Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Musings on a Psalm

The Lord looks down from heaven;
   he sees all the children of man;
from where he sits enthroned he looks out
   on all the inhabitants of the earth,
he who fashions the hearts of them all
   and observes all their deeds. Psalm 33.13-15

The point of this part of the Psalm is obvious. Our God watches what we are doing. It gets more interesting when you add this from Jeremiah 32. 'His eyes are open to all the ways of the children of man, rewarding each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.' God is watching you and He will reward you accordingly. Now, for the interesting question. Does that encourage you or does it make you fearful? How you answer that could say a lot about how you understand your heavenly Father. It could also say a lot about how you understand yourself. The Father is watching you. Is He eager for opportunities to scold you or to cheer you on? Some of you might respond by saying something like, 'How could He cheer on a sinner like me?' Ah, but you forget. He does not see you as a sinner. He sees you as His loved child. After all, that is what Jesus has come to do: make you into one of God's children. So, He observes all your deeds. And, yes, that includes your sins. But Jesus blood covers those. So, the Father is free to note your efforts at doing good. He sees your attempts to love. And that pleases Him so much that He cheers for you. He sees your good efforts and is eager to reward them, both now and later.