Hope in God's Unfailing Love

Psalm 33
1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, you righteous;
it is fitting for the upright to praise him.

2 Praise the LORD with the harp;
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.

3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully, and shout for joy.

4 For the word of the LORD is right and true;
he is faithful in all he does.

5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of his unfailing love.

6 By the word of the LORD were the heavens made,
their starry host by the breath of his mouth.

7 He gathers the waters of the sea into jars [a] ;
he puts the deep into storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the LORD;
let all the people of the world revere him.

9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.

10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations;
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever,
the purposes of his heart through all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people he chose for his inheritance.

13 From heaven the LORD looks down
and sees all mankind;

14 from his dwelling place he watches
all who live on earth-

15 he who forms the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.

16 No king is saved by the size of his army;
no warrior escapes by his great strength.

17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.

18 But the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,

19 to deliver them from death
and keep them alive in famine.

20 We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.

21 In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.

22 May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.

It is easy to praise God when things are going well; it is far more difficult to praise God in times of deprivation or danger. But it may be more important to praise the LORD in the difficult times than in the good times. It is in the time of difficulty that we need to remember who God is, what God is like, and what God has done in the past. It will strengthen our faith for the current crises.

Psalm 33 will do just that. The psalmist may have been facing the danger of war, and perhaps related to it the deprivation of food in a famine; but he praises God for his character and his works throughout history. This is not "Praise God Anyhow" as some mottos would have it; rather, it is praise to the LORD for solid reasons, and those reasons inspire greater faith and greater prayer.

Just think about the times that God has been there for you when you have faced the trials of life in the past. We have to remember that God will always see us through our time of trial; God will always be there to help us and strengthen us. An when the current crisis is over you will have a new reason to praise, hence, a new song to sing to the LORD.

Peace and love,

Sue


"Be still and know that I am God"(Psalm 46:10)