Seen by God, Sustained by Hope
A Reflection on Psalm 33
Good morning. I have been on retreat in Spain.
In today’s Morning Office I was reflecting on Psalm 33.
I am struck by the image of God “looking down from heaven, seeing all the children of men” (Psalm 33:13-14). Nothing escapes His gaze. Like Adam in the garden, I sometimes think I can hide from Him, cover myself with leaves of distraction or self-sufficiency. And yet, His eyes pierce through ALL veils. He sees me in my weakness, my choices, my hopes, my failures. Far from being a cold surveillance, this gaze is a loving one. It is a gaze that knows and sustains me.
The psalm reminds me of a lie I often hear from the world: that security and salvation can be found in wealth, strength or clever planning. “A king is not saved by his great army; a warrior is not delivered by his great strength. The war horse is a vain hope for victory” (Psalm 33:16-17). I see around me the power of wealth, influence, and possessions. It is easy to fall for the lie that these things promise safety, comfort and control. Yet, when I am honest, I realize that NONE of these things can deliver from death. They cannot guard the soul against famine of the heart.
What God looks for, the psalm says, is not riches or strategies but hearts that “fear Him” and that “hope in His steadfast love” Psalm 33:18). That word HOPE is decisive. In hope, I rest my life not on my own resources but on His mercy. The Catechism calls hope “the confident expectation of divine blessing and the beatific vision of God” (CCC 2090). Hope shifts the weight of my heart away from fragile securities and onto the strong arms of the Father.
This psalm assures me: God will deliver me from death. He will keep me alive “in famine” (Psalm 33:19). This famine can be physical but it also can be spiritual, emotional, or relational. In seasons where everything seems barren, He sustains me. St. Augustine once commented on the psalms that “when all human aid fails, God alone in my hope.”
Hebrews echoes this same call: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23). When I wait on the Lord, as the psalm invites me to do, my heart finds a quiet gladness. My soul, restless when it grasps at control, becomes light again when it yields to hope.
So I return to the final prayer of the psalm: “Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you (Ps 33:22).
This is the resting place: not hiding like Adam, not striving like Babel builders, not clutching wealth like the fools in Jesus’ parable, but simply hoping. To live in hope is to live in God’s gaze, to let His merciful love rest in my heart, and to discover that in His presence I am safe.
Thanks be to God.
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