by A. A. Neale

After Ben Moore of Cincinnati had more than $30,000 worth of goods stolen from a building he owned, he'd had enough. He and his partner researched options and set up Citywatch.com, an e-surveillance monitoring system using cameras controlled by the Internet.

After installation, police made five arrests in one day.*

Various rights groups have questioned the use of cameras in public places, but many residents in high-crime areas welcome them. The jury still is out, but the perception is that these one-eyed watchmen deter crime and can provide evidence when a crime is committed.

The God of all the earth does a tad better than that. The Psalmist says "his eyes watch the nations," so the rebellious had better not think about rising up against him (Psa. 66:7, NKJV). Indeed, "the eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good" (Prov. 15:3).

There is no place, no one, no hour, that the Lord does not see. What a sobering thought!

To him who wants to do evil, such verses are a warning. That old idea of repressive religions that God is watching you and will get you the minute you step over the line isn't too far off -- when we're talking about the wicked. The Bible uses the symbol of the eyes of God watching the wicked to assure everyone, good and evil, that retribution will be quick and sure.

We may be sure that the very worst thing we can do is to "provoke the eyes of His glory" because of our tongue and doings (Isa. 3:8).

The eyes of the Lord also shoo us away from temptation. To the adulterous eyes, Solomon warns, in an extensive passage about the immoral woman, not to give in to lust, "For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, And He ponders all his paths" (Prov. 5:21).

The Good Book also speaks of the eyes of God on the righteous to say that he never forgets his people. Here, eyes mean care, as in Moses' declaration that the Lord would bless the promised land, "a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year" (Deut. 11:12).

"The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry. The face of the LORD is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth." Psalm 34:15, 16

Peter quotes this verse in 1 Pet. 3:12 to remind us that we may suffer for the sake of righteousness and still preach the Good News of the Cross because the Lord is watching out for us.

Nothing gets by the Lord unnoticed. He sees the evil rampant in the world. And his eyes take in with tenderness and love the struggles and service of the righteous. This wonderful truth was well expressed by Civilla D. Martin:

Why should I feel discouraged, Why should the shadows come, Why should my heart be lonely, And long for Heav'n and home, When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He; His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me; His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me.

That God's eye is upon those of us who do righteously is indeed a truth to encourage, sustain, and bless.

*Liza Porteus, "Cincinnati Residents Try High-Tech Crime Stopping," 15 July 2003, FoxNews.com.