The Eyes of the Lord areUpon Us
13 The Lord looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. 14 From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. 15 He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works. 16 There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength. 17 An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength. 18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy; 19 To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield. 21 For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. 22 Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee. Psalm 33:13-22 (KJV)
The Morning Exhortation
The whole world has become like Sodom and Gomorrah in chasing after vain pleasure and ignoring God (Genesis 19:4-11, 14-16, 24-26). Let the saints be set to prayer (1 Timothy 2:1-8). Workout and eat for strength, but know it is God who grants the growth (Hebrews 13:9). Therefore, to God belongs the glory (Ecclesiastes 3:10-15). It takes wisdom to understand that even our lifting and our eating is made possible only by the grace of God (Psalm 104:14-15, 18:28-36). Reverence and awe is due the God of our salvation (Isaiah 53:1; Exodus 15:11-21). Those who are far from our Lord Jesus Christ will perish (Matthew 7:21-23), but the love of God is the door of grace opened to those who love Him (John 10:27-28).
Question
What hinders us from hearing the voice of the Lord?
Answer
Three things hinder the promise/command in verse 27 above:
- Fear of Man: “My sheep hear my voice” — what will people say if this becomes true of me? Such fear is a hidden cloak for selfish pride (John 5:44). Repent (1 John 1:9), accept your weakness, affirm your reliance on the Lord, and He will make you strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10; 2 Timothy 1:7). Just because some people who hear voices are clinically crazy, doesn’t mean that we should shy away from such a life changing opportunity to know our Lord (Luke 11:11-13).
- Incomplete faith: “I know them” – for two people to get to know each other, the two must spend time together (John 14:9). To say you know someone, means that you can describe his or her character, that you know their likes and dislikes, that you can reasonability predict what they will and will not do. God has given us His golden record by which we may come to know Him in the same way. It’s called the Holy Bible (2 Peter 1:16-21). Become like a child who completely trusts his loving parent (Matthew 18:1-4), and ask (Luke 11:9-10).
- Incomplete sanctification: “they follow me” – the will of the Father and obedience to Christ are one and the same (John 14:21). Faith is the evidence of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1-3) and willing obedience to God is evidence of our love for Him (John 14:22-24; Hebrews 13:12-14, 20-25).
The Prayer Appointed for This Week
Almighty and everlasting God, grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. from the Book of Common Prayer
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