Title: Psalm 33:13-22 Seeing all life
Psalm 33:13-22 Who searches all life
13 The LORD looks down from heaven to see all men.
14 From where he dwells he watches over all the inhabitants of the earth.
15 He is the one who makes the hearts of all of them, and watches over their works.
16 ○ There is no king who has been saved by many armies, and even the mighty man cannot save himself
17 ○ Horses are in vain to save, and even though there are many armies, they cannot be saved.
18 The LORD looks upon those who fear him, those who hope for his mercy.
19 He delivers their souls from death, and gives life to them when they are hungry.
20 Our souls long for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.
21 Our hearts rejoice in him, because we trust in his name.
22 Show us your kindness, O LORD, just as we hope in you.
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.
The text makes it clear what the reason for the hymn is as a continuation of the preceding verse.
Jehovah Who Sees All Life (13-15) The key concept in this verse is to ‘see’. The verbs nabat (looked over), raah (to watch), and bin (to look over), meaning to see, are used in this verse. The subject that sees is Jehovah, and the place where Jehovah sees is heaven (13) and dwelling place (14). The dwelling place means the throne of God. And the object and scope that God sees in heaven is all life, all inhabitants of the world, and the human heart. After creating the world, Jehovah still rules and intervenes. No one can escape the gaze of Jehovah. Jehovah sees and knows not only the outward appearance but also the heart. Because Jehovah made the human heart, that is, the soul.
Jehovah the King (16-19) This verse sings of the vanity of worldly power. Verses 16 and 17 are parallel verses and repeat the same content. Many armies, warriors, horses, and troops are also terms described in parallelism (literature technique of repeating the same content in similar words), all referring to worldly power. The powers of the world, however strong, are unreliable and vain. Those who believe and depend on this vain worldly authority will never be saved. Life's refuge is not in the powers of this world, but in the mercy of the Lord (18, 19). The Lord has a throne in heaven, and as the supreme King over the world, he cares for those who fear him (Ezra 5:5; Job 36:7; Psalm 34:15; 1 Peter 3:12).
I hope in the Lord (20-22) The whole congregation responds to the poet's request for praise. “Our souls long for the Lord.” The word hope (ha ka) means “to wait” (Isaiah 30:18; Hab 2:3). Waiting for the Lord is because He alone is the help and shield of those who believe (Psalm 28:7; Deuteronomy 33:29). The hearts of the saints who believe in the Lord and wait for Him are joyful and joyful. When we trust in the Lord and wait, all the worries of the world disappear and our hearts rejoice with the assurance of His help. And these hymns naturally lead to prayer (22).
meditation assistant
He looks down (14), which means that he pays attention.
Warhorse (17). horse.
Do you have the peace and strength that can only be obtained by entrusting everything to God now?
purpose of good deeds
‘Samuel Shoemaker’ put it this way.
“Being a good person is not enough to convey the redemptive grace of Jesus. In other words, we cannot make known to people that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead, and we cannot prove that Jesus is the Son of God. Being a person only makes you stand out. It is not talking about Jesus at all.”
If the saints can't show the glory of God when they do good deeds, the good deeds are meaningless. The work of the saints is meaningful and beautiful when it shows the glory of God.