Today, Thursday January 26
The Divine Care of the LORD
Psalm 33:13-22
“The LORD looks from heaven; He sees all the sons of men. From the place of His dwelling He looks On all the inhabitants of the earth; He fashions their hearts individually; He considers all their works.
No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength. A horse is a vain hope for safety; Neither shall it deliver any by its great strength. Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy, To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.
Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name. Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.”
Today we will finish our chats and this blog on Psalm 33. This Psalm is a call for us to worship our great Jehovah God! We have learned that we should worship Him for His awesome character, for His wonderful works in creation, for His powerful Word, for His truth and goodness toward us, and for the wisdom of His counsel. Today we also will see that we can worship the LORD for the assurance of His divine care for us.
It might be today that you feel like the Psalmist in Psalm 142:4 when he said, “Look on my right hand and see, For there is no one who acknowledges me; Refuge has failed me; No one cares for my soul.” The New Living Translation Bible says it this way: “I look for someone to come and help me, but no one gives me a passing thought! No one will help me; no one cares a bit what happens to me.” We live in a broken world and so often we are broken emotionally, physically and spiritually and we wonder does it really even matter anymore. And we lose our hope for a better tomorrow!
My friend, if you feel this way, there is hope and these verses before us today are for you!!!! The LORD is looking down from heaven and He sees you and all your needs, and He cares! (vv. 13-19). Not only does He keep His eye on His individual saints (32:8; 34:15; 1 Peter 3:12), but He watches "all the sons of men" and "all their works." He knows what the saints are doing and what the sinners are doing to the saints! The word translated "look" in verse 14 means "to gaze intently." As God watches, He sees not only the actions of the body but the "thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb. 4:12). He made the human heart, He understands it better than we do (Jer. 17:9), and He knows our motives (Ps. 11:4; 34:15; 2 Chron. 16:9).
It does not matter how big the problems are, or the people seem to be, that are against us. The king's heart is just like the heart of any other man, and no nation can win a war just because it has a big army and a large supply of weapons and ammunition (vv. 16-17). At The Exodus, God looked down at the great Egyptian army and destroyed it (Ex. 14:24). God delivers His people from danger and death, and He keeps them alive when times are difficult. He cares for us (1 Peter 5:6-7).
What happens when we believe and worship the LORD in this way (vv. 20-22)? These words may have been expressed by the congregation and choir as the song came to an end with a confession of faith in the living God. Because they had worshipped the Lord, they had peace in their hearts and could quietly wait for Him to work. Their hope had been strengthened, and they looked expectantly for Him to accomplish His purposes in them, through them, and for them. They had confidence in the Lord that He would send help when they needed it (Psalms 30:10; 40:17; 46:1; 54:4; 63:7; 70:5; 115:9-11; 146:5). “He is our help and our shield”. God protects us, not to pamper us but to prepare 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 “trust” (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. Amen!!!!
God bless!