Psalm 33:4-6 - April 3, 2009

Ps 33:4-6 "For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. 5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love. 6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth." NIV

Even as the first portion of psalm 33 began with a call to praise, so this portion of the psalm inspires our motivation to praise the Lord. In this passage four themes call each one of us to this life of praise. God’s Word, His character, His love and His creation and works are the four pillars of a life of praise! The psalmist first points us to the quality of God’s word saying; “it is right and true.” God is worthy of praise for providing us with a sure foundation of truth upon which to build our lives. Psalm 119 reflects powerfully on the virtues of the Word of the Lord in verse 140 stating “Your word is very pure, Therefore Your servant loves it,” NASU, and in verse 160 “The sum of Your word is truth,” NASU. Finally the psalm proclaims with joy in verse 172 “Let my tongue sing of Your word,” NASU.
God’s character is equally cause to praise him. The Lord is faithful in all he does, not just some of what he does. We can know that those things that the Lord has promised us he will fulfill with absolute faithfulness. There is no area of deficiency in dealing with the Lord. He is worthy of praise because of all beings he is absolutely trustworthy, completely motivated from a heart of love. He cannot be bribed nor manipulated and he will never violate his character or nature of love in a moment of weakness fueled by impatience or anger. He has perfect self-control and this is reflected in every one of his dealings with man. In addition to these things the Lord is worthy of praise simply because of the wonder of all that He has made.
God is truly an artist and His works display his creativity and passion like nothing else could ever do. In the world of design one of the constant arenas of debate is the contrast between form and function. What is the priority in the creation and design of any object? The quality that makes God truly unique and awe inspiring is that he has mastered both dimensions of this tension. Not only is the eye a marvel of engineering and biology, God chose to create a diversity of colors to the eye and then on an even deeper level He caused the eye to become the reflecting pool of the inner man. A tool for seeing, a work of art and a glimpse into a human life all contained in one tiny fragment of all that God has created. For all of these things God is deserving of praise. Each of the pillars of praise would be sufficient to move us to honor God all by itself.
However, when each of these aspects of God’s glory is considered together as a whole it becomes a compelling voice calling us to surrender our hearts to a life of worship.