"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT THE BLESSINGS FOR THOSE WHO WAIT ON THE LORD"
Psalm 33:18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy,
Psalm 33:19 To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.
Psalm 33:20 Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.
Psalm 33:21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name.
Psalm 33:22 Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.
Some introductory thoughts, explanations, application, and some questions:
As with most Psalm's, this was written by none other than a man we will meet in heaven on day. A man after God's own heart, a man who was a shepherd boy chosen by God to be the king of Israel. There are some wonderful and encouraging truths about the blessings that come into the lives of those who wait on the Lord. Throughout the Psalm, David is contrasting the futility of trusting in man rather than God. May God bless this truth to our souls.
1. God's eye is upon those who fear Him, and on those who hope in His mercy.
Psalm 33:18 Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope in His mercy,
Here we are told who God's eye is upon. It's upon those who respect Him, and upon those who hope in His mercy, or hope in Jesus Christ who is the mercy of God.
He is our heavenly father, and we are his beloved children.
How He loves us.
He keeps His eye upon us because of that love and our relationship to Him.
He is looking at you this very moment.
2. God delivers his people from death, and keeps them alive in times of famine.
Psalm 33:19 To deliver their soul from death, And to keep them alive in famine.
Here we have two promises from God.
He delivers His people from death.
And, He keeps them alive during times of famine.
God cannot lie, so we know these promises are true, and can be believed with all of our hearts.
We will never be separated from Him, and He will never be separated from us.
He will always deliver us, and He will always provide for us even in the most difficult of times.
3. God's people can wait on the LORD, because He is our help and our shield.
Psalm 33:20 Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield.
This verse now speaks of what we ought to do.
And, it tells us why we ought to do them.
God's people wait on Him, or believe Him, trust Him, expect Him to do as He has promised.
The reason we can wait on Him, is because He is our help and our shield.
How wonderful to see that God really takes care of His people, helping them, and shielding them.
We could never do these things for ourselves, that's why God wants us to trust Him, He can do them.
4. God's people shall rejoice in Him, because they have trusted in His Holy name.
Psalm 33:21 For our heart shall rejoice in Him, Because we have trusted in His holy name.
This is speaking of what we will do.
In fact we already do it.
But one day we shall do it like never before.
That time is when we get to heaven.
My how we will praise Him.
5. God's people can pray for His mercy to be upon them, as they hope in Him.
Psalm 33:22 Let Your mercy, O LORD, be upon us, Just as we hope in You.
This is a prayer.
It's a prayer that is conditional.
The prayer is for His mercy.
The condition is "just as we hope in You"
God's mercy means we do not receive what we deserve.
And, as we hope in God, or actively believe Him, we find ourselves experiencing the richness of His mercy.
Some questions:
1. Isn't it a blessing to realize that right at this very moment, God is looking at you through eyes of love and mercy?
2. And isn't it a tremendous promise that He has and will deliver our souls from death. We are no longer separated from Him.
3. Do you know that God invites you to wait on Him, because He wants to help you and be your shield?
4. Try for a moment to think about how you will praise God when we first see Him face to face?
5. And isn't it great to know we can pray for His mercy and that we can hope in Him?
A prayer:
Father, Your Psalms are such a blessing to us. They lift us up, they comfort us, they instruct us, they bless us more than we can imagine. Thank You for giving us 150 of them. We believe that more people read the Psalms than any other book in the Bible. Lord the Psalms are one of our most favorite books in the Bible. They never cease to encourage us. And, may You help us Lord to be those that pass on Your encouragement to others. We love You.
In Jesus name, amen
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
