The LORD Merely Spoke

Meditations on the Psalms 

August 18, 2022

The LORD Merely Spoke

 

“The LORD merely spoke, and the heavens were created.

He breathed the word, and all the stars were born.”

Psalm 33:6

Psalm 33 is a beautiful hymn of worship. Over and over the psalmist extols the virtues and power of God:

“For the word of the Lord holds true,

    and we can trust everything he does.

 He loves whatever is just and good;

    the unfailing love of the Lord fills the earth.”

Psalm 33:4-5

And, my favorite:

“The Lord merely spoke,

    and the heavens were created.

He breathed the word,

    and all the stars were born.”

Psalm 33:6 

The psalmist also exposes the folly of those who rely on their own strength, their own wisdom. In a world governed by the notion of survival of the fittest, the Word of God is counter-cultural: “But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love” (v.18).

After I read this psalm, I wondered how the psalmist could have such confidence in God, while living in the reality of a very violent world of competing loyalties and cultures. Then I saw the source of his confidence: prayer. “Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone” (v.22). The psalmist has taken the time to think, to ponder, to meditate on the character of God. Then he formulated a prayer that asked God to manifest His character in the life of the psalmist: “Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone” (Psalm 33:22).

The psalmist’s hymn praises God, who loves you so much He cannot take His eyes off of you: “The Lord looks down from heaven and sees the whole human race” (Psalm 33:13). This psalm is our invitation to never take our eyes or our mind off God, because “the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love” (Psalm 33:18).

My Takeaway: Let us say with the psalmist,

“We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield”

Psalm 33:20 

Sē’lah

<><  <><  <><  <><

(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2022 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.