looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling He looks on all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works.” (verses 13-15)
What a powerful statement that the Psalmist makes here that “He fashions their hearts individually…”
He has chosen us individually as part of His holy “nation” and has called us out as His “own inheritance.” He knows our individual hearts.
“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light, who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now has obtained mercy.” – 1 Peter 2:9-10
What an honor for us to be called by His name and be pulled into His story of redemption for the planet. We used to have nothing – but now we have everything IN Jesus. We have a part of play in His big global story, but we must come to a place of knowing Him, walking with Him, and recognizing that His truth will win in our individual lives before we can have impact on a national or global scale.
Mercy came running after us. What amazing LOVE God demonstrates toward us as individuals - that God would see the world in its vastness, then see our nation, then see our state, then see our county, then see our city, and then how intricately he knows us that He finds us on our street, in our house, and in our family.
When God chose Abram and called him out “to a land that I will show you” (Genesis 12:2), God called Abram by name, led him out, changed his name to Abraham, and then created a new nation out of his obedience.
That is how God works in our lives. He proclaimed over Abram – “in YOU all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” (Genesis 12:3b)
He runs after our hearts even in the middle of our sin, transgressions, and iniquities (like we talked about last week in Psalm 32), calls us by name, shows us how much we need Him, and then redeems us.
Then He gives us a promise like we see here in Psalm 33:18-19
“Behold the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.”
His eyes is on us if we “fear Him” – respect Him, cling to Him, and run to Him. He will give us mercy delivering us from death and keeping us alive in the middle of famine. What an incredible promise!
What do we do when our nation looks like it is unraveling?
Where do we put our trust and our hope?
What do we do?
Psalm 33:20-22 answers that question for us.
“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 Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.”
As we hope on Him, His mercy is upon us.
This is true for us as individuals, our lives as part of the eternal nation of the Lord, and as Christian citizens of national nations.
God wants to extend His mercy into every area as we hope in Him.
We end with this eternal promise that - “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, The people He has chosen as His own inheritance.” (verse 12)
Have our resources been a blessing to your life? Would you consider becoming a monthly donor with us to help us reach more people? Or maybe a generous one-time donation? We would love to have you as part of our team.