THE LORD LOOKS FROM HEAVEN
PSALM 33:13-22
PSALM 33:13-22
Introduction:
Though leagues of distance lie between the finite creature and the infinite Creator, yet there are links uniting both. When you weep a tear, think not that God does not see; for, “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.” Psalms 103:13.
I. GOD LOOKS UPON THE SONS OF MEN
A. To see if any man understood, v. 13; Psalms 14:2, “The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.”
1. God is God close at hand, Jeremiah 23:23, “Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off?”
2. His eyes are on the earth to show Himself strong for those who trust Him, 2 Chronicles 16:9, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars.”
B. To see if any man sought the Lord, vv.13b-14; Romans 3:11, “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.”
1. Evil men do not understand nor turn to the Lord, Proverbs 28:5, “Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things.”
2. The danger of God’s judgment, Amos 5:6, “Seek the LORD, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.”
II. GOD MADE MEN’S HEARTS ALIKE
A. God is the maker of the rich and the poor, v. 15; Proverbs 22:2, “The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.”
B. Man was made upright, Ecclesiastes 7:29, “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.”
1. Man’s universal PERVERSION was man’s doing, not God’s, Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”
2. However, God has determined our LIMITS, Acts 17:26, “And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;”
C. God ponders and judges our acts, Psalms 44:21, “Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.”
1. He shall bring every work into judgment, Ecclesiastes 12:14, “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.”
2. God will make manifest the counsels of the hearts, 1 Corinthians 4:5, “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.”
D. Man CANNOT SAVE HIMSELF in his own strength, vv. 16-17; Psalms 44:3, “For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.”
1. David said that he did not trust in his sword, Psalms 44:6, “For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me. 7 But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.”
2. God said you can’t trust a horse, Psalms 20:7, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.”
III. BEHOLD THE EYE OF THE LORD
A. His eye is upon the righteous, vv. 18-20; Psalms 34:15, “The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.”
“That eye of peculiar care is their glory and defense. None can take them at unawares, for the celestial watcher foresees the designs of their enemies, and provides against them.” —Charles H. Spurgeon
1. He takes pleasure in those who fear Him, Psalm 147:11, “The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.”
2. He does not take His eyes off of the righteous, Job 36:7, “He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous: but with kings are they on the throne; yea, he doth establish them for ever, and they are exalted.”
3. He is our strong consolation, Hebrews 6:18, “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:”
B. We, who trust, cannot but be of a GLAD heart, Psalms 13:5, “But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.”
1. We rejoice because we have trusted Him, Psalm 28:7, “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.”
2. The Lord has turned our mourning into rejoicing, Psalm 30:10-12, “Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper. 11- Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness; 12- To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.”
CONCLUSION