Psalm 65 New Living Translation
For the choir director: A song. A psalm of David.
1 What mighty praise, O God,
belongs to you in Zion.
We will fulfill our vows to you,
2 for you answer our prayers.
All of us must come to you.
3 Though we are overwhelmed by our sins,
you forgive them all.
4 What joy for those you choose to bring near,
those who live in your holy courts.
What festivities await us
inside your holy Temple.
5 You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds,
O God our savior.
You are the hope of everyone on earth,
even those who sail on distant seas.
6 You formed the mountains by your power
and armed yourself with mighty strength.
7 You quieted the raging oceans
with their pounding waves
and silenced the shouting of the nations.
8 Those who live at the ends of the earth
stand in awe of your wonders.
From where the sun rises to where it sets,
you inspire shouts of joy.
9 You take care of the earth and water it,
making it rich and fertile.
The river of God has plenty of water;
it provides a bountiful harvest of grain,
for you have ordered it so.
10 You drench the plowed ground with rain,
melting the clods and leveling the ridges.
You soften the earth with showers
and bless its abundant crops.
11 You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;
even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
12 The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture,
and the hillsides blossom with joy.
13 The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep,
and the valleys are carpeted with grain.
They all shout and sing for joy!
Word of God for the Children of God
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Remember God’s Faithfulness, His Power and Provision
This psalm is written in reverse order — the conclusion comes first.
Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. (Vs. 1)
After being reminded of the upcoming truth in this Psalm, we should be moved to praise God and fulfill our vows to Him — for most of us today that will mean keeping our commitment to dedicate our life to His will.
O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. (Vs. 2-3)
First and foremost, God deserves praise because He hears our prayers and because He atones for our sin.
Without this, we are hopelessly lost and under just condemnation.
Remember, God removes our transgressions through Christ.
Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple! (Vs. 4)
Secondly, God deserves praise because of His grace, which brings undeserving sinners into the overwhelming goodness of His presence.
Remember His grace to bring you into His presence.
Take a minute to ponder the incredible blessing of salvation we have in Jesus:
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24)
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:13)
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (I Peter 2:9-10)
The blessing of being near God — in His very presence — is overwhelmingly satisfying and praise-inducing!
Let the awe of being in His presence weigh on you right now.
Thank Him for it!
By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; (Vs. 5)
What awesome deeds has God done in your life, or in the lives of your family?
How have His deeds caused you to grow in righteousness?
Maybe you’re struggling through difficult relationships with family or friends.
Maybe you are struggling with a loss of health or chronic financial obstacles.
Maybe you’re struggling with feelings of hopelessness.
Remember, God is our hope, and He will answer!
The one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, (Vs. 6-7)
God has demonstrated His mighty strength in the past.
As Creator, He lifted the mountains and rules over the seas.
He speaks and stills the storms! (Mark 4:35-41)
Jesus Calms the Storm
35 As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). 37 But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water.
38 Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”
39 When Jesus woke up, he rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. 40 Then he asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 The disciples were absolutely terrified. “Who is this man?” they asked each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”
“No Storm too Strong!”
He can handle those overwhelming problems that face you and me today.
Remember God’s limitless power.
If we will devote our lives, commit our ways to Him and implicitly trust Him to take care of our problems, He promises a glorious outcome:
So that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy. (Vs. 8)
God’s interventions on our behalf will generate praise from the watching world.
If you live in dependence on and submission to Him, the miracles. wonders, He will unleash upon your life will inspire admiration and worship from those who don’t already know God.
But God delights to meet not just your spiritual needs:
You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it. You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy. (Vs. 9-13 ESV)
God is the great Provider.
He is our loving Father.
He delights to overwhelm His children with abundant blessing!
His water is life-giving.
His river of water is unlimited.
It allows food to grow, allows the work of the laborers to prosper, and sustains the life of the flocks.
His rain is real, physical blessing that brings bounty, abundance, and joy.
This Psalm is a model for those who have experienced God’s blessing.
Remember
All that God has done for you, and spontaneously tell others of His goodness and strength on your behalf.
This Psalm is also a model for those who are in need — when life seems too impossible to cope, when you need a miracle, when you need God to provide.
When you have a mortgage you cannot pay, when you have unexpected dental bills or auto repair, utility bills, when there hasn’t been rain and the land is dry, remember His power and provision.
Recall God’s faithfulness in the past and the goodness of His character (which never changes!), and let it lead you into a place of Shalom, comfort and praise.
Remember: God’s river never runs out of water.
Praise God in the midst of whatever circumstances surround you, because at all times He is worthy of praise. Remember His goodness and His mighty power.
Pray prayers of adoration, in faith for Him to draw you close to Himself, and for Him to provide you with spiritual and physical blessings. Thank Him for which He has done, as well as, for He is about to do. He is the Author of our salvation.
13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.
“In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen”
Praying …..
Psalm 107:23-38English Standard Version
23 Some went down to the sea in ships,
doing business on the great waters;
24 they saw the deeds of the Lord,
his wondrous works in the deep.
25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men
and were at their wits’ end.[a]
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad that the waters[b] were quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
31 Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
for his wondrous works to the children of man!
32 Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33 He turns rivers into a desert,
springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the evil of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
36 And there he lets the hungry dwell,
and they establish a city to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards
and get a fruitful yield.
38 By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their livestock diminish.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 