My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 67:6-7
6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us. 7 God shall bless us; let all the ends of the earth fear him!
The psalmist comes to the end of his ruminations on the praiseworthiness of our God, and with these last two verses, he speaks of the abundance creation provides for His people. Our God is a God who blesses His people.
As the uncaused Cause, as the One who was from before any of all creation, it is simply logical that He is the source of all blessing. Yet as the psalmist writes, He speaks of riches, abundance and produce from the earth. He reiterates that God is the source, but the psalmist ensures the reader of the type of provider God is. God is not One who supplies “just enough”, acting as a miser or a skinflint, reluctant in providing His creation the supplies they need. He provides increase!
Whether directly by the hand of God or indirectly through His creation, God is the source of blessing. All past experience of the blessing of God into the saints life, as described by the psalmist previously is the basis for his declaration that God shall bless us.
He repeats it twice in case I didn’t notice.
God shall bless us
God shall bless us.
Our God is the One who provides abundantly, and as it is evident to all the lands the blessing God has for His people, the result will be that the ends of the earth will fear Him.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 67:4-5
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth. Selah 5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
Can you hear the Psalmist? If only the nations understood the judgement and guidance the Lord provides. The psalmist rightly speaks of the nations being glad and singing for joy if they understood His judgement and guidance!
But, alas, the nations are blinded, and the people are deceived. Out of this deception comes misunderstanding, confusion and bickering. No joy, but jealousy of His power. No gladness, but grievances of His ways. No praise but only put downs and complaints of His Person!
Now I do not want to forget that this deception is accepted by a fallen people, a people who seek to find fault with God, who want to turn away from God and to follow their own way. But these are two different topics. The truth of God’s judgements and guidance, as compared to our ability/desire to accept this truth. I do not think the Psalmist is communicating the ability/desire of the nations/peoples, but simply that if they understood, the outcome would be praise, joy and gladness!
Before we follow God (and if we are honest with ourselves after we commit to Him), we are a people that tends to look the other way, to avoid the truth, to seek our own ways. We have an old man’s heart that surely likes to say no to God and His truth.
The psalmist is speaking of the judgement and guidance of God, and not necessarily how it is accepted by those of us below. It is as if the psalmist moans that the peoples/nations would open their eyes to the truth, to see how righteous and good God is in His judgements, in His guidance of the nations. Patience and mercy exude from the Father in all His ways, and a correct understanding of God’s judgements and guidance, to those who correctly understand it, perceive it, receive it and take it in, will produce a response of gladness, praise, and joy, even singing.
A correct understanding of God’s judgements and guidance will produce a response of gladness, praise and joy, even singing.
On a personal note, it must be understood that even in church, as I try to sing, my voice is such that it perturbs me. I can’t image the poor folks who may hear me! An exercise of mercy towards me for them!
I mess up, muddle through and am off tune, out of tune and without any talent. Yet as I grow into the Lord, and understand His holiness towards us, His mercy and patience, His many gifts of blessing to us, I find I cannot help but sing, even to the detriment of those around me.
Occasionally a tear will fall down my cheek, simply because He loves me, and somehow, in song, that reality hits me harder than during the day to day grind we all experience. And yet He loves us each and every day, whether we feel it or not. It is a truth we can settle into, lean upon and run to in times of trial.
He loves the nations. He loves people. He loves me, and for the life of me I don’t understand why – but He does and it simply pulls me in!
If only the deceptions could be pulled away from our minds, and if only our souls would seek the truth. May God have mercy on us, and reveal the Son of God in all His grace, in His resurrection, and in His patience to us, a people that are very slow to learn.
Praise Him for His judgements and guidance toward each of us each day. May we seek to understand Him and His ways more everyday!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 67:1-3
1 To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song. May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah 2 that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!
One of my grandbabies came over to visit us for few moments a couple days back. He is a little two year old that, along with his brother, my wife watches a couple times a month. He is an energetic youngin’ and we always, with all our children and grandchildren, need a hug when the come and when they leave. I am tending to become a huggy guy!
Nevertheless, this little buckaroo gave us our hugs, but while in Gramma’s arms, turned his head and started having an attitude. He turned his face away from Gramma. He was expressing a natural reaction to some issue he was upset with Gramma about. I think it was candy related! It didn’t last long for my wife let him know it wasn’t acceptable to act like that. No candy was wrestled out of my wife’s pantry by that behavior!
But I digress. When we see a phrase in our first verse about making God’s face shine upon us, this indicates His face is not shining upon the author. There was anger being expressed, and the author knew it.
He is requesting that God turn His face to him. Now I am not in any way trying to portray God as a demanding little child, that wants something we have, but I seek only to communicate that the act of having a face turned away speaks of loss of relationship. My wifey and Theo have a great relationship, but at this time, he had his eyes on something else.
God is not turning away for some selfish desire, but because of our sin against Him. We have offended Him.
Yet notice the Psalmist speaks of God making His face turn to us. With Theo, Gramma had to explain the situation, and require Theo to “face” her. For the Psalmist, all of this action is passive, the only active participant is God Himself.
God makes His face turn to us. Does this not scream of the crucifixion, of the free will offering of the Savior, of His work to satisfy the Father and to make the wall of partition fall down between us, of His making peace between us?
Even the purpose of this “making God’s face shine upon us” is not simply for our benefit but consistent with the Great commission, that God’s ways would be practiced by all on the earth.
Matthew 28:19-20
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
And what is the natural response to this observing of God’s ways? Praise. All the people to praise the goodness of God, in that He made His face to turn to us. He did not wait for us to be good enough, or to bring more and more sacrifices, but He took action, and is waiting for the natural response of His people to praise Him and thank Him.
Take a few minutes this morning to praise Him for His many acts of mercy, for His face to shine upon us in the person of Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Truly it is impossible to not be thankful, and to praise Him when we sit before Him and think on His love and mercy towards us in Christ Jesus!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 66:16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul. Psalm 66:17 I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. Psalm 66:18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. Psalm 66:19 But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Psalm 66:20 Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!
In our last post, we looked at the vow the psalmist was to keep and of the commitment he had towards God. In this final portion of Psalm 66, the psalmist speaks of his inner condition, of his prayer to God., and of God’s work in the psalmist’s soul.
It appears the psalmist was in the midst of a trial, for he cried out to God, and as he has encouraged us, spoke high praise to the Lord. Immediately after declaring his prayer, he spoke of cherishing iniquity in his heart, and that if he did God would not listen. This is a common teaching that we believers understand.
But notice the “but”.
The psalmist was teaching a truth on the heart condition requirements of the believer, and immediately made an exception for the fact. A believers heart is to be clean, but in my circumstance, God listened. God truly had listened.
Verse 20 is far richer than I initially considered as I glibly read through it. Consider the psalmist, having a “not pure” heart, crying to God in the midst of a trial, and yet God listened, He noticed, He gave heed to the prayer, not rejecting the prayer, as the psalmist surely may have expected.
The psalmist can not explain this reaction from God but for one reason.
God had not removed His steadfast love from him. Dwell on this blessing today, as you venture out for Him.
He is a merciful God!
Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me. KJV
Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer or withdraw his unfailing love from me. NLT
Blessed be God! He has not turned away my prayer or turned his faithful love from me. CSB
Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer Nor His lovingkindness from me. LSB
Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer Nor His favor from me. NASB
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 66:13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you, Psalm 66:14 that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. Psalm 66:15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah
In our last post, we spoke of the reality of God testing the believer, and of God bringing us through some trouble or trial. The psalmist experienced his own personal trial, and spoke a vow before the Lord. The next few verses speak of him completing his vow.
Vows are serious. A vow is a verbal contract. A promise, usually a bilateral type of agreement that the offerer makes to get something out of the other party.
Now there are vows that are unilateral, that is, the offerer makes the vow without expecting any type of action on the part of the recipient, but that doesn’t happen often, and I can’t think of a time when it wasn’t God making the offer. He is like that, in that He makes a vow for our good, and that costs Him, for our sake. Doesn’t seen fair, but that isn’t the way God works. He is full of mercy, and grace. Fairness doesn’t factor into His dealings with us! (Righteousness does of course, but I fear I am getting a bit off track!)
Nevertheless, the psalmist made a vow. A promise to God for His intervention in a trial he was going through. Obviously, God pulled him though to an abundant place, and he was mow focused on performing the vow.
Did God need the sacrifice? Was God hungry, in that He needed the sacrificed meat? This idea speaks of our seeking to understand God in our terms. God did not require a sacrifice, but the psalmist needed to provide the sacrifice. He needed to complete the vow, FOR HIS OWN SAKE. .
For one to make a vow and to break it (not perform it) remains in a persons conscience. When all is quiet and there are no distractions, the truth is still there of a broken promise, of a vow incomplete, made to the One who is faithful.
For a psalm that speaks of all the earth to praise God, this particular last portion of the psalm becomes very personal, focused on the psalmist himself. Its as if the psalmist couldn’t help but to take his own counsel and to speak of the awesome deeds God had performed in his own life, and the resultant obedience that grows out of this awesome deed. I assume it was an awesome deed for the vow is quite extensive. Not only are there multiple types of sacrifice (bull and goat) but there seems to be multiple animals for each sacrifice.
Not only is the quantity high, but the quality is high also. These animals are fattened (vs 15), speaking of the health and worth of each sacrifice.
The psalmist offered burnt offerings, which were a voluntary sacrifice, a sacrifice that spoke of devotion to God. Although his vow may have been given in the heat of the moment, his devotion was long term, deep and according the the instructions provided by God.
Yet in all of this vow keeping, the psalmist does not forget that it is God that is the greater One in the relationship. In our next post, the psalmist will speak of some of the deeper, internal actions the psalmist went through, and the work of God related to his heart.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 66:8 Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of his praise be heard, Psalm 66:9 who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip. Psalm 66:10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. Psalm 66:11 You brought us into the net; you laid a crushing burden on our backs; Psalm 66:12 you let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
Up to this point in the psalm, some may think that the believers life is described as all rosey, full of cotton candy, chocolate balls and sweet gummies.
Yet to praise God for His awesome deeds is not to imply that the believer has no problems, no trials, no troubles. His deeds are awesome on their own merits, and His awesome deeds are performed for us in the midst of our pain, our suffering, our self inflicted trials and rebellion.
He rescues us from our own foolishness at times, and sometimes He allows the consequences of our foolishness to work a better life into us. The psalmist states in verse 10 that God tests us. This should not surprise any believer, for it is in the testing that we come to know of His faithfulness and of our weakness, for if we do not trust in His power, we ultimately fail, and continue to suffer through our foolish decisions. If we trust Him in the midst of the trial, in the midst of His test for us, we grow as a believer, we can confidence in His power and love, we leave behind a good witness to others, and eventually, we find ourselves in an abundant place, a place of expansion and wonder, a place of freedom to obey and a desire to follow.
His test for you may be very difficult, may be crushing you, bring tears to your eyes and a pain in your heart. The test may be through the fire or through the water, but the psalmist wants to remind us that
…He brought us out to a place of abundance.
He is a delivering God, One who seeks to bring us to a place of abundance, though through pain, and suffering at times. We must remember He is the One with wisdom, He is the One who has all knowledge.
Notice the psalmist returns to the “we/us”. As the ancients followed and suffered, us moderns are also called to follow, and possibly suffer. But the end is the same for us as it was for them.
We will come to a place of abundance. Or better said, we will come to have life abundantly and with the One who knows us best.
May His name be praised, even in our trials. May we speak out loud of His awesome deeds, even in the midst of hard lessons!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 66:5 Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man. Psalm 66:6 He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There did we rejoice in him, Psalm 66:7 who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations– let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah
How is it that the psalmist invites his current audience to come and see the awesome deeds of God and then refer to actions the Lord performed hundreds of years before they were born? Psalm 66:6 goes so far as to say “There did we rejoice in him”.
Is the psalmist merely speaking in the editorial we, as referring to the entire nation of Israel? If so, this still does not address the time difference from the psalmists audience and the work being referred to.
Is the psalmist describing the ability of the group he is addressing with a past deed of God? He refers to “them” going through the river on foot, and us, his current audience rejoicing.
Why the difference in pronouns?
In my opinion (only my opinion) the psalmist is wanting to connect the existing audience with those who experienced the deed of God, and remind all that though an act of God may be performed at a particular point in time, it’s benefits extend throughout time immemorial. It is for those who follow behind to enter into this benefit, though they may not have seen, heard, felt, touched, sensed or got caught up in the experience.
The psalmist speaks of the deliverance of the children of Israel through both the Red Sean and the Jordan River, immediately changing the topic to how God rules over the nations. God saves and God guides, God delivers and God directs.
Again, the psalmist caps off his short message with a reference to the rebellious, that they do not exalt themselves. Though some may consider this a command, and it may be, and should be obeyed, I sense the psalmist is giving counsel for the sake of helping the rebellious. Not so much as threatening, but for the rebellious to consider the great deed of God and to compare themselves in reality, to live in truth.
Consider the awesome deeds of God, and in doing so, the self exaltation we crave will evaporate before His throne.
May we experience a humility that keeps us from the self appointed exaltation we so often seek. Please God – help your people to know your awesome deeds, to enter into the benefit of your work on our behalf, though we fought you all the way!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 66:3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. Psalm 66:4 All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah
In our previous post we dwelled on the awesome deeds of God, and of our privilege to speak of the deeds of God to God out loud. I got a bit caught up in the theme of praise to God of His awesome deeds, that I missed a small point in the passage that I feel needs to be addressed.
Verse 3 speaks of the enemies coming to God cringing to Him, even as he then says in the very next breathe that all the earth worships God.
How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
Is this a reluctant approach to God by the enemies? It certainly feels that way when the translators speak of cringing. And rightly so, for those who fight against God must surely find at one point in their existence the utter futility of fighting against the All-powerful God. Upon seeing their mistake, their sin, cringing is a natural response. But is it a continual cringing, reluctant and grudging response to God, to whom all praise belongs?
The Hebrew word used in this verse can speak of cringing or of submitting. Many commentators make a point of stating this term refers to a continual forced subjection, a submission that is against the will of the enemy. That may be true, yet this entire psalm speaks of all the earth giving praise, of joy being experienced throughout the earth.
Have you ever been forced to praise God? Would you consider those times as times you lived in the truth, in real joy and provided heartfelt praise? There may be an effort by some to make the enemies of God continual enemies, that they cringingly crawl to God and never repent, never find joy, never love Him.
I don’t know about you, but there was a time I cringed, I was an enemy, a hater, a lowlife, a fighter against God. Out of His mercy, He rescued me, and because of that I want others to be rescued.
When I come across a passage as above, speaking of those who “have to” praise God, I recall Philippians 2:10-11
Philippians 2:10-11
so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Could the message Paul gives here allow for cringing submission, a submission that is exterior only, and not an internal willing submission? Maybe. Maybe not.
As I have mentioned in an earlier posting, the term in Philippians for confessing doesn’t seem to have the cringing, reluctant and grudging component as suggested in an earlier post. If this is of any interest to my reader I would suggest reading Book Look – Jesus Undefeated – Passage 6.
There may yet be a time when His victory over death is complete, not only in His authority but also in the experience of all the world.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 66:1 To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm. Shout for joy to God, all the earth; Psalm 66:2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! Psalm 66:3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. Psalm 66:4 All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.” Selah
This psalm is anonymous and no particular time is referenced in the passage. It is a psalm of praise for all the earth to enter into.
Note that right from the very first verse, the message is joy, loud joy, and that it is expected from all the earth. Joy and praise to the God of all creation.
The psalmist even gives us practical guidance on how we are to praise the Lord. Say to God, that is speak out to God the contents of verse 3 & 4.
“How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name.”
At the risk of analyzing this expression of joy to the point of dryness and mere facts, let us nevertheless consider the psalmist’s direction.
Awesome Deeds
To speak of the awesomeness of His deeds, means we need to rehearse in our hearts the very deeds He has performed. The many personal acts of rescue He has performed in your life, the many ways He has provided for you and your loved ones, the protection He has provided. In the midst of this exercise, be specific.
Beyond the personal ministry the Lord has performed in you own life, think beyond your own world and consider the many awesome deeds He has performed recently in your church, at your work, amongst your friends.
Let us not forget the many ways God has moved amongst the nations, how He has delivered many from difficult circumstances of national crisis, or weather related catastrophes. His hand is in the mess!
Even greater deeds are worthy to praise Him for, as we remember the history of the church, of the many ways He has brought about growth and continuity through the years, especially through persecution, trials and tribulations. The church is still marching on, in the midst of a rising hatred of the true God.
One awesome deed that I cannot ignore is the Word of God, it’s existence for our guidance and life giving message. Many are the attacks on the Word, yet it stands against all foes!
The awesome deed that takes the cake? For us in the modern era, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus shines forth, is the capstone of all awesome deeds, representing the tremendous love of God for fallen humans, the glory of God hanging on a cross, suffering for lost men and women. A death that is to be remembered, not only due the depth of injustice performed on an innocent – no a righteous man – but also by the willingness of the Savior to take the death, to suffer the torture, to lay His own life down. This mighty deed is most mighty! And yet three days later, He rose from the dead.
When we as believer’s think of the awesome deeds of God, we are not a poverty stricken people. We are rich in the knowledge of the many many mighty and awesome deeds of the Lord.
As the Psalmist teaches us, speak out of the mighty and awesome deeds of God. He is not a God who is far away, distant from His people, and away from the heartbeat of each of us. Say to God, whether we feel like it or not, of the mighty deeds He has performed. Though our inner man may praise God through out the day, we as believers are the only ones who will speak of the mighty awesome deeds of God to God, and those within earshot!
One thing the psalmist does not direct us to do in this passage is to argue for the truth. Simply speak it out. There is power, and great joy in the speaking of the truth. There are times when we are to defend the truth, to exercise an “apologetic” a robust argument for the truth of the gospel! The psalmist is directing us to simply speak it out, to say it to God with our voice, to offer the sacrifice of our lips unto God
In the next passage, the psalmist continues to speaks of the awesome deeds God has done, and refers back to the crossing of the Red Sea, and the Jordan river. He makes much of the deeds that were in the past for the nation.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 65
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.
In our last post we considered the previous 4 verses and arrived at the conclusion Paul provided in Romans 1, where those outside of the covenant with Israel has information in creation regarding the nature of God and of His might. Yet David does not stop with the general revelation, that God is mighty, but ventures into the care and abundance of God in relation to the created world. He did not simply create the world we live in and then abandon it, but visits the earth.
He is the creator and sustainer of the created world, as He is with each of us.
Verse 9 – 11 speak of God’s provision to all, through His overabundant care of the earth. His provision of life giving water throughout the world is not with a grudging attitude, or sparingly, but He makes it overflow, He greatly enriches it, the river is full. David repeatedly describes the abundance provided by the Lord of the life giving supply of water. Out of this supply of water, grain is provided, and the seasons produce much produce, more than enough.
Beyond the picture of the domesticated picture of a harvest, David then proceeds to describe four additional areas that receive the abundance of God, as sheer grace to those occupying the area.
Pastures of Wilderness
The term for pastures speaks of a dwelling place, an abode, a home for the animals who are not domesticated, who are of the wilderness. God cares for them, providing them a place to belong to, an environment to dwell in.
Hills
David speaks of the hills as one that would put on a belt, ready for the day, but not a standard belt but a belt of joy. With the blessing of God provided, the hills are personified and exhibit joy. What a great concept to consider.
Meadows
David returns to the domesticated environment, when he refers to the meadow here, also personifying the area, being clothed with flocks. Given the modest environment David wrote from (and not our 20th century bent to skimpy clothing), to be clothed speaks of being covered, of an abundance of flocks.
Valleys
Of course, as the water is provided, the valleys recieve and with the water, the soils are ready to produce food stuffs, such as grain. But David isn’t through with his descriptions bearing human characteristics. The combination of the valleys and the grain, rejoice and shout, and sing!
The whole “system” of this abundant blessing from God only results in a positive, good and fruitful response from His creation.
As my wife and I are entering a slowing down of our lives, we have recently purchased a little hideaway, a place where we go to get away from the stress and strain of modern life, away from the bustle and hurry of cosmopolitan life.
From the outside, it is a little shack, and has nothing about it that may appeal to some, but when the quiet is available and nature cant be avoided, and you listen real hard to the silence, there is a symphony playing, an orchestrated existence that many, if not most, ignore or are bothered by. The city life is required for many – I understand – yet we look so forward to experiencing the blessing of God’s nature when we can. This morning, with the sun just breaking, I look forward to hearing the symphony of nature once more.
Be blessed my friends, and consider the gift God has provided in the world we inhabit. It is a gift for all, even to those at the ends of the earth, and as I have mentioned in previous posts, (Montana, The Quiet) the quiet of our created world simply screams the glory of God.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 65
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.
In our last post, we spoke of the One who was chosen and brought near to dwell in the Father’s courts, and suggested this makes most sense, (from our perspective – knowing what we know) that Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of this verse. We also suggested that this psalm is not restricted to Israel only, but with the development of the first four verses discussing “all flesh”, we suggested it may be to a greater audience.
With this set of verses this morning, this suggestion gains additional traction in my opinion, since David refers to “hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas” David is making a point, looking beyond Israel’s boundaries, beyond the kingdoms he knows of, and declaring God is speaking – answering us with righteousness.
With the entire creation being referenced, and David bringing in the concept of answering us, my natural response is – What was the question? What question was on all of creations lips, that God is answering in righteousness?
This entire portion speaks of the power of God being exhibited in creation and of God’s ability to manage creations “natural” processes. I say “natural” for I believe God is involved in all the processes of nature, as I understand David speaks also
In David’s writing, he speaks not only of the physical creation and it’s seeming upheaval, but also of the restlessness of the people, of those who are unsettled like the seas. They will be answered with the signs provided.
But again, what was the question?
David speaks of the way (or method) God provides an answer in verse 5-7 (by awesome deeds), and speaks of the anticipated response of awe by those who dwell at the ends of the earth in verse 8. This anticipated response speaks of astonishment, reverence or godly fear.
This entire psalm, referring to the ends of the earth often within its verses, is speaking of the nations who at the time of writing, did not have the special revelation of the Law and the privilege of the prophets. The only communication provided to the creation is of the created world. For those without Israel’s elevated status of special revelation, God provided the display of nature to talk to all. The message is that the power and might of the Lord is clearly revealed. Paul speaks of the message and helps to define the question, in Romans 1
Romans 1:20 – For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Creation shows His power and divine nature, so any questions that those outside of Israel had regarding God in relation to our responsibility to Him is addressed by the very existence of our surroundings. God has provided enough evidence, nay more than enough evidence for all to understand the power and nature of God. He is mighty, yet the psalm continues with additional characteristics beyond shear power and might of God.
Please join me as we venture into the next portion of Psalm 65, seeing further evidence of the God we serve.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 65
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song. 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!
Our first verse is hanging me out to dry. I am not sure what the message is, and I hope it isn’t because I am daft!
The passage states that “Praise is due to you”, with a footnote, in the ESV, that suggests it may be understood as “Praise waits for you in silence”. When I first read out passage, I was thinking it was a matter of debt to God, that is praise is due to God, as in a natural reaction to all the blessings He provides. This is certainly true, for we shall never express all the praise owed to Him for His many mercies! Yet this passage seems to communicate the idea of silence, and waiting. Consider a few other translations.
Now I don’t want you to think that all translations use the term “wait” instead of due, but a number do, and with the thought of waiting, an occasional translation will also include the thought of “waiting in silence”.
What to make of this? Is this a none issue, a point that makes no difference in our final understanding? Maybe, but I tend to see these minor tweaks or differences to be of interest, to consider what an alternate thought may be communicated.
Hold the thought of praise waiting in Zion, and lets consider verse 2.
Psalm 65:2 O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.
To God shall all flesh come. That phrase is huge! How do you understand that phrase? Is it that every man will meet his Maker, and then judgement? Maybe, and we know this general truth is found throughout the Scripture.
Is it that all flesh will come, and that the praise spoken of in verse 1, is waiting for all flesh to come? Is verse 1 speaking of the delay of praise due to the fact that not all flesh has not yet come to God? It is a possible thought that David may be communicating.
Verse 3 continues with David expressing his weight of sin, and that God atones for our transgressions. Is David speaking of our in the singular, that is his transgressions, or is he referring to Israel’s transgressions? Might he be referring to the transgression of all flesh?
Come on Carl, David clears up all ambiguity of who the subject of this psalm is concerning in verse four, where He states that only a few are chosen and brought near to dwell in His courts.
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!
Oh – I think I may be reading into the passage the idea of a limited number being chosen. David is expressing the blessedness of one who is chosen and brought near, not the quantity of persons brought near, to dwell in His courts.
As a matter of fact, as I read this passage, it seems to lend itself to understanding the one who is brought near as being the Savior Himself. After all, we can only approach the Father by being in the Son, and the Son certainly is One who was chosen and brought near.
Those in Christ shall certainly be satisfied with His goodness, and He will become, out of shear grace and mercy, the entrance, as it were a narrow gate, a door even, into the holiness of His temple.
In closing I have two questions for my dear reader.
Do you see many or few giving praise unto the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit?
Is Zion, the City of the Great King waiting in silence (as verse 1 speaks of) for the praise of all flesh?
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 64:7-10
7 But God shoots his arrow at them; they are wounded suddenly. 8 They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them; all who see them will wag their heads. 9 Then all mankind fears; they tell what God has brought about and ponder what he has done. 10 Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult!
David has just spent the better part of this psalm, describing what he can’t control, the tongue lashing and murderous lips, the evil thoughts and plans of his enemies. He is, in the first few verses, declaring his utter helplessness over controlling his enemies thoughts and plans. We noted earlier that he sought the Lord in finding strength, in seeking relief from the fear of his enemies. He couldn’t control his enemies, but he knows where to find strength to control that which he can control.
In these few remaining verses, David speaks in similar terms regarding God’s protection over him. He refers to the arrows of God wounding the enemies suddenly, and that their evil tongues are turned back on them. How often those who seek evil have the very same evil turned on them!
He speaks of the fear coming upon all mankind, once they see the enemies of David being turned upon. It will be obvious of the judgement of God falling on David’s enemies, as it is obvious of God’s judgement falling on Jesus’ enemies in our current day.
Back in verse 5, the enemies were bold in their endeavors, steadfast in accomplishing their evil plans, since no one could see them!
Psalm 64:5 They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?“
It turns out, the enemies of the upright will not only have their plans folded back onto their lives, but all mankind will see their plans backfire and their lives impacted with judgement. The end of David’s enemies, as with the end of Jesus’ enemies, will become an example of God’s justice for all men to reflect on, to consider, and to take as a warning!
In all of this psalm, as David seeks God’s will, the conclusion is clear. The righteous have a refuge in God, and have every right and privilege to rejoice in their circumstances. Even as the Apostle Paul wrote.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 64:1-6
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, 3 who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, 4 shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear. 5 They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?” 6 They search out injustice, saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.” For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
How dare David complain to God. He is addressing God, bringing a complaint to Him. Does he not have faith? Does He not understand that to submit to God means no complaining or whining? Ok – I may have been a bit sarcastic with “whining”, but I think you get my point.
I would suggest that David has strong faith, a faith that has developed an understanding of the Living God allowing for this freedom to express his concern (complaint?) before the King.
I remember the first time I came across a saint complaining before God in the book of Jeremiah. It was shocking to think Scripture would allow a complaint to God be recorded!
Jeremiah 12:1 Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
Even though it appears that David is bringing a complaint before the Lord, the word is more akin to meditation or musings. He is, as it follows in the psalm, in dire need of protection, and that against the intangible enemy of others thoughts and plans. David’s enemies have secret plots (vs 2), tongues like swords (vs 3), words like arrows (v3), they hold fast to (won’t give up on) evil purposes, (vs 5), talk of laying snares (vs 5), and searches out injustice (vs 6). He can’t use a sword against his enemy to defeat this situation.
All of David’s concerns are of his enemies thoughts, words and plans. That which he has no power of and has no real specific knowledge of, other than that they are malicious!
And yet let us reconsider the original plea from the king. He is requesting God to “preserve my life from his enemy” correct? Not quite. His plea to God is to “preserve my life from dread of the enemy” (emphasis mine)
As a victim of the fear monster myself, I can relate to David’s plea. At times I am frozen with fear over what actually is a minor problem, and which actually resolves itself most times. It is truly ridiculous the things that paralyze me, but not so with David, for he has serious men seeking his life and he needs boldness to think straight, a clear mind to make wise decisions and a willingness to take action instead of simply feeling a victim! He needs to be delivered from the dread of the enemy! It is not a garden variety fear that David speaks of, for he speaks of a heightened sense of fear, that of terror, dread, or of a sudden alarm. This is no simple Carl-style fear situation going on here! He is in serious lock down and he isn’t afraid to admit it to God! (no pun intended!)
An old preacher by the name of G Campbell Morgan once spoke the truth of David’s focal plea of this psalm.
“We need to pray as the psalmist does, not so much for the deliverance from enemies as for deliverance from fear of them.”
At the end of this section David provides a summation of the mind and heart of a man, which is the very thing he dreads through the previous verses!
For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
To be deep does not necessarily carry a moral distinction with it – although in this instance it surely does, but to be deep simply describes a relative amount or “volume” the mind and heart has to contain something. It also carries with it the implication of mysterious, or unknown, unsearchable.
May the Lord help us to somewhat understand our own mind and heart as we walk with Him, seeking cleansing and forgiveness as He reveals the depths of our heart and mind!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 64:7-10
Psalm 64:7 But God shoots his arrow at them; they are wounded suddenly. Psalm 64:8 They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them; all who see them will wag their heads. Psalm 64:9 Then all mankind fears; they tell what God has brought about and ponder what he has done. Psalm 64:10 Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in him! Let all the upright in heart exult!
David has just spent the better part of this psalm, describing what he can’t control, the tongue lashing and murderous lips, the evil thoughts and plans of his enemies. He is, in the first few verses, declaring his utter helplessness over controlling his enemies thoughts and plans. We noted that he sought the Lord in finding strength, in seeking relief from the fear of his enemies. He couldn’t control his enemies, but he knows where to find strength to control that which he can control.
In these few remaining verses, David speaks in similar terms regarding God’s protection over him. He refers to the arrows of God wounding the enemies suddenly, and that their evil tongues are turned back on them. How often those who seek evil have the very same evil turned on them!
He speaks of the fear coming upon all mankind, once they see the enemies of David being turned upon. It will be obvious of the judgement of God falling on David’s enemies, as it is obvious of God’s judgement falling on Jesus’ enemies in our current day.
Back in verse 5, the enemies were bold in their endeavors, steadfast in accomplishing their evil plans, since no one could see them!
Psalm 64:5 They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?“
It turns out, the enemies of the upright will not only have their plans folded back onto their lives, but all mankind will see their plans backfire and their lives impacted with judgement. The end of David’s enemies, as with the end of Jesus’ enemies will become an example of God’s justice for all men to reflect on, to consider, and to take as a warning!
In all of this psalm, as David seeks God’s will, the conclusion is clear. The righteous have a refuge in God, and have every right and privilege to rejoice in their circumstances. Even as the Apostle Paul wrote.
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 64:1-4
1 To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, 3 who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, 4 shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear. 5 They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?” 6 They search out injustice, saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.” For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
How dare David complain to God. He is addressing God, bringing a complaint to Him. Does he not have faith? Does He not understand that to submit to God means no complaining or whining? Ok – I may have been a bit sarcastic with “whining”, but I think you get my point.
I would suggest that David has strong faith, a faith that has developed an understanding of the Living God allowing for this freedom to express his concern (complaint?) before the King.
I remember the first time I came across a saint complaining before God in the book of Jeremiah. It was shocking to think Scripture would allow a complaint to God be recorded!
Jeremiah 12:1 Righteous are you, O LORD, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?
Even though it appears that David is bringing a complaint before the Lord, the word is more akin to meditation or musings. He is, as it follows in the psalm, in dire need of protection, and that against the intangible enemy of others thoughts and plans. David’s enemies have secret plots (vs 2), tongues like swords (vs 3), words like arrows (v3), they hold fast to (won’t give up on) evil purposes, (vs 5), talk of laying snares (vs 5), and searches out injustice (vs 6). He can’t use a sword against his enemy to defeat this situation.
All of David’s concerns are of his enemies thoughts, words and plans. That which he has no power of and has no real specific knowledge of, other than that they are malicious!
And yet let us reconsider the original plea from the king. He is requesting God to “preserve my life from his enemy” correct? Not quite. His plea to God is to “preserve my life from dread of the enemy” (emphasis mine)
As a victim of the fear monster myself, I can relate to David’s plea. At times I am frozen with fear over what actually is a minor problem, and which actually resolves itself most times. It is truly ridiculous the things that paralyze me, but not so with David, for he has serious men seeking his life and he needs boldness to think straight, a clear mind to make wise decisions and a willingness to take action instead of simply feeling a victim! He needs to be delivered from the dread of the enemy! It is not a garden variety fear that David speaks of, for he speaks of a heightened sense of fear, that of terror, dread, or a sudden alarm. This is no simple Carl-style fear situation going on here! He is in serious lock down and he isn’t afraid to admit it to God! (no pun intended!)
An old preacher by the name of Morgan once spoke the truth of David’s focal plea of this psalm
“We need to pray as the psalmist does, not so much for the deliverance from enemies as for deliverance from fear of them.” (Morgan)
At the end of this section David provides a summation of the mind and heart of a man, which is the very thing he dreads through the previous verses!
For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
To be deep does not necessarily carry a moral distinction with it – although in this instance it surely does, but to be deep simply describes a relative amount or “volume” the mind and heart has to contain something. It also carries with it the implication of mysterious, or unknown, unsearchable.
May the Lord help us to somewhat understand our own mind and heart as we walk with Him, seeking cleansing and forgiveness as He reveals our depths of heart and mind!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 63:9-11
9 But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; 10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. 11 But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
Back in our first post on Psalm 63, (Psalms for Psome – Ps 63.01) I suggested the situation David found himself in was running from his own son, as Absalom led a rebellion against the chosen King of Israel.
The next few verses that we are in this morning may be difficult to grasp if my suggestion of David’s flight truly is from Absalom the rebel. Nevertheless, whether those who David refers to as seeking his life is Absalom or King Saul, David’s prayer is for revenge!!!
Are you sure Carl? Are the words of David dripping with bloodthirsty revenge, intent on inflicting the maximum punishment upon whomever is seeking David’s life?
Notice that David makes statements in verse 9 and 10, statements that appear to be provided as facts as opposed to desires.
Let me try to explain. David does not write the verses with any description of his desires or wishes, as I suggest below.
But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth, where I want them to suffer incredible pain without end; they shall be given over to the power of the sword; hopefully with each cut of the sword providing excruciating pain and agony, they shall be a portion for jackals, with the jackals tearing them limb from limb if it was up to me!
(italicized/underlined text added by author – my apologies to david)
I can’t be certain that David was not looking for punishment on his enemy, whether it be King Saul, whom he honored as he lived and upon his death, or his son Absalom, whom he mourned when he found out he was a victim of the war he started.
But as I read the passage, I am led to believe David was providing the inevitable result of anyone who seeks to destroy any man or woman. One who seeks to destroy a human life should expect to have their life taken from them. Is that not the expected outcome of a life of violence, deceit and malice? He who lives by the sword shall die by the sword. He who sows to the flesh shall reap corruption. I suggest that David is simply, and quite possibly with tears in his eyes, stating a fact about the eventual outcome of a man’s decision to destroy other lives.
David eventually finds that his son died in the battle, and this would cause him additional pain, beyond the murder of Amnon, and the rebellion of Absalom, yet he looks forward in faith, declaring he would rejoice in the victory God provided.
Brother and sister – recognize that our King rejoices even now! The King of Kings has proven to be the one who seeks to save lives and not to destroy, to rescue lives and not to kill, to provide life and not to provide barely but abundantly. Is not joy the expected outcome of a life of blessing? Surely the King of Kings will rejoice as no other, for He has been the absolute polar opposite of the one seeking to destroy!
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 63:5-8
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
Through the beginning passages of this psalm, David recounts his great thirst, both physical and even more so, his spiritual longing for God. He is not restricted in this expression of love due to location, for though he is in a most inhospitable location, thirsty and weak physically, he speaks of his soul being satisfied with fat and rich food.
In our culture, we tend to have a negative connotation over “fat” and “rich food”. Unhealthy. Artery clogging. Weight gain. Let us leave that behind in our thoughts, for David is not thinking such. The sustenance he speaks of is for kings and the wealthy, for those who have an abundance. The image is not of simple sustenance, just enough to keep the body going, but of the finest nourishment, of top class grub that provides much enjoyment in the consuming of it.
But Carl – he is speaking of spiritual nourishment when he speaks of fat and rich food. That is the truth, but he is trying to describe his spiritual heart to those who understand physical experiences.
Yes – his actions of lifting his hands, and his offering of praise is the result of God providing an overabundance of sustenance to a dry and parched soul. Is speaking praise not a natural, expected response to such an overproviding God?
Previously, he spoke of his physical condition, and of his reaching out to God, comparing his desire with a thirst. In our verse above, he speaks of remembering, and meditating on his bed during the night. Again, he is speaking of times when he directed his mind and thoughts to the person of God, of His nature, His character, His actions and His saving efforts to a simple man. With joyful lips, singing for joy, David blurts out a most intimate statement.
His soul clings to God.
Now we could analyze this statement, saying that David is simply stating the obvious, since the Creator is the natural center for our souls to return to. But I don’t think in this psalm, David is making any logical argument, for his writing is full of emotion, full of desire and longing. He is beyond logic, beyond facts and now driven by shear desire.
His soul clings to God.
Clings דָּבַקdâbaq
For David to use this word speaks of a most intimate experience. The first time this term is used in the Word, it describes the relation between a man and his wife. (Genesis 2:24).
David is an open book, revealing his deep connection to the Creator of all. No shame or embarrassment of his relation is evidenced in this expression of his desire with the Lord, even in the midst of this terrible trial, that should naturally cause bunches of inner complaining – at least for me!.
In our trials, we may be exposing (to ourselves and everyone around us) our very relationship with the Creator if we turn to complaining as opposed to commitment to Him. As David teaches us, our previous interactions with the Lord will prepare us for trials that will result in singing with joy, and praising Him, even with parched dry lips.
My wife and I are reading through the Psalms in our evening reading and occasionally a nugget of the Psalms jumps out of the page. Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 63:1-4
1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
David was in the Judean wilderness during three periods of his life. His first time in the wilderness was as a young man, a shepherd taking care of his father’s flock. David was thrust out into the wilderness again, under the pressure of Saul’s murderous threats. A final time David found refuge for his life was when his own son Absalom turned traitor, and David had to flee his own city.
I offer to my reader that it is during this third time that this psalm was written, when he was on the run for his life due to his son’s uprising against him.
Depending on the time of year, the Judean wilderness provides a brutal environment to exist in. The dry air around him sucked the moisture from his body during the dry months. Even as he perspired, the water actually evaporated off his skin.
You see, when you are in a condition as David may have been, your sweat doesn’t provide any cooling effect for the body. It is a situation of your precious body fluids simply leaving your body with no beneficial effect for yourself. For a fellow who lives in Houston Texas, where it feels like you enter a shower when you go outside in August, I find this hard to imagine.
Nevertheless, the dryness of the desert pulled liquids from his body, draining moisture from his flesh. Much like the world we live in, that constantly sucks the life out of us, seeking to take our peace, deprive us of joy, and strip us of love. We are a needy people also!
At this point, his flesh and soul were drained. He may have been experiencing early dehydration, heat stroke, headaches, dizziness, weakness etc. As an elderly man, he was surely susceptible to all the physical malady’s extreme heat and dryness inflict on a man.
His experience was physical – he can feel the pain and exhaustion, yet he refers to his outer suffering, his physical thirst, his need for moisture as the basis to describe the greater longing of his seeking God. As his body was in a cruel environment, so his heart and spirit were being crushed by the circumstances, and in this condition, he yearns for God.
In each of our trials, we seek God with focused hearts. In our tribulations, we seek the important Person in our life. In our suffering, God actually appears more desirable, for there are no distractions that compete with our trials while we are in them. (He is always desirable, but the suffering brings the truth home, making the fact of who He is appear much greater!)
Imagine a man in the desert, cracked lips, dry burnt skin, raspy voice due to dryness, and his first thought is to be with God, to recall his time with God in the sanctuary.
It is so very interesting that David speaks of seeing and beholding God in the sanctuary. Obviously, he is not speaking of seeing the full manifestation of God, (or even the Shekinah glory above the mercy seat). but as the tabernacle spoke of the divine nature, David must have spent many hours meditating on the tabernacle. Remember that the temple had not been built yet and the tabernacle was replete with symbology that would provide much to meditate on.
Remember the condition he finds himself in, and that he is recounting his experience in the tabernacle. Truly this was a man who had invested his time is cultivating a meditative stance before the Lord. Out of his time considering the God of Israel, he became awestruck with the Creator of all.
Motivation
Also, take notice of David’s motivation for his writings. He doesn’t look to God and express his thoughts as such
Because your steadfast rules are perfect, I am obligated to praise you.
No – though God’s rules are perfect, David speaks of a free will praise, not a forced submission and obedience but a longing for beyond this physical existence to a true life. He is not asking for anything in this psalm, but simply letting his heart sing out to the One who not only gave us life, but is actually greater than the life He gave us. But surely this makes sense, for the builder is greater that the building. The Creator is greater than the creation.
Yes David has much to teach us the goodness of God, the greatness of God and the graciousness of God, even in the most troubling of times.
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 62:11 Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, Psalm 62:12 and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his work.
David continues in this psalm, after considering the futility of trusting in men or money (verse 9 & 10), returning to the person He trusts, the God who has heard his prayers and is still on the throne. David speaks of God as the One who has power, in that power belongs to God. It is His nature and possession.
His will is not frustrated by a lack of ability. The outworking of His will are seen in the actions that are tempered by His wisdom, His mercy, His judgements, and for that we must be thankful. But His will is never restricted by a lack of power, for all power belongs to God.
David continues to verse 12, a verse that brings together the grace, mercy and lovingkindness of God, with reward to man based on his works.
How can we understand both topics? How can we relate these seemingly opposing thoughts? David is in the midst of a troubling time of trial, and as he looks to God for his salvation in this trial, he rightly speaks of God’s power and love toward him, of his trust in God because of God’s ability and desire to save him.
And then he adds “You will render to a man according to his work”.
Do we “get what we deserve” or do we experience a deliverance and salvation from God who sees our plight and forgives us, delivers us, saves us, guides us, comforts us, and finally brings us to Himself.
In the mysteries of God, David has encapsulated both truths into one salient verse that challenges us all to seek Him all the more, for as we seek Him all the more, we will become more like Him in our character, our emotions, our desires and our actions. As we become more like Him, which is our eternal goal, our works may have a beneficial reward, in the wisdom of God.
If we walk away from God, our works will naturally degrade, our hearts will darken, and our souls will shrivel. We will set our lives on a trajectory that is establishing our a character upon which judgement will fall.
John the apostle gave us the following warning.
Revelation 22:11 – Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
Trust in God, for He is good, and He is good all the time, and He alone is good all the time. He is our source of loving kindness, mercy and power, and it is our privilege to seek Him, and to be influenced by Him for our good!
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 62:9 Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath. Psalm 62:10 Put no trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them.
Let’s remember David’s theme of trust only in the Lord, at all times. He has, even as he has been in himself, considered his situation and active trust before God, and come to a resolved standing before God.
Even as we read this psalm, David’s ability to stand firm has increased. Back in verse 2, he states he “shall not be greatly shaken”, and only 4 verses later, using the exact same words describing our God, he speaks even more assuredly when he states “I shall not be shaken”.
We enter into two verses in our post this morning where David is considering the trustworthiness of men, both ordinary men and the great rulers and champions of the day. His description of them brings us to reality, for we often think our ourselves in terms of granduer and importance, even irreplaceable. David speaks a truth that puts us in our place, a place that reminds us we are but less than a breath.
Think back in your family. If you can remember you grandparents, you are rare. That is two generations. What about your great grandparents? Three generations. Sixty to eighty years.
We truly are but a breath in time. David, in his description of the man of low estate is kind, not relating them to a moral failure. Not so with those who have “made it” in this life. The successful man, the man of high degree is associated with lies and delusion.
Forgive me for being an arithmetic geek, but when combined, both the men of low and high estate are less than the man of low estate, for David describes them when combined as “lighter than breath”! The man of high estate is actually less than nothing in this comparison! Incredible.
If we only consider this thought, it is easy to become disillusioned, fall into despair and depression. What is the use of our lives, if in the end we are “but a breath”. Let us not forget the theme of this psalm, for David is writing of the theme of trusting God.
Though this description of created man is accurate, it is not the intent of David to simply provide this fact for us to wallow in, to be self absorbed into, but to again consider the greatness of God, the importance of shifting our trust from man to God.
Trust in man, who is at best but a fleeting breath makes no sense. This trust is futile and empty, destined for disappointment. Those of power that we trust are liars, full of deception and of themselves, leading us all to the wrong solutions.
Similarly, David exhorts us to refrain from trusting in riches, no matter how attained. Of course if ill gotten, the riches will fly away, leaving your trust disappointed. If riches are possessed through diligence, hard work, and the blessing of God, they still represent a danger, an object that does not deserve our trust, nor will reward the trust we place in them.
Difficult verses to face for the modern believer, for some may look to men for solutions to the mess we find ourselves in as a nation, or as a church, or even as a family.
Men and money are impotent in their ability to bring any salvation to our lives, any permanence, any real value or weight to our existence.
Men and money, when compared to our God, are not worthy of any trust, cannot reward our trust, and actually may become a temptation and snare, a trap that actually destroys instead of delivers.
These short two verses, when considered alone, present a dire situation for those reading them.
As we ponder a passage such as this, we must keep our eyes on the Lord, as He alone has the power to redeem this breath of life from futility.
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah
Let’s remember that David is in himself during this psalm, that he is ruminating on the goodness of God in a very difficult situation. He is all prayed out, made his requests known to God, struggled with his thoughts and concerns, and is now in a settled stage of waiting on the Lord.
Trust in him at all times.
As I consider the ramifications of this phrase, I want to consider an alternative frame of reference in a relationship with God. For you see, I have spent a good portion of my life in utter fear of God, not the type defined by respect and acknowledgement of His greatness, but paralyzed by fear, struck down by the sheer concept of the All Powerful.
In that fear, I had no freedom to ask a question, no rights of privilege before Him, no ability to please Him, for I could not perform all the requirements on my own, and I “knew” I couldn’t ask Him for help. The fear was paralyzing, but it is an experience that has taught me the blessings of trust.
Trust is a freedom to look to Him for decisions to be made, for outcomes to be controlled, to understand my weakness and failure, to consider Him as a loving Father, and not as a terror inducing All Mighty Person who only seeks to dominate and control.
Please do not misunderstand me. I am not seeking to relegate the Lord to a minor god, a weak kneed deity that has been cast aside by man.
He is the Almighty.
He has no challengers.
He is the Creator of all, and the mighty Redeemer.
Yet we are to trust Him, as David exhorts us, and that implies a relationship of son and Father, of friend and friend. He is approachable due to the blood He has shed, He is One that has an open door policy due to His heart of love.
O people; pour out your heart before him
Out of this trusting relationship, David exhorts the people of God to pour out their hearts to Him. I don’t know about you, but I do not pour out my heart to my boss, or to any authoritarian figure in my life. Rare as it is, this exercise of shedding my cares onto someone is shared with only the closest of family. It is a connection that provides safety and no condemnation, no fear of rejection, and the hope of solutions to be offered.
Do you see God in this way? Is He a Master over you, needing obedience of the law to be able to accept you, or a Father waiting for a deeper relationship, approachable and willing to hear of my fears failures and frustrations.
God is a refuge for us.
My friends, do not abandon God as a refuge by not opening up to Him. The image of a refuge is often used to describe God and most assuredly it is in the midst of trials that the people of faith are experiencing. As a refuge, He is there to protect, and to guard against the enemy, be they physical, emotional or spiritual.
He has experienced torture and an excruciating death to prove His desire to be with us. Consider His love for you. Trust will be a natural response to such great love.
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 62:8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah
Let’s remember that David is in himself during this psalm, that he is ruminating on the goodness of God in a very difficult situation. He is all prayed out, made his requests known to God, struggled with his thoughts and concerns, and is now in a settled stage of waiting on the Lord.
Trust in him at all times.
As I consider the ramifications of this phrase, I want to consider an alternative frame of reference in a relationship with God. For you see, I have spent a good portion of my life in utter fear of God, not the type defined by respect and acknowledgement of His greatness, but paralyzed by fear, struck down by the sheer concept of the All Powerful.
In that fear, I had no freedom to ask a question, no rights of privilege before Him, no ability to please Him, for I could not perform all the requirements on my own, and I “knew” I couldn’t ask Him for help. The fear was paralyzing, but it is an experience that has taught me the blessings of trust.
Trust is a freedom to look to Him for decisions to be made, for outcomes to be controlled, to understand my weakness and failure, to consider Him as a loving Father, and not as a terror inducing All Mighty Person who only seeks to dominate and control.
Please do not misunderstand me. I am not seeking to relegate the Lord to a minor god, a weak kneed deity that has been cast aside by man. He is the Almighty. He has no challengers. He is the Creator of all, and the mighty Redeemer.
Yet we are to trust Him, as David exhorts us, and that implies a relationship similar to that of son and Father, of friend and friend. He is approachable due to the blood He has shed. He is One that has provided an open door policy due to His heart of love.
O people; pour out your heart before him
Out of this trusting relationship, David exhorts the people of God to pour out their hearts to Him. I don’t know about you, but I do not pour out my heart to my boss, or to any authoritarian figure in my life. Rare as it is, this exercise of shedding my cares onto someone is shared with only the closest of family or friend. It is a connection that provides safety and no condemnation, no fear of rejection, and the hope of solutions to be offered.
Do you see God in this way? Is He a Master over you, needing obedience of the law to be able to accept you, or a Father waiting for a deeper relationship, approachable and willing to hear of our fears, failures and frustrations.
God is a refuge for us.
My friends, do not abandon God as a refuge by not opening up to Him. The image of a refuge is often used to describe God and usually it is in the midst of trials that the people of faith are experiencing. As a refuge, He is there to protect, and to guard against the enemy, be they physical, emotional or spiritual.
He Himself has experienced torture and an excruciating death to prove His desire to be with us. Consider His love for you. Trust will be a natural response to such great love.
Don’t you love it when, after years of reading the “Old Book” passages become alive, reinforcing old teachings or simply warming your heart.
This is the book of Psalms, and it is rich.
I pray I can communicate a portion of the blessing we receive from this wonderful book.
Psalm 62:5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. Psalm 62:6 He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. Psalm 62:7 On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
As we mentioned in an earlier post, this psalm does not ask anything of the Lord, but the psalmist is “in himself”, ruminating on the person of God, reminding himself of God’s active work in his life, of God’s presence and His character.
God
provides hope
is my rock
is my salvation (x2)
is my fortress
is my glory
is my mighty rock
is my refuge
Take a moment and consider each of these descriptors of God. Is there a common denominator, a common theme in these descriptors, something that indicates the condition of David’s heart as he reviews the character of God?
I would suggest that David is in a very difficult place, a place in which there appears to be no escape, no path to safety, no place of security or of strength, and no area that is stable, that is constant.
There are times when we, as believers will also experience this condition. In our lives, there appears to be many enemies, many difficulties, many obstacles and many temptations, that are seemingly insurmountable.
During these times, I have spent too much time looking for solutions, ways out of the problem, solutions to my difficulty. And in these difficult times, I have worried myself into a fit of doubt and despair.
But the rare time, I have turned introspective, remembered the goodness of God, His former guidance, His continued protection, (though not without some scrapes and bruising), and His constant care. During these times of dwelling on God, I have found that my worry machine has run out of gas.
Amazing – we can dwell on His goodness, on His person, on His care for us, or we can worry.
Let’s think on Him. He is good, and He is good all the time.
Considering the Bible 