65:1 Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion; and to you shall vows be performed,
65:2 O you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come. 65:3 When deeds of iniquity
overwhelm us, you forgive our transgressions.
65:4 Happy are those whom you choose and bring near to live in your courts. We shall be
satisfied with the goodness of your house, your holy temple.
65:5 By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance, O God of our salvation; you are
the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas.
65:6 By your strength you established the mountains; you are girded with might.
65:7 You silence the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the
peoples.
65:8 Those who live at earth's farthest bounds are awed by your signs; you make the
gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
65:9 You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full
of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it.
65:10 You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
65:11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
65:12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy,
65:13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with
grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
I've been in a church where the service began with quality, contemporary, praise music.
We were enthralled for 30 minutes or so with nothing but the singing of praises to God. It
was incredible and moving. I've moved on to other churches who don't do this. The worship
service is quite different.
I wonder how the Church (the Body of Christ) would be changed if we took 30 minutes to
really praise God...
Ah, it seems to me to truly praise God is to live a life full of generosity, to acknowledge that all things are gifts, which come from God ... we do not need a time set aside for praise, for all our life is a response to a God who has filled us with all good things. Praise music has its place; but those who offer praise are few and far between.
tom in ga
Here are two additions; 1 -- "I'm proud of my humility!" and 2; To be truly humble, one measures himself/herself to an absolute ruler: the standard of God. When standing alongside THAT kind of measure, we are at the bottom of the scale. Seeing that, we realize that we are tiny compared to His immense love and self.
Bob from Texas
In this psalm the psalmist recognizes that praise is due to God. It is God who sustains all life on earth and as God pours out blessings on the earth, the psalmist pours out thanks to God.
I have been working with a series on love. The first was "Love is a Gift" Using the Gospel reading. The second was "Love is Relentless" using the Gospel reading along with the OT reading. This week the subject is " Love, the Power of Life" using the Psalm. God is seen as the giver, sustainer and power of all life ourt of his great love for his ceation.
I have never read this Psalm before. It's a Psalm of Thanksgiving. The first 4-5 verses was the call to praise God, then the Psalmist painted the rest of the Psalm with imagery of God's work and His splendor.
God is... 1) one who answer prayer, 2) one who forgive our sins, 3) one who select us, 4) one who satisfy us, 5) one who deliver us, 6) one we can hope in
His work can be seen... 1) in creation and nature (established mountain), 2) in sovereignty over all nature and nations (v.7b), 3) in anthopology's finding about common religious belief among people groups (v.8a) perhaps through their observations of nature (v.8b), 4) in His care to sustain the earth's resource systems.
Lord, remind me to look at the beautiful things you have created and sustained so that I can thank and praise You. Help me not to focus on the darkside tainted by sin, and be discouraged and pessimistic about it.
Coho, Midway City.
