In God We Trust

Douglas Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church

Psalm 33

In the Hebrew language the psalms are called tehillim, which means “songs of praise.” As we continue our series on the psalms it is helpful to remember there are a number of different types of psalms including Individual Laments like Psalm 22 which I shared about last week (Note- for each type of psalm I will list a few examples; Psalms 3, 13, 22, 42, 43); as well as Community Laments (Psalms 44, 74, 79), Wisdom Psalms (Psalms 1, 37, 49, 73, 112), Psalms of Trust (Psalms 4, 11, 16, 23, 27, 131), Enthronement Psalms (Psalms 47, 93, 96-99), Royal Psalms (Psalms 2, 18, 20, 110), Individual songs of thanksgiving (Psalms 30, 32, 34),  and Praise Hymns such as Psalm 33 which we’ll look at this morning (Psalms 8, 19, 33, 100). The number of psalms of praise is second only to the number of psalms of lament. Praise is at the very heart of the life of the people of God as individuals and as a worshipping community. Praise is our natural response of appreciation. As you might expect, the word “praise” appears more times in the Psalms than in any other book of the Bible. There are at least 14 psalms of praise and there are 41 psalms in which the word “praise” occurs.

[powerpress]The difference between a song of thanksgiving and a hymn of praise like Psalm 33 is that a thanksgiving is specific and personal while the hymn praises God in general terms, lifting up the God whose name is majestic, holy, and awesome. Psalm 33 is part of the collection of David (Psalms 3-41) and one interesting feature of Psalm 33 is that as you read through the Psalms in numerical order, Psalm 33 is the first one to mention the use of musical instruments in worshiping God. We have heard the first 11 verses so we continue at verse 12:

Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.

Praise befits the upright.

2 Praise the Lord with the lyre;

make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.

3 Sing to him a new song;

play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

4 For the word of the Lord is upright,

and all his work is done in faithfulness.

5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love [hesed- also translated faithfulness] of the Lord.

6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

and all their host by the breath of his mouth.

7 He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;

he put the deeps in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

9 For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.

10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.

13 The Lord looks down from heaven;

he sees all humankind.

14 From where he sits enthroned he watches

all the inhabitants of the earth—

15 he who fashions the hearts of them all,

and observes all their deeds.

16 A king is not saved by his great army;

a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

17 The war horse is a vain hope for victory,

and by its great might it cannot save.

18 Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,

on those who hope in his steadfast love,

19 to deliver their soul from death,

and to keep them alive in famine.

20 Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and shield.

21 Our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.

Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

Over the last couple years I have received several emails from folks concerned that the words “In God We Trust” did not appear on the new presidential dollar coins. While they are not as prominent, they do in fact appear on the edge of the coins. In my experience, most people, whether they care a lot or very little about it, have no idea how the words “In God We Trust” got on US coins in the first place.

In 1832, a few miles south of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania a little group of Baptists built a small structure just north of the Chester Pike, on the Springfield Road leading from Darby Creek to Springfield. This was known as “The Old Ridley Baptist Meeting House.” The parchment deed reads it was for the “furtherance of religious worship and other valuable consideration.” In 1887, the name of the church was changed to The Prospect Hill Baptist Church. The original 30 by 40 foot building was used until 1893 when a new stone building was constructed on the same site and remains to this day.

A nineteenth-century pastor of that congregation, the Rev. Mark R. Watkinson was deeply troubled by the American Civil War which began in April of 1861 in which brother fought against brother, former comrades found themselves on opposing sides and the blood of thousands of Americans was shed. Such godlessness, he reasoned, might wreck the nation beyond repair. He also deplored the lack of a federal recognition of trust in God.

Finally, he sat down in his study at the church on November 13, 1861 and wrote the following to Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase. “One fact touching our currency has hitherto been seriously overlooked. I mean the recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins. What if our republic were now shattered beyond reconstruction? Would not the antiquaries of succeeding centuries rightly reason from our past that we were a heathen nation?”

He suggested a motto on the theme of “God, Liberty, Law,” and asserted “This would relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism. This would place us openly under the Divine protection we have personally claimed. From my heart I have felt our national shame in disowning God as not the least of our present national disasters.”

Secretary Chase was burdened with the problems of war financing when he received the Watkinson letter. But he read it and promptly recognized the merit of the pastor’s plea and dispatched a letter to James W. Pollock, director of the U.S. Mint at Philadelphia.  “No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins. You will cause a device to be prepared without delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and truest words possible this national recognition.”

An Act of Congress on April 22, 1864 formally put the motto on coins. It first appeared on the short-lived two-cent bronze piece coined in May, 1864. By 1865, “In God We Trust” was appearing on $5, $10 and $20 gold pieces, the 25-and 50-cent and $1 silver pieces, and the five-cent piece.

Because of design limitations, the motto was dropped from the liberty head nickel, first coined in 1883, and from its successor, the buffalo nickel.

Not until 1957 – almost a century after the Watkinson letter – did $1 silver certificates begin to carry the motto. The bill, which finally emerged from Congress and was approved 55 years ago next Sunday on July 11, 1955 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, specified “…that at such time as new dies for the printing currency are adopted…the dies shall bear…the inscription ‘In God We Trust,’ and thereafter the inscription shall appear on all United States currency and coins.”

I know this story well because it was my privilege to be the pastor of the church Rev. Watkinson served, Prospect Hill Baptist Church, in Prospect Park, Pennsylvania for six years from 1989-1995.

Ironically almost 150 years later, it seems many Americans have come to trust the coins and the money the words “In God We Trust” are stamped on more than God, hence the well-known saying, “In God We Trust, all others pay cash.”  The economic meltdown and all the greed and terrible decisions that have been a part of it have made it painfully clear how much better off we are when our ultimate and supreme trust is not in money but in the God who is described in Psalm 33.

Psalm 33 is a Hymn of praise and they tend to include three main elements: An Introduction or Call to Worship, the Main Section – The Motive for Praise, and Recapitulation – often the hymn closes with a renewed summons to praise or the repetition of a refrain from earlier in the psalm.

In Psalm 33 the first three verses of introduction call us to worship and praise God with all the stringed instruments we can get our hands on and shouts of praise. This is loud, it is not quiet reverence – there is a time for both in the psalms and in our worship.

Then in verse 4 it tells us why God is worthy of our worship & praise, For the word of the Lord is upright, and all his work is done in faithfulness. He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.” Those five terms are among the most-used words to describe the way of the Lord. Upright, faithfulness, righteousness, justice, steadfast love – these are the characteristics of the God we can trust. These are also the qualities the Lord is seeking in our lives.

The psalm then goes on for 15 verses in the main section describing our motive for praise – God’s majesty in history and creation.

Psalm 33 is a Hymn to the trustworthy Creator and Ruler of History.

1. The Lord is God of the world, creator of the heavens and the earth. Verses 6-9 say the “word” that Yahweh spoke to Israel is the same word by the heavens and the earth were made. (Note the similarity to Genesis 1 and John 1).

2. The Lord is God over the nations (verses 10-12).

In verses 10-18, the psalm asserts that it is the counsel of God that is the determining power in human history. Psalm 2, says in a similar way, “Why do the nations conspire, and the people’s plot in vain against the Lord…” This is not to say that everything that has happened in history has been God’s will – we can never forget the impact of human free will, sin, and the Adversary. It is to say that ultimately it is the counsel and will of God that will be accomplished and not the will of nations that are as the prophet Isaiah states in Isaiah 40 a mere “drop in the bucket” and like “dust on scales” compared to God.

In verse 12 the psalm refers to the special relationship between Yahweh and Israel, “the people whom he has chosen as his heritage,” but the emphasis is on Yahweh’s sovereignty over all nations.

3. The Lord is God over human beings (verses 13-15)

In verses 13 to 15, we’re told, The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all humankind… he watches all the inhabitants of the earth…and observes all their deeds.” God sees and comprehends every person and this communicates accountability, comfort, and warning all at the same time. There is ultimately no isolation or secrecy. Who we are and what we do is known to the Lord. The accountability and warning piece is that we may seek to delude ourselves or fool other people about who we are, but God knows the truth about us so we should live mindful of that fact. The comforting part is that when we’re hurting, struggling, lonely, grieving, or overwhelmed, God sees and observes and doesn’t leave us alone.

4. The Lord is God of salvation (verses 16-19) When death threatens and life is at stake, who are you going to call, where are you going to turn to a coin or bill that has the words on it, “In God We Trust?” Not likely. I have yet to be beside the bed of someone passing away who said, “Please, let me hold that $100 bill one more time before I die.” Only God saves because he alone is God. (See Isaiah 45:20-25). Psalm 33 makes the point by contrasting the foolishness of depending on even the strongest of human resources, military might, with the care of the Lord for those who fear him. For the psalmist, to be a nation that trusts God and is under God means abandoning trust in military arms as the ultimate means of safety and security – it will prove fruitless. Even many American Christians sometimes sound like skeptic Han Solo who famously said in the movie Star Wars, “Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.” Psalm 33 asserts that trusting God is the best defense, even if that sounds like “Hokey religion.”

Psalm 33 wants us to ask and answer the question, “Where do we place our ultimate trust and hope?” To fear the Lord is to make God’s steadfast love and faithfulness (Hebrew, “hesed”), our ultimate hope.

The Lord is God of the world, creator of the heavens and the earth, The Lord is God over the nations, over human beings, and is God of salvation.

In the third and final section, the recapitulation, Psalm 33 concludes,

The Lord is God in whom we Trust. (verses 20-22).

“Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and shield.

Our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.

Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.”

When I was in my twenties I remember going to The Huntington Theater in Boston with my parents to see a performance of Samuel Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot which follows two days in the lives of a pair of men who seek to pass the time while they wait expectantly and unsuccessfully for someone named Godot to arrive. They claim him as an acquaintance but in fact hardly know him, admitting that they would not recognize him were they to see him. To occupy themselves, they eat, sleep, converse, argue, sing, play games, exercise, swap hats, and contemplate suicide — anything “to hold the terrible silence at bay”.

Vladimir and Estragon discuss repentance, particularly in relation to the two thieves crucified alongside Jesus, and that only one of the Four Evangelists mentions that one of them was saved. This is the first of numerous Biblical references in the play, the central theme of which is the search for and reconciliation with God, as well as salvation: “We’re saved!” they cry on more than one occasion when they feel that Godot may be near, only to be disappointed.

I am afraid there are some people like Vladimir and Estragon who claim God as an acquaintance, but in fact hardly know him, and wouldn’t even recognize the Lord if he were to show up in their lives. The psalms teach us about God’s character and qualities so that we can know God better and see the Lord at work in the world and in our lives. Upright, faithful, righteous, just, steadfast love – these are the characteristics in God we trust.

Psalm 33 is a psalm of praise that asks you and me, “Who are you waiting for, where are you placing your trust?” The psalm wants us to join in praising God and saying, “My soul waits for the Lord; he is my help and shield.

My heart is glad in him, because I trust in his holy name.

Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon me, even as I hope in you.”

Prayer

God of all Nations:

As we celebrate the blessings of our national heritage, grant us to know that we love America best when we love you first.
As we celebrate our freedom, cause us to remember that the freedom which endures is the freedom to serve you and others.
As we celebrate our patriotism, stir within us a deeper loyalty to your kingdom.
God of Jesus Christ, we affirm that America can be great only as Americans seek to live lives that are upright, distinguished by faithfulness, righteousness, justice and your steadfast love.
As our people travel all around our beautiful land during this long holiday weekend, grant your traveling mercy. We ask this in Christ’s name.
Amen.

Blessing

Wait for the Lord; God is our help and shield.

May your heart be glad in him, because you trust in his holy name.

Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.

Questions for further reflection

Psalm 33 is a psalm of praise. How many acts of God that are worthy of praise do you notice?

What motivates you to want to praise God?

What are some of the reasons why you trust in God?

How do you seek to live a life that is upright, marked by faithfulness, righteousness, justice and the steadfast love of the Lord?

Writing a Psalm or Prayer of Praise

Write your own psalm of praise by writing at least one sentence for each element of the outline below:

An invocation or address to God

A past distress

A plea for help

Remembering God’s gracious deeds

Ascription of praise

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