Psalm 33: 4-5, 18-19, 20, 22 (Read)
"Lord, let your mercy be on us,
as we place our trust in you.”
Our Sunday 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 providence.
And how do we know his plan?
This Sunday's lst reading (Isaiah)
graphically outlines what God has
in mind for his Son, that He be
'crushed for our offenses.' (Isaiah 53:10)
As unpleasant as this sounds,
that is how we are delivered from
death. 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 The psalmist has it right,
“The Lord’s eyes are upon those who fear Him,
to deliver them from death.”
In Sunday's 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. (Hebrews 4:16)
The theme of the Psalm is the same, “The Lord’s eyes
are upon those who hope for his grace.”
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 as
the psalmist says, through the Lord's grace we
are delivered from death, kept alive in times of 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.
The psalmist assures us, “The eyes of the Lord are upon those who fear Him."
ReplyDeleteAnd he says that the Lord looks down and sees all mankind, and also He watches all who live on the earth. Because He formed us. He is our creator and Deliverer.
He is faithful and his intentions never change. His words are trustworthy.
And so his unfailing love rests upon us as we put our hope in Him. That is my faith for deliverance.
Our hearts will rejoice in Him. I believe He will satisfy my spiritual hunger
in my life. In times of spiritual crisis and when I face the rough realities of hardships,
I plead for his watchful care and protection from mishaps and ask Him to defend me from evil spirits. I am quite often attacked by them.
My will power has become weakened. My own feeble efforts count
for nothing.
My spiritual famine goes nowhere except just believing the word of the Lord is
right and true and trusting his unfailing love for us. I keep praying and pleading for his divine mercy to be upon us, He is worthy of our trust and praise.
Sometimes my heart rejoices because I know He is our Deliverer. I fear him because I know the Lord loves righteousness and justice. From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind and He watches over all who live on earth, his creations.
I can not get away from him. Wherever I go He will be there. My soul waits for the Lord, for his deliverance from sins and wrongdoings.
I shout for joy ! He is my creator and Savior.
ReplyDeletePsalm 33 is a call to praise God because of His word and His work. It also develops the theme of how God works. He does not work through man’s strength or schemes but rather through those who fear and trust in Him. The psalm ends with a final affirmation of trust in the Lord.
If the key to a thankful, worshiping heart is to rely completely on the Lord, then the question arises, “How do I learn to rely completely on the Lord?”
We learn to rely completely on the Lord by recognizing the power of his word: Spoken and written.
We learn to rely completely on the Lord by recognizing the pattern of his working (God does work through those who fear and trust in him).
Therefore a complete trust in the Lord results in a thankful, worshiping heart.
At the end we pray that we did not place our hope in the things of this world to save us, but in the God who created, rules, knows and delivers us. Amen
It speaks volumes about the need to put our trust in the Lord, the importance of releasing our earthly wants and needs, to fill the spiritual hunger, in some people it's a spiritual famine by trusting in God, then we have a protection, a very comforting shield. It's much like a little child trusting his parent, because we are all God's children. And they should fear their parents, just as we must fear the Lord and strive to release ourselves to Him. There's such satisfaction in putting our trust in God and having that protection that comes with surrendering to His providence.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, my parents' words still resonate "Let go and let God" and also "Trust to God"...
"Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his merciful love, that he may deliver their soul from death, and keep them alive in famine, (Psalm 33:18-19)
ReplyDeleteWho are those who fear the Lord? They must be special, because the eye of the Lord is upon them. And through that reverential fear, seems to come hope in his merciful love... and thus, they are delivered from death.
I have recently begun a journey seeking wisdom. Where to start? Proverbs 9:10, says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight."
So, from at least these two places in the Bible (plus numerous other references), I can gather that the "fear of the Lord" is important for my faith walk... and important to God.
I am promised that the eye of the Lord will be upon me if I genuinely hold him in awe -- marvel at his creations, worship him, and thank him everyday for being the wonderful Abba Father he is to me.
With the striking fall foliage in Colorado, I can't help but glorify God and his artwork these days. Every autumn breeze sends more of these colorful leaves in a fanciful swirl around me and I feel their fleeting beauty. I have a pang in my heart, recognizing that our lives are like these falling leaves -- once in full bloom secured to the tree, but now whisked away by the wind. They might seem insignificant, but God has created each one as an original and knows the time and place where each leaf will land.
The Lord's majesty is reflected in the natural world around me and I feel his delight as I ponder him more and more... cling to him more and more... and praise him more and more, out of sheer and holy astonishment. He is an awe-inspiring God.