Psalm 33:4-5 Praise the Lord for His Character!

There are so many reasons to praise God! But we are such selfish creatures that we often focus even our praise of God on ourselves.

If that’s hard to follow, let me try to explain it a little clearer: God is perfect in and of Himself. He is worthy of all praise, honor and glory simply because of who He is. But, when we praise Him, we often begin with what He has done for us. We don’t praise God because He is faithful; we praise Him because He is faithful to me. We don’t praise God because He is merciful; we praise Him because He has shown me mercy. We don’t praise God because He is just; we praise Him because Jesus Christ fully satisfied the perfect justice of God for me.

This is a subtle distinction, but an important one. There is nothing wrong with praising God for what He has done for us: that’s called gratitude, and it’s strongly encouraged in Scripture! But God is so much greater than we are! He is worthy of praise for who He is, not just for how He treats insignificant nobodies like you and me.

Today, let’s take a step back and try to take ourselves out of the equation. Let’s try not to think about ourselves for a few minutes while we read this devotional. Instead, let’s think solely about God. I think you’ll find that, the more you meditate on God, the more you’ll want to praise Him for who He is, before ever getting to what He has done for you (that will come later in this Psalm).

Please read Psalm 33:4-5.

In just two verses, the psalmist has given us five powerful aspects of God’s character for which He is worthy of praise. Let's look at each one of them briefly and give God the praise for who He is:

First, God is worthy of praise because He is morally perfect or holy. This is a great place to start because it could be considered the foundational aspect of God’s character. God is so perfect that He cannot do any wrong: He cannot sin; He cannot tell a lie; He cannot betray His Word. Because God is perfectly holy, His every Word can be perfectly trusted. That is why the psalmist can say that “the word of the Lord is upright.” Shout for joy in the Lord for He is holy!

Second, God is faithful. This is such a defining characteristic of God that “all his work is done in faithfulness.” He will never betray His Word. He will always keep His promises. Paul would later write “if we are faithless, He remains faithful.” He says this is not because God has such a great love for us, but “for He cannot disown Himself” (2 Tim. 2:13). God is not faithful to us because there is some special quality about us that He just can’t live without. God is faithful because He is a faithful God! He will always honor His promises because that’s who He is! Shout for joy in the Lord for He is faithful!

Third, God is righteous. The psalmist says that God “loves righteousness,” because God is perfectly righteous. This goes along with His holiness, but it has a slightly different connotation. God’s holiness implies that He is set apart from wickedness and can have no part in it. This expresses God’s character in terms of what He cannot do. Meanwhile, “righteousness” expresses the positive side of God’s character: what He will do. God will always do the right thing. Even when the world seems dark and we can’t explain the suffering or the trial, God is working all things out for the good of those who love Him. Even when people think they know better than God, God will always do the right thing. Shout for joy in the Lord for He is righteous!

Fourth, God is Just. These last two aspects of God’s character are the primary reason that we worship at the foot of the cross. If God were not just, then people would be free to hurt others however they see fit without any fear of reprisal. There would be no hope for the person who wanted to live a good life. But God is just. He will punish sin. All wrongdoers will have their place in the Lake of Fire as God’s wrath is eternally poured out upon them for their wickedness. No human ever needs to take vengeance when they are wronged, for God will enact justice in His time. He is not a corrupt judge; He is not a pushover judge; He is a just judge. Shout for joy in the Lord for He is just!

Perhaps you struggled to praise God for His justice because meditating on this attribute literally put “the fear of God into you,” like your momma threatened to do when you were a child. But meditating on the justice of God helps us to understand the real reason that Jesus suffered and died such an excruciating death. God couldn’t simply wipe away our sin and forgive it without any penalty. He is perfectly just, so the price had to be paid. Worship Him for His justice, for without it, murderers, rapists, crooked politicians, abusers, liars, thieves, and other evildoers would never be punished for their sin.

Finally, however, we should worship God for His love. This is such a defining characteristic of God that John said twice in one chapter “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16). Humanity would not know what love is if it weren’t for God. He demonstrated His love by sending His Son to die in the place of sinners, so that both His perfect love and His perfect justice could meet at the cross. The epitome of love is surely worthy to be worshiped. Shout for joy in the Lord for He is love!

I know this is a longer blog post than usual, but I hope it was well spent. When we take the focus off of ourselves and place it solely on God, we realize that He is worthy of all the praise, honor, and glory that we can give. No wonder the psalmist has called the entire congregation together to worship the Lord! Let us join in their blessed song!