Who we look to for help when we have a problem or are in trouble is important. If someone came to me asking for help with car trouble, they would be out of luck, as I have absolutely no mechanical ability. Calling upon the wrong person can actually be dangerous at times. You don’t want someone who doesn’t know what they are doing to be fixing the electrical wiring in your house! Someone may claim they can help you in your time of need, but end up being a poor choice. This holds true in every area of one’s life. As we look into our psalm for this week, the psalmist tells us where to look, and where not to look for help.
Our Scripture passage, the second half of Psalm 33, begins with the statement that those who have chosen Yahweh for their God are a blessed people (vs. 12). Since this is true for the individual, it would be even more so for a nation. Yet there really has never been any nation that has completely followed the Lord. Even the nation of Israel throughout the Bible kept turning away from God and would worship the false pagan gods of the people around them. There were brief times now and again when they repented and turned back to Him, but then quickly returned to their idolatry. And today, though there are true Christians in nations all around the world, no country as a whole is committed to following Jesus and His Word. Following Jesus, and Him alone, is the only true way to be blessed.
As we continue in our psalm, we are reminded that God is omniscient. He knows all things. There are no actions, people, or situations, whether past, present, or future, that is hidden from Him (vs. 13-15). God isn’t watching us just for His amusement. He is concerned with everything about us. Jesus has told us that every hair on our head is numbered (Luke 12:6-7). That shows a lot of concern for us. If He cares about when a sparrow drops to the ground, then He certainly cares about us! Everything on earth is under His control. Because all is under God’s control, it would make sense that we turn to Him when we have any needs or problems. We certainly don’t have all under our own control, nor does any other person, yet so often Jesus is the last One we turn to.
Our psalmist states that God has fashioned each of us individually, just as a potter does any vessel he makes (vs. 15). He made our hearts and our minds. God did not make some hearts to be evil and some to be righteous. God did not fashion some deliberately in order to destroy them. We were all made equally, and each of us has the power of choice. We can choose God, accepting His Son Jesus as our Savior, or we can reject Him.
The psalmist next turns his attention to nations and their rulers, and to whom they turn to for help (vs. 16-17). How many people and nations, whether in the past, or even today, put their trust in the size of their army to deliver them from danger? We are told that the size of our army won’t help us. As a child we might have looked to the strongest person in class and make friends with him in order to be protected from bullies. However God tells us that the strongest of men cannot help us. The horses mentioned here figured military strength. They are not a help. God rules over every nation. We should not put our trust in any leader. Military might should not be the grounds of our hope, nor any supposed political savvy or the many promises politicians make. Our trust should only be in God.
When we put our trust in Yahweh, and not in some human power or might, we have the assurance that He will continually watch over us (vs. 18-19). If you are a parent, or if you can remember back to when you were a young child, you might remember your parents keeping an eye on you. Parents watch over their children, keep their eyes on them, to protect them from any harm. God’s eye is on us, all those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus. He will watch over all those who fear Him. Jesus promises to give us the help we need, either against any enemies or in any problems. We are never alone or abandoned in our struggles.
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