PSALM 33 GOD OF ALL CREATION

Written by , Rector of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church, Richmond, Virginia
 
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; 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.

Our God is not a Star Wars “Force” that can only be channeled through Jedi Warriors. Nor is he a “Wholly Other Being” who remains aloof from the created order. Nor is he inaccessible to humankind and unknowable by them without a specific mediator. Nor is he disinterested in what we do and how we do it.

God has revealed himself to us through the Scriptures, the Incarnation and the Church (by the Holy Spirit) as a God who is involved. He has demonstrated in this world that he created the world out of self-giving love and that he cares about everything that occurs in the created order every day. He desires a relationship with human beings – all human beings. He created the first human in his image (both male and female) and he became human as the Christ in order to redeem us from our disobedience and rebellion (to restore our mutilated image). God is the Creator who is involved in his creation.

Our hope is in God because it is his plan to bring us all back into a perfect and eternal relationship with him. As sinful human beings we are like those who are illiterate and live in a village of illiterate people. We cannot depend upon those in the village to teach us how to read. Our only hope is for someone from the outside who can read and loves us enough to want to come to us and teach us how to read. God wrote the book of creation, including our lives. The good news is that he loves us enough to come and teach us so that we might truly live.

Heavenly Father, I thank you and praise your name for the love you have poured out on the world even during its rebellion. Teach me, guide me, and redeem me, O Lord. May I place all my hope in you and only you. Amen.