Reader: “Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,”
Response: “for our hope is in you alone.”
Scripture: Psalm 33:12-22
What joy for the nation whose God is the Lord,
whose people he has chosen as his inheritance.
The Lord looks down from heaven
and sees the whole human race.
From his throne he observes
all who live on the earth.
He made their hearts,
so he understands everything they do.
The best-equipped army cannot save a king,
nor is great strength enough to save a warrior.
Don’t count on your warhorse to give you victory—
for all its strength, it cannot save you.
But the Lord watches over those who fear him,
those who rely on his unfailing love.
He rescues them from death
and keeps them alive in times of famine.
We put our hope in the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.
Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord,
for our hope is in you alone.
Reader: “The word of the Lord.”
Response: “Thanks be to God.”
Some thoughts:
Here is an example of the importance of understanding the context of a passage of Scripture. The above portion is the last half of Psalm 33. The whole psalm is one of creation and might actually be a continuation of Psalm 32. At any rate, when we pick up the text for today’s reading, it is based on previous verses. We are talking about those people and nations who fear the Lord and are in awe of him. Fearing the Lord puts one or a nation in a place of being chosen and blessed by God. Think about this great truth, God made your heart and so he understands you completely, even better than you do!
Your heart is not like anyone else’s. How often have you said, “Now, why did I do that? What was I thinking?” If you ask God, he could answer both those questions! The heart in the Hebrew understanding, can mean the organ, the soul, the seat of emotion, the mind of knowledge, the inner part of something, the inner being of man, the seat of desire, the seat of conscience, or the seat of rebellion. Because man controls his heart, a heart born in sin, and because he does not fully understand it, and God does, man is in need of a new heart. God’s promise is “A new heart also will I give you, . . . and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh” (Ezek.36:26). David prays “Create in me a clean heart, O God” (Psalm 51:10). Rest in God’s care of your heart. Lest we forget, neither great strength nor great power is sufficient to save when compared to God’s care. For the person who fears God, the loving eye of the Lord is continually on them to guard and to guide, then and now in these troubled days. By the time you read this, I’m hoping things have calmed down a bit in regards to the virus and all the second-guessing. Please, only God is sovereign! The psalm concludes with the ABSOLUTE truth! “Our hope is in you alone.” Amen.
Music: “In Christ Alone” Virtual Choir You CANNOT miss this!! WOW!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY4CW5pte98
Prayer:
Thank goodness, Lord, you know my heart! Please continue to mold and fashion it after your own loving heart. Thank you for making me and loving me and drawing me to yourself. I take great comfort in knowing you are caring after all your children. May our hearts be always tuned to you and bring us back when we stray. Thank you for coming after us when we get off course. At times drawing us back again is not pleasant from our standpoint, but oh, so necessary. We have certainly shown the world and ourselves how impotent and deceptive our hearts are and that, in fact, man cannot solve or control all things. Thank you for the reminder! Lord have mercy. We love you and thank you. May we stay in your path on our journey to your home. In the glorious name of Jesus, Amen. ―Daniel Sharp