Those Who Hope in His Unfailing Love

[Christsfreeservant]

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,​

the people he chose for his inheritance.​

From heaven the Lord looks down​

and sees all mankind;​

from his dwelling place he watches​

all who live on earth—​

he who forms the hearts of all,​

who considers everything they do.” (Psalms 33:12-15 NIV)​

Now, under the Old Covenant that God had with his people Israel, the nation of Israel (the Jewish nation) was the nation whose God was the Lord. But when Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross to put our sins to death with him, so that he could free us from our slavery to sin, he made Jew and Gentile one nation (one people) by faith in Jesus Christ. All Jews who rejected Jesus as their Messiah (the Christ) were cut out of Israel while the Gentile believers in Christ were grafted into and became one with Israel.

[Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 9:4-8,25-28; Romans 11:1-36; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 2:22; John 8:18-19,38-47; Jude 1:5; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9]

Therefore, in our present day and time, the nation whose God is the Lord are all who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives. We have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. We are all those who no longer make sin our practice but for whom righteousness and obedience to our Lord are what we practice, by the grace of God, in the power and wisdom of God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

If we are following Jesus Christ with our lives in obedience to his commands, and in submission to him as Lord, and in surrender of our wills to the will of God for our lives, then we are blessed of God. God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – is our Lord (Owner-Master), and our lives now belong to him. And as those who belong to Christ, we are to be following our Lord in obedience, living holy lives pleasing to him. We should no longer be conformed to the ways of this sinful world but transformed of God’s Spirit.

“No king is saved by the size of his army;​

no warrior escapes by his great strength.​

A horse is a vain hope for deliverance;​

despite all its great strength it cannot save.​

But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him,​

on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,​

to deliver them from death​

and keep them alive in famine.” (Psalms 33:16-19 NIV)​

Now there are a lot of people professing faith in Jesus Christ who are idolizing certain men and women in positions of power and influence, and they are looking to them to solve the world’s problems, and/or to make my nation (the USA) a better place to live. Or they are looking to our military to keep us safe. But the Scriptures are very clear on this subject. Our trust is not to be in humans and in kings and in their armies. And what if they are not who we think they are, and they end up betraying us? Think on that!

What do the Scriptures teach us about these last days? Liars and deceivers and false christs are going to appear and deceive even the elect, if that were possible. Many will be blinded to the truth and they will follow after “Pied Pipers” to their deaths. A beast will conquer peoples and nations and will persecute and murder those of genuine faith in Jesus Christ. And so we need to be listening to the Lord and letting him be the one to lead us and guide us and to rescue our people and our nations from the sin that ails them.

And the eyes of the Lord are on whom? On those who fear him. And to fear the Lord involves us taking him and his word seriously and applying it to our lives, in his power. It means that we reverence, respect, honor, and obey our Lord, we die with him to sin, and we now walk in obedience to his commands, by his grace. By God’s grace we are being taught to renounce ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return for his bride (Titus 2:11-14).

“We wait in hope for the Lord;​

he is our help and our shield.​

In him our hearts rejoice,​

for we trust in his holy name.​

May your unfailing love be with us, Lord,​

even as we put our hope in you.” (Psalms 33:20-22 NIV)​

Our hope is not in kings and kingdoms and politicians to save us. Our hope is in the Lord to save us, to purify us, and to make us more like Jesus. He is our help and our shield, not other humans and not armies. He is the only one in absolute control over everything that goes on in this world, and he is the only one who can change human hearts. And rather than looking to humans to save us, who may betray us, we should be sharing the full gospel of Christ so that other humans can be saved and have eternal life with God.

[Psalms 118:9; Psalms 146:3; Psalms 147:10-11; Isaiah 40:23; Jeremiah 17:5-6; Hosea 8:4; Hosea 13:10; 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; 1 Corinthians 3:1-9,18-23; 1 Corinthians 7:23; Galatians 1:10; Galatians 2:12; Ephesians 4:14-16; Ephesians 6:5-8; Colossians 2:8,20-23; Colossians 3:23-24; 1 Thessalonians 2:3-8; 1 Peter 4:1-5; 2 Peter 3:17-18]

Only Trust Him

By John Hart Stockton, 1873

Come, every soul by sin oppressed,
There’s mercy with the Lord,
And He will surely give you rest
By trusting in His Word.

For Jesus shed His precious blood
Rich blessings to bestow;
Plunge now into the crimson flood
That washes white as snow.

Yes, Jesus is the truth, the way,
That leads you into rest;
Believe in Him without delay
And you are fully blest.

Come, then, and join this holy band,
And on to glory go,
To dwell in that celestial land
Where joys immortal flow.

Only trust Him, only trust Him,
Only trust Him now;
He will save you, He will save you,
He will save you now.

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