The Earth is Full

After a week of vacation with the family, I'm back online and posting my thoughts about my daily devotional readings. This week, my focal chapters are Psalms 33 to 36. I hope you will read them slowly and prayerfully with me - all four chapters today, and then one chapter per day for the next four days. Watch for those verses that "jump out" at you, the verses that "grab" your attention, the phrases the "glimmer" and "stick" in your mind for several minutes - or maybe the rest of the day!

One of the first phrases that jumped out at me this morning was the first half of Psalm 33:5 - He loves righteousness and justice. I knew immediately why I was drawn to this verse. In some ways it was a continuation of yesterday's sermon in which I spoke about God's truth that we are called to proclaim. I mentioned love and justice. Righteousness is related to love in Scripture. In most scenarios, it means "covenant faithfulness" - a relational ethic grounded in a God-given identity. Love summarizes that ethic. Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the Law. (Romans 13:10)

And justice is likewise related to love, for justice enforces the requirements of love in an unloving society. Justice seeks to right the wrongs that unloving actions have caused. Justice seeks to undo the hurts caused by overlooking or looking down on one's neighbor. Justice seeks restoration and healing and the return to a loving community.

God loves righteousness and justice.

And the more I looked at this verse, the more my eye was drawn to the second half of the verse: The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.

Lovingkindness is an interesting, smashed-together word. It is a word that is difficult to translate. Some translators have preferred the word "mercy" (think of the end of Psalm 23 - surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life). Some have used the word "goodness." Some have used the phrase "faithful love." It is a curious word that contains elements of all of these ideas.

It is certainly God's love. And it is an act of grace that we should receive such love. And it is an act of God's faithfulness to his own covenant that gives that love over and over and over again.

But perhaps the most wonderful thing about it is its availability! The whole earth is full of it! And the whole earth testifies to its abundance. The whole earth speaks of God's faithful love toward undeserving people. It is not far from any of us. It is everywhere we look - if we look!

And somehow, that was precisely the word I needed to hear this morning. The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.