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 skillfully 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 an 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.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD: and the people whom He hath chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The LORD looketh from heaven: He beholdeth all the sons of men.
14 From the place of His habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth.
15 He fashioneth their hearts alike: He considereth all their works.
16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.
17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear Him, upon them that hope in His mercy:
19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waiteth for the LORD: He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name.
22 Let Thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee.
Together we will rejoice and praise Yahweh for His sovereign power, and we shall trust in His care for us.
This psalm cannot and should not be sung in a dull and heartless tone: it is pure rejoicing. We rejoice in the goodness and power of Yahweh seen in every square inch of His creation.
You will hear little boys talk of their fathers with just a touch of awe in their voice, “My father is so strong that he can beat up any bad guy who might come after us.” While that may not be true of every father, it is certainly the perspective of those who know God and trust in Him. We are very sure of God’s absolute power and control over the world, such that we can say, “Why trust in tanks and fighter jets when our Father can smash atomic bombs between His fingers?”
We may not be able to see God but we can see what He has created. If He has created the mighty universe, then He can control the tiny hurricanes, famines, and wars that rage through it. In view of all this, our hearts fill with awe and we boast in God. It is not merely a fear that hides behind the couch and shakes. But it is a rejoicing fear for a Father who can do anything and cares deeply for His children.
Verses 1–3. The first three verses lay out the theme of this psalm in words of praise. When the Lord sees a congregation of His people singing His praises, He considers it a beautiful thing. If God considers it beautiful, can we say there is anything more beautiful than that in all of the heavens and the earth? The command is to sing, and to sing with rejoicing, and to sing a new song unto Yahweh. Moreover, we are urged to play instruments skillfully and apply creative work to the composition of the music in the church. Is there ever a time when the corpus of the music in the church is complete? This psalm answers that question in the negative. Each new generation has a charge to create new music and bring new people together in new settings to communicate new songs of praises to God in heaven.
Creativity and skill come with discipline and inspiration: our inspiration in the music of the church must be driven by our knowledge of Yahweh and a rejoicing in that knowledge. Ungodly artists are inspired by lesser things and they can perform fine works. But Christians, above all, should produce the best music, for they are doing it for the highest purpose of all—to glorify the God of all creation and redemption.
Verses 4–7. The remainder of the psalm gives all the reasons that we should rejoice in the Lord and praise His holy name. First, our hearts rejoice at the reading and preaching of the Word of God. Does your heart rejoice when you think on the truths of God’s Word? Some today call this “bibliolatry.” But the true believer must trust in God’s Word and delight in the principles contained in the Law of God. Where else would we go for eternal life?
The Word of God is the tether line in the blinding snowstorm of man’s heart’s deception. It guides us in both our thinking and our daily living. The Word of the Lord is powerful. By merely speaking, He created the vast heavens and the entire creation of both the animate and the inanimate. Imagine how powerful you would be if, when you wanted something, you could speak the word and instantly the thing appeared before you!
Not only do we rejoice in God’s Word, but we also rejoice in His works. That is because we look at the creation about us and see that God is both magnanimous in His goodness and terrifying in His justice. One can but look at the stars and know that God delights in beauty. Or as one studies the flight of the hummingbird, he will understand that God provides everything it takes to sustain the vibrant life of that little creature of beauty. God is good.
Verse 8. Such a God who merely speaks the word and creates the vast universe ought to be feared. After relating God’s works of magnificent power, we cannot but step back in speechless awe and holy reverence. He spoke and the creation appeared without the process of lengthy, natural mechanisms. In the book of Proverbs, we find that the beginning of wisdom and knowledge is the fear of God. Unfortunately, in our day the fear of God ends in the science laboratory because of a stubborn refusal to teach the source of creation, the omniscience and power of God, and the fear of almighty God. Yet, we must insist on the fear of God in the college classrooms in Shanghai, London, Chicago, and Brisbane. Every Christian teacher and student alike should cry out to the world around him, “Let all the earth fear Yahweh!”
Verses 9–12. Now the Psalmist adds further reasons why the world should stand in fear of the Lord of the heavens and earth. It should be intuitively obvious that only an all-powerful, sovereign God could speak a word and a human being—complete with 10 trillion cells, thousands of muscles, 200 bones, an excretory system, a respiratory system, a digestive system, a nervous system, a reproductive system, and an endocrine system—would pop into being. Therefore, this Creator must hold absolute sovereign control over every heathen nation—even those heathen universities that refuse to stand in fear of Him. The purposes and plans of Yahweh are never thwarted, but the plans of these heathen nations are brought to nothing so that the events of this world will serve His purposes. With all that in mind, verse 12 states with great force, “Blessed is that nation whose God is the Lord.” Emphatically, those nations, universities, and institutions of men will be blessed who commit to walking in Jehovah’s ways and submitting to God as their absolute authority and Lawgiver.
Verses 13–19. The God that fashions the earth with such conscientious care does not lose interest in it and leave it to its own devices. Although men would like to think that God has taken a vacation, and many theologies have been constructed to eliminate God and His law from the equation, this is far from the truth. Indeed, God is vitally and intimately interested in His creation, and He takes careful note of every detail of every human life on earth. Every choice that you make today for good or evil is considered. In fact, God will think about you, today, more than you will think about Him.
Whereas the kings of the earth with their tanks and fighter jets give the appearance of power, all is still in the hands of God. Men in our country truly believe that we will win every war because of the size of our military, the number of nuclear weapons in our arsenals, and the superiority of our technology. Yet these human factors cannot determine the final victor in the war! Only the sovereign God over heaven and earth can hand out the victory in any war, whether they be wars fought with swords and bows 3,000 years ago or the wars fought with fighter jets.
We must conclude therefore, that God alone is the One worthy of our trust and reverence in the day of battle. Yahweh takes special care of those who look to Him as a merciful Father. He will help us even in the day of famine and war, because He has placed His love upon us.
Verses 20–22. The psalm ends with a confession from the heart of the people of God. We rest on Yahweh’s unfailing love, and wait expectantly upon Him. We depend on Him for our help and defense. It is this intimate trust in God that produces in us rejoicing in worship.
1. This psalm commands a fear of God. Today, God is watching you and you ought to live every moment in His fear. He is the mighty God of creation and the God who will one day cast the ungodly into hell. But He is also a heavenly Father whom you must fear as One you do not want to displease.
2. We must learn an intimate trust in God, especially in the day of danger and trial. We must believe that God truly cares about our condition and will deliver us in His timing.
1. Singing is an important part of God’s worship and we ought to learn how to sing and sing well. Those who are musically accomplished should contribute to the music of the church by creating new compositions by which the people of God may worship Him.
2. Have you ever had a hard time rejoicing in worship? When our very life is threatened or when we are faced with severe trials, it is only a trust in the God who is all-powerful and all-loving that will enable us to rejoice and praise the Lord in worship.
1. Give several examples of Praise psalms.
2. According to this psalm, why should we praise the Lord?
3. How did Yahweh create the world?
4. What determines who will win in the wars of the nations?
5. Give two examples of Penitence psalms.
6. Which psalm begins with “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want”?
7. Which psalm parallels Psalm 53 and begins with, “The fool hath said in his heart there is no God”?
1. Does the knowledge of God inspire you to create? What are some creative things we could do to communicate to others the glory of God?
2. Will you think about God today? If you knew He was thinking about you, would that change the way you live your life?