Psalm 33 was going along so gloriously, and then there was this verse.
“Now the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him–those who depend on His faithful love to deliver them from death and to keep them alive in famine” (Ps 33:19).
The first verse was highlighter worthy. But the last part? Deliver them from death and to keep them alive in famine?
Pause.
My first thought is, ‘How many God-fearing people have not been delivered from death and not been kept alive during famine?’
So I turned to the commentaries to see what they had to say. Understandably the commentaries gloss over this one and it is strangely absent.
I think of the life of David. How many thousands of righteous men and women died from war and famine during his reign? So much so that he wasn’t allowed to build the temple he desired. It was given to his son to build.
But back to Ps 33. Back to immediate context.
David is clearly comparing the “false hope for safety” (33:17) and a safety that comes from trusting in the Lord (Ps 33:18-22), not in military might (Ps 33:16-17). What David is clearly saying is that God is able to deliver from death and famine, but those who trust in government and military have falsely placed their hope.
It isn’t saying that God always delivers from death and famine. If that were the case then all people on earth would still be alive. What David is doing is making a comparison as to the source of hope and strength.
I think of Acts 12 where James was put to death with the sword (probably beheaded) and Peter escaped by a miracle.
For whatever reason God, who doesn’t cause the evil (it was King Herod who killed him), but as One who redeems it, did not intervene when King Herod put James to death. But for Peter there was a miracle when he too very well could have been to death the same way James was. Because he too was arrested by Herod who had his sights set on killing him as well.
God has purposes we do not know about. If he saved the righteous every single time then men (and women) would serve him because of that alone.
Let’s look at this verse again:
“Now the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him–those who depend on His faithful love to deliver them from death and to keep them alive in famine” (Ps 33:19).
The focus here is again, the Lord– the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him. Those who are righteous look to him for deliverance. And for millennium, there has been great deliverance for His people. Perhaps the most notable was the deliverance of the Israelites from the Egyptians, and then His great provision with food and water in the desert so they didn’t die.
Comparison:
v. 17 “false hope”
v. 18 those who fear the Lord
So where are we putting our trust? In the one who is able to save? That’s where David put his trust.
It’s much better to put our hope in Him then trust in the false hope of military might.
Some will ask, what’s the point? What’s the difference? If God is arbitrary in who and when he wants to save, why not put hope in military might?
A) Military might has its place, but it is a bad place to put one’s hope. There’s so much more involved. It cannot save.
B) God can bring deliverance and salvation every time. Does he? No. But when he does, there is rejoicing. And when he doesn’t, we can trust that He has his purposes and a bigger perspective. And for those who know him, there is an even bigger salvation.
