“You visit earth, its waters flow; Great riches on it You bestow.Great riches on it You bestow. God’s streams have overflowed with rain,Earth is prepared for sprouting grain.” ~ Psalm 65:9
Singing Psalm 65 you shout and sing your joy as one forgiven
If you’ve ever felt a mirage of control and inevitably had it ripped away, it can take a lifetime to recover from trying to do a job that requires you to be what you can never be, and that is, infinite and perfect. The job of control belongs to the sovereign God. The position has been filled. Try as you might, you cannot obtain his job.
It is pure exhilaration to be released from such pressure. You shout and sing your joy that God would love you so much as to work with you closely such that you willingly loosen your grip on everything else, freeing you to hold onto him with all that you are as you do whatever it is he has prepared in advance for you to do.
“Praise awaits You, God, in Zion; Vows to You will be fulfilled.You’re the One who hears our praying; To You all mankind will come.Evil words have overwhelmed me, But You cover all our sins.” ~ Psalm 65:1-3
You shout and sing your joy that God would give his son, the Lord Jesus, to fulfill vows to him that you could not and that he covers your sins that without him you would be expected to answer for.
“And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.” ~ Colossians 2:13-15
He gives the gift of repentance that blesses those he is making to be meek who overcome the anger that leads to evil words spoken and heard, words that wound like the tempests destroy. God’s Spirit transforms you into a different person. You shout and sing your joy moved by the unimaginably great and everlasting salvation he has wrought in you.
“By Your pow’r You placed the mountains; You have clothed Yourself with strength.You have calmed the ocean’s roaring, Turmoil of the nations stilled.” ~ Psalm 65:6-7
Singing Psalm 65 you shout and sing your joy as one chosen
“Blessed is the one You’ve chosen, To live near You, in your courts.” ~ Psalm 65:4a
The pastures shout and sing their joy.
The hills shout and sing their joy.
The meadowlands shout and sing their joy.
The valleys shout and sing their joy.
Would you—whom God chose to be clothed with Christ who is the Bread of life—be outdone by valleys clothed with grain?
David wouldn’t to Michal’s chagrin. She could not or would not perceive David’s affection for the Lord as he danced before him and composed the many songs that he sang before the Lord. These songs, including Psalm 65, invite you to shout and sing your joy to the One who hears your praying.
Singing Psalm 65 your voice is heard above the pastures. the hills, the fields, and the valleys as you shout and sing your joy with them to God who fills each with his works of goodness that culminates in you.
“For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.“ ~ Deuteronomy 7:6-8
“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” ~ 1 Peter 2:4-5
“You water furrows thoroughly, And smooth its ridges tenderly.Your showers have the earth caressed; In all of this, its growth You blessed.” ~ Psalm 65:10
As the Lord caresses the earth with showers, even more so he gently caresses you with his word that comes down to you as gentle rain from heaven. God moves your voice to shout and sing your joy as you make room in your heart for his word being careful to apply yourself to understand, cherish, and obey his full counsel.
“Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb. For I will proclaim the name of the LORD; ascribe greatness to our God!” ~ Deuteronomy 32:1-3
You shout and sing your joy to the Lord in the face of opposition. You ask him to redeem those who dare to live as if God does not exist and even go out of their way to say and do things in hopes of taking away God’s people’s trust in him. May they take note of your gentle meekness toward them alongside your fierce allegiance to the Lord, your God, as you shout and sing your joy to him as one chosen. Your hope is that their hearts would break, that the Lord would then no longer oppose them in their pride but lift them up in their humility as chosen ones too.
Singing Psalm 65 you shout and sing your joy as one satisfied
“We are satisfied with good things In Your house, Your holy place.” ~ Psalm 65:4b
One of the good things he gives you is the best thing. He gives you himself and the ability to trust him when you see nothing right in what is going on around you. He helps you to wait for him to make all things right.
You listen not just by hearing but by what you do with what you’ve heard. You listen by your responsive thoughts that lead to connecting words and kind actions. You shout and sing your joy that you can love not as you wish but hone in to love as your beloved needs. Jesus came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many, and you are following him.
When you shout and sing your joy firmly in your heart, it’s inaudible to most but the Lord hears it loud and clear.
“God, You answer us, our Savior, With Your awesome, righteous deeds.You’re the trust of all earth’s peoples To the end of distant seas.” ~ Psalm 65:5
When you hear thunder, you shout and sing your joy since it is a sound from him that no one else can make. It elicits trembling in those who don’t know him but displays both his love and his great power to those who know him to be both kind and mighty.
Is there anything more terrifying than rejecting God’s kindness that places you out of his gracious presence in everlasting torment? Is there anything more pleasurable than the Lord graciously being with you now and looking forward to being with him, the only one who always does right by you, in his house for all eternity?
“The far and distant peoples fear The wonders You have made appear.From dawn to when the sun goes down, You make their songs of joy resound.” ~ Psalm 65:8
October 20-27, 2023
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