8–14 March 2015.
Psalm 65 is a great hymn of praise and thanksgiving, not only for what God does in our own lives, but for what God does in society and the world. God’s love shows itself in our own lives, but it also stretches out, flows out into the whole world, the whole creation.
At the personal level, the writer tells us in verse 2 that God deserves praise because he is the one who answers our prayers. God listens to us, cares about our troubles, no matter how small or large they are, and God answers us when we pray.
This is an incredible thing for God to do! On the one hand, he is so much greater than we are, but he still cares about us. On the other hand, we are hardly perfect people, we are hardly holy people who deserve God’s love and attention. But (as we hear in verse 3) God is also the one who forgives our sins. Our sins flood over us, overwhelming us, but God forgives it all. God doesn’t hold grudges or ignore us because of our sinfulness, instead he helps us, he answers us with “awesome deeds”, and becomes our saviour (v.5).
In verse 7, the writer describes how God controls the chaos of the seas, which for the Ancient Jews represented the chaos in creation. God silences that chaos and brings peace and calmness into our lives.
Greatest of all, in verses 9–13 we hear about the abundance of God’s creation. Nature blooms and provides everything we need because of God’s goodness. So the writer is clear: God isn’t just a local God for the Israelites; he is God for the entire world, and the hope he brings is universal. So verse 2 tells us that “all people” will come to God; verse 5 proclaims that God is “the hope of all the ends of the earth”; and verse 8 tells us that “the whole earth is filled with awe” at God’s wonders.
Since God is the universal Lord and Saviour of all people, since all people will come to God (v. 2), and since he is the God of all creation, let’s join today with the rest of creation in shouting for joy and singing praises to this amazing God (v. 13)!
Pastor Stephen Lakkis
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