Psalm 33 – A Hymn of Thanksgiving

33 Shout for joy in the Lord, you righteous:

praise for the upright is seemly.

2 Give thanks to the Lord on the lyre,

play to him on a ten-stringed harp.

3 Sing to him a new song,

play skilfully and shout merrily.

4 For the Lord is straight in his promise;

and all that he does is in faithfulness.

5 Justice and right he loves;

the earth is full of his kindness.

6 By his word the heavens were made,

all their host by the breath of his mouth.

7 He gathers the sea in a bottle,

the ocean he puts into store-houses.

8 Let the whole world honour the Lord,

let all who live on earth be in awe.

9 For at his word it came into being,

at his command it stood forth.

10 The Lord frustrates the designs of the nations,

what the peoples have purposed, he brings to nought,

11 but the Lord’s own design will stand forever,

and what his heart has purposed, through all generations.

12 Happy the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people he chose for himself as his own.

13 The Lord looks down from heaven,

he sees all of humanity;

14 from where he rules he gazes

on all who inhabit the earth.

15 He fashions the hearts of them all,

and gives heed to all that they do.

16 It is not by great armies that kings are victorious,

it is not by great strength that a warrior saves himself;

17 false hope is the war-horse to usher in victory,

for all its great might it can provide no escape.

18 See! The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,

on those who hope in his kindness;

19 to deliver their life from death,

and to keep them alive in famine.

20 We wait for the Lord:

he is our help and our shield.

21 For in him our heart is glad,

we trust in his holy name.

22 Let your kindness, O Lord, be upon us,

as is our hope in you.