Psalm 33: 4-5, 18-19, 20, 22“Our soul waits for the Lord,
who is our help and our shield.”
The Psalm is written in praise
of God’s power and providence.
It is the Lord’s design for His
people that stands through all
the generations. It is through
His Plan that we are saved.
Our own feeble efforts count for
nothing. We must be submissive
and abandon ourselves to His Plan,
just as Jesus tells us in the Gospel.
And how do we know His Plan?
The lst reading (Isaiah) pretty
graphically outlines what God
has in mind for His son – that
he be “crushed for our offenses.”
This is how we are delivered from
death. The psalmist has it right,
“The Lord’s eyes are upon those
who fear Him … to deliver them
from death.”
In our 2nd reading, the letter to the
Hebrews answers the question,
“How can we approach the throne
of God?” The answer is with confidence,
and then we will find “mercy and grace.”
The theme of the Psalm is the same,
“The Lord’s eyes are upon those Who
hope for His grace.”
Because Christ humbles himself for
our sake, becomes a slave to our sin,
there is hope for us, even in our time
of spiritual famine
It is said that even people who have
no faith have a longing in their hearts
for God. There is something missing
in their lives. For us who are believers,
we are dependent on the Lord – we
openly ask for His help and His protection.
He is our shield in the spiritual battle
that we all have to fight.
If we trust in the Lord, His eyes will be
upon us, and we can expect to receive
His grace. And through His grace we
are delivered from death, kept alive in
times of spiritual famine. And for this
we praise the Lord, as the psalmist says,
we know He will fill the earth with
goodness, and His kindness will be
upon us. The Psalm ends on a positive
note, “Lord we have put our hope in you.”
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. The psalmist says, 'Our soul waits for the Lord.'
Tell of how you have a spiritual hunger for the Lord
in your life, and explain how the Lord satisfies your longing.
2. The psalm's verses state that, 'The eyes of the Lord are
upon those who fear Him.' Do you feel the eyes of the Lord
upon you because you hold Him in awe? Explain.
I do feel the eyes of the Lord upon me because I hold him in awe. The Lord is always watching over us whether it's in the day or night. I feel the Lord's eyes staring over my shoulder to make sure that I am safe wherever I go.
ReplyDeleteAll people have souls because it is the way that we can know and understand God. People also have a spiritual hunger in their life. I have a hunger in seeing God and understanding him better. I usually see God in the good things I see people do or even in nature sometimes. We are all spiritually hungry for God, but at the same time we are scared of his great power. We have awe over his judgment, love, and power. I definitely have awe over God because of his endless perfection, power, and how he is the creator of me and all things around me.
ReplyDeleteI like to think of the Lord as being in my corner, and if I feel I need or want help I can go to Him. This past week my youngest son called and was very upset re costly outstanding medical bills. We prayed and my son called again later in the week to say that he was making the necessary calls and contacts to significantly improve the situation. My oldest son called, to say that after months of job searching that he had a job. Once again our prayers were answered.
ReplyDelete