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.”
And, my favorite:
“The Lord merely
spoke,
and the heavens were created.
He breathed the word,
and all the stars were born.”
The psalmist also exposes the
folly of those that 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 is living out the theme of a little book on
prayer I wrote a few years ago, “First Think, Then Pray.” 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.”
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.” This psalm is our invitation
to never take our eyes or our mind off of God, because “the Lord
watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love.”
Let us say with the psalmist, “We put our hope in the Lord. He
is our help and our shield.”
Sē’lah
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What word or phrase
in today’s reading of the Psalms
attracts your attention?
Reflect on that word
or phrase.
What insights come to
you?
How does this passage
touch your life today?
Reading for June 4, 2012 Psalm 34
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