Psalm 65 — A Prayer of Praise and Thanks

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm. A Song of David.

1 Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion:
And unto thee shall the vow be performed.
2 O thou that hearest prayer,
Unto thee shall all flesh come.
3 Iniquities prevail against me:
As for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.
4 Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee,
That he may dwell in thy courts:
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house,
The holy place of thy temple.
5 By terrible things thou wilt answer us in righteousness,
O God of our salvation;
Thou that art the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of them that are afar off upon the sea:
6 Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains;
Being girded about with might:
7 Which stilleth the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples.
8 They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens:
Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.
9 Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it,
Thou greatly enrichest it;
The river of God is full of water:
Thou providest them corn, when thou hast so prepared the earth.
10 Thou waterest her furrows abundantly;
Thou settlest the ridges thereof:
Thou makest it soft with showers;
Thou blessest the springing thereof.
11 Thou crownest the year with thy goodness;
And thy paths drop fatness.
12 They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness:
And the hills are girded with joy.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys also are covered over with corn;
They shout for joy, they also sing.

The Lord is a God of global power and influence. His praise is high and above all because of his ability to rule, feed, nourish and hear. I'm impressed with the reach and breadth in this psalm. There is a strong sense of "all peoples" in the phrase all flesh" coming to God. Yet, even in its big scope, God maintains his personal connections with individuals: Blessed is the man whom thou choosest to approach thee.

The invitation is here: God wants us to be with him. When we read this psalm we indeed get the impression that all can be welcome. Those who come see the benefits of his court and house. It's full of satisfaction and goodness, confidence and strength.

This strength of God is felt across the whole earth. He establishes the mountains and rules the seas, able to calm even the wildest waves. Raging storms and raging peoples, therefore, need not be our concern. Instead, we get to enjoy the blessings bestowed by a benevolent God. A river full of water, the ground providing grain, dependable showers to water them and the beauty of spring to bless it.

Even now I am enjoying the resurrection of spring around me. I see the flowers pushing open into bloom. Take the time to let God's world bless you, and in thankfulness bless the Lord your God.