Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him,

.... On those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine (Psalm 33:18, 19).  We are looking at the same Psalm we did yesterday, where we were meditating on the sovereignty of God. The “Behold” of this morning's opening verse is almost a “but,” or “by way of contrast.” The Psalmist had been saying things like “No king is saved by the multitude of an army; A mighty man is not delivered by great strength” (verse 16). In other words there is more going on that the purely natural.  So byway of contrast then,  the watchful eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him etc.  But what does this mean? Does it mean that when bad things happen to “good” people,  that they are not really good?

Jesus could say “No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18), but then He calls us “saints” (i.e Philippians 1:1).  The verses also clearly do not mean that God will deliver His saints out of all difficulty, He will keep us alive in famine, we will not die, but we will still be in the midst of famine. The meaning then seems to be more along the lines that those who fear Him and hope in His mercy  can claim “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you” (Isaiah 43:2).  The Christian knows well that Christ suffered for us. These verses from Isaiah tell us He also suffers with us “I will be with you!”

Peter warns us “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you” (1 Peter 4:12). We are even to rejoice “to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy” (verse 13). And when we find ourselves in the midst of these things, we need to hold onto the truth that God is goods and that He is merciful to those who fear Him and hope in His Mercy, to keep us alive in famine!

Father, this is such a mystery, such a glory that we can partake, that we can share in Your sufferings, in order that we may also share in Your glory (Romans 8:17).   But Lord we cannot do this without total surrender, without putting all our eggs in the basket of faith. As we say in twelve step programs “Half measures profited us nothing. So view of Your tender mercies we present our bodies as living sacrifices again this morning and we give You the honour and the glory and the praise in Jesus Name Amen