Psalm 33 — 34
themselves, for they were only the humble and the poor (vv. 2, 6); but they had everything because they belonged to the Lord. They feared the Lord (vv. 7, 9), were set-apart ("saints") as His righteous ones (vv. 10, 15, 19, 21), and were the servants of the Lord God (v. 22). Knowing who we are in Christ and who the Lord is ought to make us want to bless the Lord.
pare us to go back into the battle. He is a "refuge and strength" who hides us long enough to help us.
Worship should not only strengthen our inner peace and power, increase our hope, and give us greater confidence in the Lord, but it should also increase our joy. The psalm begins and ends with the theme of joy. Along with that blessing, we find our faith strengthened as we behold the beauty and glory of the Lord in our worship. "Let your unfailing love surround us" is the closing prayer (NLT), so we have the three great Christian virtues brought together: faith (v. 21), hope, and love (v. 22). It isn't enough to leave the place of worship simply "feeling good," because feelings are temporary and sometimes deceptive. If we find ourselves loving God and His people more, having greater faith and hope in the Lord, and going forth into the battle of life with greater confidence and joy, then our worship has accomplished what God wanted it to accomplish.
Seek the Lord (vv. 4–8) David gave a threefold witness of what the Lord does for His own: He saves (vv. 4–8), He keeps (v. 7), and He satisfies (v. 8). He sought the Lord and was saved from the fears ("terrors"; see 31:13) within him, and he cried to the Lord and was delivered from the troubles around him. To seek the Lord is the same as to look to the Lord; and when we look to Him by faith, He looks to us and "shines upon us" (4:6; Num. 6:22–27). If we walk in unbelief, our faces will be ashamed; if we walk by faith, our faces will be aglow (Ex. 34:29; Matt. 17:2; Acts 6:15; 2 Cor. 3:18). The word radiant in verse 5 describes the joyful countenance of a mother who is welcoming her children home (Isa. 60:4–5). After the Lord saves us, He keeps us and sends His angels to protect us (v. 7; 35:5–6; Gen. 48:16; Ex. 14:19). The Angel of the Lord is Jesus Christ, the second Person of the Trinity (Josh. 5:13–15), the Lord of the hosts of the angels, who made preincarnation visits to His people during Old Testament times. When David envisioned a camp of angels around him, he may have been recalling Jacob's experience at Mahanaim ("the two camps"; Gen. 32:1–2). The angels are servants of the saints today and minister to us in ways we will never know about until we get to heaven (Heb. 1:14).