UNFAILING LOVE, OUTLASTING PATIENCE

Psalm 33
UNFAILING LOVE, OUTLASTING PATIENCE
May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you. (v.22)

Unlike most of the preceding psalms, this psalm does not carry a title. Nonetheless, it stands out clearly as a song of praise. Commentator John Stek suggests that the first three verses could have been sung by the choir master, verses 4 to 19 by the choir, and the remaining verses by the people in response. If so, the psalm would have made an impressive piece of liturgy.

Liturgy serves its purpose only when it inspires worship. Surely, the contents of the psalm cannot but move and lift up hearts in worship. Portraying God as the sovereign LORD of both creation and nation, the psalmist calls on us to sing, to make music, to praise the LORD.

However, as the song ends, a sombre chord is struck in prayer. "We wait in hope for the LORD... May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD..." (vv.20,22). Waiting upon God is a constant theme in the psalms. Perhaps, the repeated emphasis is because we often find it so difficult to wait. This is all the more true today in our fast-paced world of instant services.

But we wait in hope because of the promise of God's "unfailing love." Our patience may run out, but his love never will. He always comes to those who wait long enough. But how long is "long enough?" Only the LORD knows. Noah waited weeks for land, Hannah waited years for a son, the Israelites in Egypt waited generations for a deliverer. If God is not in a hurry, neither should we.

God's patience always outlast ours.