January 6
Reading: Psalm 65
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1 Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed.
2 O you who hear prayer,
to you shall all flesh come.
3 When iniquities prevail against me,
you atone for our transgressions.
4 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!
5 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;
6 the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being girded with might;
7 who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,
8 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.
9 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.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
11 You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.
Psalm 65 is pure praise to God. This is a poem about the goodness of God. In verse 1 is an invitation to come and praise God in His holy city and keep vows made to Him. Then He is praised for hearing prayer, forgiving sin, calling His people to Himself, and for all the goodness in His house.
Often, we fail to remember and think on the amazing blessing that it is to live as God’s people. We easily see our problems and the things we think we need. But what would life be without the presence of the Lord, the truth of His Word, the grace of His forgiveness, and His wonderful gospel plan worked out in Jesus Christ? How sad life would be if we could not speak with God whenever we pleased.
I know people who do not know the Lord. They could neither sing this psalm nor even understand the real meaning of it. I used to be blind and dead like that.
One of my favorite modern hymns has a stanza that says this perfectly:
I was blinded by my sin
Had no ears to hear Your voice
Did not know Your love within
Had no taste for heaven’s joys
Then Your Spirit gave me life
Opened up Your Word to me
Through the gospel of Your Son
Gave me endless hope and peace
Beginning in verse 5, the “God of our salvation” is praised for all the mighty things He does. These verses move from God who reigns over the ends of the earth to His provision for the grass growing in your meadows. He has created and now sustains the earth. He causes it to produce food every year. We enjoy such bounty! All His creation sings for joy to its creator. (vs. 13) We ought to join in.