As always, here’s my fairly literal translation of this verse:
5He
has given food to ones fearing Him;
He remembers His covenant to the ages.
In this verse we are reminded that one of the “works” of the
Lord is the simple fact that He takes care of us! He gives us food.
This is one of those places where it is good to “remember
the works of the Lord.” I think at first glance, the verse doesn’t seem to say
anything remarkable; but as I sit and ponder it, I instead find it explode with
encouragement to me and praise to Him.
I know for myself, I easily take so much for granted. Every
day the sun comes up and goes down. I eat my meals, go to work, pay the bills,
mow the grass, and life goes on. But this verse reminds me to stop and consider
that all of this is from the hand of God. It is easy to take it all for granted
precisely because He is so faithful to provide it. As the Scriptures say, “It
is God who gives us the power to gain wealth,” and “He makes His sun to shine
on the evil and the good, and sends His rain on the just and the unjust.” The
entire human race is able, like me, to basically just get up every day and
their needs are supplied, never pausing to consider it is all straight from the
hand of God. He can simply withhold His rain and an entire country turns into a
dustbowl. Our health actually hangs by a very slender thread, yet we get up
every day and charge into our lives, never pausing to realize it is Him who
gives us our very breath.
“He has given food to ones
fearing Him; He remembers His covenant to the ages.” Why is there food in my
cabinets? I could easily say, “Because I went to work and made the money to buy
it.” But who gave me the health to go to work? Who gave me the job to go to?
The fact is I have food to eat because I have a faithful God. “He opens His
hand and satisfies the desires of every living thing.”
Interesting it says specifically,
“He has given food to ones fearing Him …” He very specifically and deliberately
takes care of us who “fear Him” – which is the OT way of simply describing His
people. But “He makes His sun to shine on the evil and the good.” Here is one of
the ways He is amazing – that although the vast majority of the world rejects Him
and ignores Him and spits in His face, He still feeds them too. The little dogs
do indeed eat the crumbs that fall from the children’s table! He is so faithful
to us His people that the whole world basically can take for granted all the
gifts of sunshine, rain, health, and food to eat. His goodness is so great that
when He gives it to us, there is so much of it, it overflows to the rest of the
world. Where sin abounds, grace does much more abound.
The difference, I guess, is that
we His people should pause from time to time and remind ourselves it is all
from His hand, that we should not “take it for granted,” that it should be
cause for genuine heartfelt praise and thankfulness to our faithful Father.
I do have so much to be thankful
for – wonderful parents who loved me, the most beautiful woman in the world for
a wife, three children who never cease to make us proud and a fourth one in
Heaven waiting for us, three grandchildren (and hopefully many more!), a
great job, a beautiful house, cabinets full of food and a garden growing out
back – so much to be thankful for, and all mine only because God is faithful,
because “He remembers His covenant forever.”
And of course, above it all, He
provided Jesus to be our Savior – as He promised. When the struggles of this
life are over, I live in the certain hope I will spend all eternity with this
amazing faithful, loving Father where there will be no more death, no more
sorrow, no more tears.
“All praise to Him,
Who
reigns above in majesty supreme;
Who gave His Son for man to die,
That
He might man redeem.
Blessed be the Name!”
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