The Lord Sees and the Lord Saves

“The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man; from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth, he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds. The king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a false hope for salvation, and by its great might it cannot rescue. Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine.” -Psalm 33:13–19

The statement of verse 12 is transitional in that it serves to conclude one thought while serving as the introduction for the next: “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!” -Psalm 33:12

As this verse prepares us to see, God sees from Heaven who belongs to him. Though he is high and lifted up and sits upon the throne of the cosmos, not one thing escapes his attention, not a single hair of our head or sparrow that falls (Matthew 10:29-30). Moreover, the Lord who has fashioned the very hearts of men, knows the condition of each one, and not a single one of their deeds escapes his attention.

Because God sees it all, and because God’s word and work are inseparable, foolish it the man who tries to save himself, who trusts in the strength of his goods, his wealth, or his technology to keep him safe. The Lord sees those who fear him, those who trust him, those who believe in his faithful, unrelenting love, and neither death nor famine can take that man’s soul if the Lord has chosen to spare him.