Psalm 33:1-3 Praise the Lord!

One of my favorite praise songs is Matt Redman’s “10,000 Reasons.” I don’t know if you have a “go-to” praise song to sing when you’re out for a walk by yourself, or getting ready in the morning, but this is mine. I like to sing it in the morning because that is the setting of the first verse of the song. But, once you move into the second verse, you are just praising God for a whole list of reasons:

“You’re rich in love and You’re slow to anger.

Your name is great and Your heart is kind.

For all Your goodness I will keep on singing.

Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find.”

Perhaps one of the reasons that I so enjoy singing this song is because it so accurately reflects the intention of the Psalms. Many of the Psalms were written as early worship songs that express the many reasons for which we should praise God. Psalm 33 is a great example.

David begins this psalm by calling the congregation together for a time of worship. He then expresses five different categories for which we should praise the Lord. We will look at each of these in turn, but today we will begin with the call to worship.

Please read Psalm 33:1-3.

Notice, in the very first verse, exactly who David is calling to praise God: “O you righteous!” He is not calling on the world to praise God, because the world is not inclined to praise Him. We were made for worship, but most people worship idols and other false beliefs that will never satisfy. Only those who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good are inclined to actually give Him the praise that He is due.

Once you have come to know God; once you have been changed by God and made righteous; once you have experienced the love of God, you want to love Him back; you want to praise Him because “praise befits the upright.” It is only fitting for those who have been changed by God to then give God the glory.

We should do this with every fiber of our being. We should use every instrument at our disposal: “the lyre,” “the harp of ten strings,” “the strings,” and even our voices. “With loud shouts” we should “sing to Him a new song.”

Tomorrow, we will look at the first group of reasons that David gives for praising the Lord: His Character. But, even before we dive into these reasons, we can still praise Him. If you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you have much to sing about. You have more than ten thousand reasons to praise the Lord with your voice or with instruments or with dancing or with shouts of praise or however the Spirit leads you. Don’t hold back! “Shout for joy in the Lord!”

If you feel like your self-consciousness is keeping you from giving God the praise He is due, then join with Matt Redman in talking to your own soul and urging yourself:

“Bless the Lord O my soul, O my soul.

Worship His Holy Name!

Sing like never before, O my soul.

I’ll worship Your Holy Name.”