This morning I was reading in Psalm 33 and 34 and was joyfully reacquainted with a theme we find here and throughout the Psalter–God Sees us!
In Psalm 33:13-14 we read, “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.” In Psalm 34 we also read about God seeing us in vv. 15-16, “The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off the memory of them from the earth.”
As children we learn that we cannot see God but he always sees us. It’s a simple, but foundational truth that undergirds our Christian lives. There is a difference, however, in the way these two psalms talk about God seeing us. In Ps. 33 the Lord is said to be looking down from heaven on all the children of man, yet in Ps. 34 the Lord’s eyes are toward only the righteous. So which is it? Is God looking at all of us or some of us? The answer is both. As creator and king he sees everyone and observes all their deeds, but in a special way his eyes are toward the righteous in a way they are not toward the rest of mankind.
Almost every illustration I can think of falls short of fully capturing this phenomena. When I am with my son at one of his wrestling matches I am scanning the mats to see who is doing what, but my eyes are especially focused on how my son is doing. You could even say my face is toward him, attuned to his match. As a mother walks through a crowded mall her eyes are on all the people in front of her, but she never takes her special gaze off of her toddler son. Of course where these illustrations, and all others like them, break down is in the fact of our human limitations. We couldn’t pay attention to everyone at the wrestling match and everyone in the mall even if we desired to do so, but God could (with respect to his limitless ability) and doesn’t. And the reason he doesn’t has to do with his holiness. His face has to be against evil because of who he is. So when we are forgiven of our sin and counted righteous by faith God chooses to sees us in a different way.
The implications are many. Because God sees us he must see us as righteous and not evil for if we were evil his face would be against us. Because God sees us he knows what we need and we need not grow anxious and fearful. Because God sees us we are inclined to live bolder and more fruitful lives. I can’t help but notice that my son wrestles with more joy and fervor when he knows I am standing mat-side with my eyes on him.
Beloved, cherish the truth that God sees you in a way that he doesn’t see the sinful, unbelieving world. He sees you, in fact, as a loving father.
