Garry led the Bible study tonight, looking at Psalm 33 to see how our studies on parallelism and form actually work in a real psalm!
Many psalms begin with an introduction which exhorts us to praise God (Ps 33:1-3) and then go on to give us reasons for doing this (Ps 33:4-20) before concluding with a renewed exhortation to praise. (Ps 33:21-22) This structure reminds us of one of the benefits of the psalms: combining a rational knowledge of God (loving God with our minds) with an emotional response (loving Him with our hearts.)
The first three verses use parallelism to exhort us to praise God – through songs and shouts of joy and music on different instruments (see also 1 Kings 1:40, 1 Chron 16:5, 42). We are commanded not only to sing, but to sing a new song, a fresh song. God seems to underline different truths for us at different times, and there is a place not only to sing older songs with fresh twists (many hymns have had new choruses added to them) but to express our ongoing relationship with God in new songs. Modern day psalms will reflect people’s ongoing journeys of faith, referring back to Biblical truths, but echoing the personal response to God’s call which is an inevitable part of discipleship. Tim Hughes, for example, writes of his faith being stretched as he left London to start a new church in Birmingham (see here) which inspired the song ‘Pocketful of Faith’, talking of his yearning to follow wherever Jesus called him but acknowledging his ‘mustard seed of faith’ (‘pocketful of faith’ in his modern parlance) was all he had to give. Such songs are new but ever old, to quote an old hymn!
The psalmist has many reasons for us to praise God, with each grouping developing ideas and images so that we can remember these essential truths. Memorisation of Biblical passages is a forgotten art these days when our attention spans are so short, but this Hebrew technique is far more effective at lodging truth in our memories than mere metre or rhyme (which are often lost in translation). The psalmist focuses on God’s character, speaking of His righteousness, justice, faithfulness and unfailing love before moving on to consider His creative power. God’s power is such that He foils the plans of the nations and thwarts the purposes of the peoples, whereas no one can thwart His plans; His purposes stand firm through all generations.
God’s power is contrasted with all the forces the world can muster (armies, warriors and horses are no match for God!) No natural power can compete against God’s power, for He is our hope, help and shield, the One who gives His righteousness to us so that we too can be called righteous.
Ps 33:21-22 concludes with an exhortation to rejoice and trust God, ending with a prayer. By the time we reach the end, our hearts have been stirred and we want to sing of the things God has done for us!
