Take note of where the Lord finds His pleasure. He has the choice of looking into the entire universe, even with so much familiarity with the stars that He calleth them all by their names. Yet it is not there that He finds His great pleasure. Nor is it in the accomplishments of great and strong men. The Psalmist who is also a Prophet—most likely David himself—tells us where the delight of the Lord indeed is.

Psalm 147:10,11—He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: He taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, in those that hope in His mercy.

What an amazement! He takes his pleasure in those that HOPE in His mercy. You might think He would find greater pleasure in those who keep His Law, or in those who do great deeds, or in those who excel in making the earth a better place for mankind, or in those who work to bring forth righteous government in the land. But no! His pleasure is in those who HOPE in His Mercy. This makes way for everyone of us—great and mean, excellent and inferior, brilliant and stupid—to bring pleasure to the Lord.

The word hope in the above passage is from a word meaning “to wait expectantly.” The Lord takes pleasure—indeed, He is happy—with, those that wait expectantly for His loving kindness, and His mercy, His grace, His goodness. Here, we have “hope” as a word of action. It is amazing. Hope is the primary action we can take to please the Lord.

Psalm 33:17-20 tells us more to emphasize His pleasure in us when we place our hope in him. An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength (the might of a great army). Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear Him (them that are reverent toward Him and respect His ways), upon them that hope in His mercy; to deliver (to snatch, as from a burning building; to rescue) their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for (waits expectantly for; longs for) the LORD: He is our help and our shield (our defense). This Psalm gives us hope to go with us into the pressures that will only increase as the time of the end comes on.

DEAR LORD, indeed, MY LORD! I am learning to lean upon You in my times of trouble. I praise You for all that You are becoming to me. I praise You for the protection from the traps the enemy has set along my pathway. You are bringing me—and these I hold before You—through these trials. You are even bringing us through the troubles that we have brought upon ourselves. What mercy!