Presented
May 2, 2010
Blessed is the Man God Chooses
PSALM 65
a.
Begins
with typical Davidic praise.
NKJV, “Praise is awaiting you, O God, in Zion.”
NASU, “There will be silence before You and praise in Zion, O God.”
The idea in either version is the same - a call to wait on God’s will to
be done.
But let us LET HIS works praise Him.
How often do we consider His goodness and works? (Psa.8:1-4)
b.
“To You,
the vow shall be performed.”
Can you think of a better way to praise God than by keeping your vows
made to Him?
Remember, we demonstrate we know and love God by obeying Him (1 John
2:3-4, 5:2-3).
Furthermore, NEVER forget the
importance of keeping your vows, especially to God.
As I consider this, I see promises made to God.
When He fulfills His work, do that which you have vowed.
Psa. 76:11, “Make vows to
the Lord your God and pay them; Let all who are around Him bring
presents to Him who ought to be feared.”
Also Eccl. 5:1-7, “Better not to vow, than to vow and not pay.”
BTW, can you think of a vow you have made to God?
Consider what you do when you obey the gospel.
c.
In vs. 2-3
we find understanding that God hears prayers (1 John 5:14-15 – we KNOW
that He hears us; cf. Acts 10:4,31 – Cornelius),
and that He cares for all
mankind.
In vs. 3, David acknowledges iniquity in his life.
But he also recognized that God provides atonement for our sins.
David certainly understood this well – as it was a constant
source of praise to his LORD.
d.
NOTE:
Whether or not this psalm was intended to be prophetic, this verse
certainly looks toward the Lord redeeming us.
Hebrews 9:13-14 notes that animal sacrifices at least temporarily
sanctified, how much more the blood of Christ.
David knew his place in bringing Christ to this earth.
e.
He truly
is blessed whom God chooses to approach Him.
Notice WHERE the one chosen dwells – in His courts and temple.
This verse deals with the saved.
How are we chosen? Through His word – available to all.
Eph. 1:3-6.
Where does He dwell? In heaven, but we approach Him in His church.
NOTE: You could also consider this in light of God’s chosen people
Israel – the promise which was ultimately fulfilled in Christ coming and
it was for all mankind
a.
By awesome
deeds in righteousness
The word, “awesome” is translated in the KJV & ASV “terrible”.
It is a word that is translated mostly dealing with fear and
quite often refers to the fear of God (as in this verse).
The word is found more than 300 times in the Old Testament.
Interestingly it is the same word translated “reverend” in Psalm
111:9, “Holy and reverend is His
name” (Awesome – NKJV).
The point made by David in this psalm is a consideration of the awesome
power of God demonstrated as He reacts within this world, often causing
fear (and reverence) of Him. The word “terrible” applies when you think
of His wrath demonstrated against His enemies and the enemies of His
people. For example – the
destruction of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea as well as the plagues,
the fall of Jericho and various awesome acts in conquering the land.
Rom. 2:5 speaks of
God’s wrath that awaits those who reject Him when He will judge us.
BUT, His awesome power is also manifested in Nature Himself.
b.
“…You will
answer us.” (5) Considering
the greatness of God, we certainly want Him on our side!
“IF God be for us, who can be
against us.” (Rom 8:31)
Rom. 11:22 speaks of His goodness and His severity.
David understood this!
c.
God, our
salvation and confidence (5) – The rest of vs. 5 reveals Him as the ONLY
true hope of salvation (deliverance) not just to David and Israel, but
also to the whole world. He
IS the confidence of far-off seas, the ends of the earth.
Truly, He is the ONE and ONLY True God!
d.
He
established the mountains by His strength. (6)
i.
In nature,
consider the power and majesty of a mountain.
Man can build many things, but do they compare in majesty to the
mountains of nature?
ii.
He
demonstrated His power at Mt. Sinai (Ex. 20:18-21)
e.
He stills
the noises of the seas (7a)
i.
Just as
powerful as the mountains are the seas.
In fact, our water system is awesome (and shows a designer I
might add). Even to this
day, with our technology we do not fully understand the depths and power
of the oceans. But God does!
They are the source of the most
terrible weather systems we see.
Man cannot compete with or control the waters.
Yet on the other hand, they are so crucial to sustaining life and
an integral part of providing the water we need to survive!
But God is in control of all of this – from the gravitational pull of
the moon to the boundaries of the seas.
When the LORD challenged Job in Job 38:8-11 (the same chapter
where He said, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the
earth?”) He described His power over the waters.
What man can compete with this?
What man DARE to challenge God?
ii.
His power
over the waters are seen in Genesis 1:9-10.
They were also demonstrated when He parted the Red Sea, turned
the waters of Egypt to blood, stopped the waters of the Jordan as Israel
crossed into their promised abode, and don not forget the flood, etc.
f.
“And the
tumults of people…” (7b-8)
i.
When man
sees the power of nature, truly he ought to fear and respect God.
ii.
Much of
what God has done was to call attention to the peoples of the earth to
fear Him.
I consider great events such as
the tower of Babel where He confounded the nation’s tongues.
The defeat of the Egyptian army and conquest of Canaan.
The power of Shamgar to kill 600 Philistines with an ox goad
(Jud. 3:31); and Samson, who with God given strength killed 1000
Philistines (Jud. 15:15-16)
g.
“You make
the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice.” (8b)
There is nothing more beautiful than the sunrise and sunset.
In them we see order and a reminder that God cares for us.
We know that as long as this world exists there will be sunrises
and sunsets!
a.
While His
greatness is demonstrated in His creation, it is also seen in His
provisions for us. David
acknowledged God as the giver of all good things.
Some have described this as a psalm of harvest because of these
verses. It would have been
good to sing at their feast of harvest in remembrance of God’s care for
them.
b.
You visit
the earth and water it, and greatly enrich it.
There is no need to analyze each
phrase of these verses.
Together (9-13) they send a
simple message: God sustains us through nature.
He provides the rain for crops and seed for grain and grass for
the flocks, etc.
Paul and Barnabas said this in Lystra when the people sought to make
them gods. He said,
“Nevertheless, He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did
good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts
with food and gladness.” (Ac. 14:17)
c.
However
there ARE lessons to remember in this:
i.
The
seasons and harvest times really do call for our dependence on Him. It
truly is amazing (awesome) to consider that God put man on a planet that
is able to sustain us!
ii.
So many today fail to acknowledge
God for His goodness in sustaining us. We
are ungrateful and demanding of more and more.
And when we do prosper, with arrogance, like the rich fool of
Luke 12:13-21 we forget to thank Him.
iii.
Yet when
such things are lacking (times of famine and drought) we are quick to
curse Him.
d.
Let us
have faith that God can and will take care of us (Matt. 6:25-33).
Genesis 8:22 says, “While the
earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer,
and day and night shall not cease.”
Whatever the
occasion that prompted David to write this psalm, we learn from it to
trust God and praise Him for His goodness towards us.
Let us never forget as David said in an earlier psalm, “The
earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness.
The world and those who dwell therein.” (Psalm 24:1)
As you consider this world, don’t forget God!