Resting, Resting in Our Lord

^{Psalm 33 NIV}

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.

Whenever I’m tired, anxious, or down in my emotions, I like to listen to praise music. The Psalms is a great place in the Bible for us to study about how to praise the Lord. Today we are looking at Psalm 33. Now this is not a short devotion today – this Psalm is full of the attributes of God. I pray you bear through this information and are blessed by it.

Verses 1-3 encourage us to focus on God’s great worthiness to be praised – encouraging us to open our hearts and to sing to Him in praise. He is righteous (v. 1).

Verses 4-11 tell much about God’s character. These verses remind us that God’s Word is right and true (v 1). They tell about God’s faithfulness, (v.4) His righteousness, and His justice (v. 5).

Looking at verses 6-9, we see God as the Creator of all. Just His Word made the heavens. The waters of our world are gathered in His jars – think about it – does it not make you full of awe to think that he can gather the ocean in a jar? Our God is tremendous – He is immense. Webster’s defines “immense” as “transcending ordinary means of measurement.” God is beyond our measuring. Does that just blow you away? How can we help but praise such an amazing God.

Verses 10-12 are full of the attribute of God that He is omnipotent. Now, I looked at Webster’s online and got this definition of omnipotent: “having virtually unlimited authority or influence” – evidently “Webster” doesn’t know our great God! God is omnipotent – having UNLIMITED authority AND UNLIMITED influence – that is our God! He thwarts the plans not in His plan. His plans stand firm. The purposes of his heart will go through all generations. ALL GENERATIONS – isn’t that wonderful! If you’ve ever read through 1 & 2 Kings, you’ve read about lots of people – even God’s chosen people – not obeying God and not passing along a life of faith in God. Yet, God’s purposes prevailed and continue to prevail. What an encouragement that is to me, dear ladies. I pray His omnipotence is an encouragement to you today. His plans will NOT fail.

As I now look at verses 13-15, I see God’s amazing knowledge and attention to detail in each person’s life. These verses talk about the Lord looking down from heaven and seeing ALL MANKIND – that’s every person – EVERY person – just thinking about that makes me almost have a headache – it’s almost too much to comprehend. And if that weren’t enough, “he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.” – God considers EVERYTHING they (EVERYONE) do/does. The fancy word for this is omnipresent – “being present at all places at all times” (Webster’s definition) The God who made you – who is creating your baby is actively watching you and your baby and paying attention to every detail in each of your lives. How can we not worship this great God!

Verses 16 & 17 focus on us humans – not one of us achieves success or strength of our own doing. “No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.” Now, let me emphasize that I firmly believe that God uses knowledge of medicine and doctors and medical staff to assist with healing and good health; however, when we put our HOPE in those people or things, our hope is in the wrong place. Our hope is to be with the Lord - that hope is our anchored hope. The Lord can use those people or medicines to help with good health, but don’t put your HOPE in those people or things. Worship the great Creator of those people and of those things – the Lord our God!

This great psalm nears the end with the reminder that God’s eyes are on those who fear him – those who have reverence and awe in God. God will deliver them. That’s why He sent the Lord Jesus.

The last three verses focus on God being our great hope – our shield and our help. Let our hearts rejoice in this great God. Let us put our rest in Him. Rest in His unfailing love.

Dear God,

You are righteous. You are worthy of my praise. I praise you right now. I praise You for being the great Creator. I praise You for your Word. I praise You for your faithfulness. God, you gathered the waters of the sea into jars, yet you also started my little one with two tiny cells and you are knitting this baby together in miraculous ways. You are in control of the expanse of universe and in control of my womb. I praise You that Your plans stand firm. I praise You that your purposes go through all generations. I pray, God, that You will equip me to spread Your Word and Your purposes to generations through this child I am carrying. God, when I am anxious, help me to put my rest and my hope in You. You have a plan. Be my shield and my help. May your unfailing love rest upon me as I put my trust in You. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

There is a great hymn that our church sings frequently – it touches my heart deeply. It’s called “Jesus, I am Resting, Resting.” Although my favorite tune to sing this is the upbeat way our church’s worship team leads it (Thanks Pastor Fred!), this you tube version is lovely. I’ve also included the words so that you can sing along while the video is playing. I pray it blesses your day.

Jesus, I am resting, resting
In the joy of what thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon thee,
As thy beauty fills my soul,
For by thy transforming power,
Thou hast made me whole.

Jesus, I am resting, resting
In the joy of what thou art;
I am finding out the greatness
Of thy loving heart.

O how great thy lovingkindness,
Vaster, broader than the sea!
O how marvelous thy goodness
Lavished all on me!
Yes, I rest in thee, Beloved,
Know what wealth of grace is thine,
Know thy certainty of promise
And have made it mine.

Simply trusting thee, Lord Jesus,
I behold thee as thou art,
And thy love, so pure, so changeless,
Satisfies my heart;
Satisfies its deepest longings,
Meets, supplies its every need,
Compasseth me round with blessings:
Thine is love indeed.

Ever lift thy face upon me
As I work and wait for thee;
Resting 'neath thy smile, Lord Jesus,
Earth's dark shadows flee.
Brightness of my Father's glory,
Sunshine of my Father's face,
Keep me ever trusting, resting,
Fill me with thy grace.