God s Bountiful Blessings. Psalm 65:1-13

Transcription

1 1 Commentary by Clyde M. Miller Questions by John C. Sewell God s Bountiful Blessings Psalm 65:1-13

2 2 Text: Psalm 65:1-13, God s Bountiful Blessings Commentary by Clyde M. Miller 1. Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. 2. O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. 3. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. 4. Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple. 5. You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, 6. who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, 7. who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. 8. Those living far away fear your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy. 9. You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. 10. You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. 11. You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.

3 The grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. 13. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing. (NIV) Introduction: I. Psalm 65 is a communal psalm of thanksgiving offered on behalf of the nation, as the plural pronouns indicate. A. The psalmist makes clear the source of these blessings in his two direct addresses to God (1a, 5b) and an indirect address (9c). 1. Psalm 65:1,5,9, Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. (NIV) B. The word God determines the paragraph divisions of the psalm. II. The primary difference between praise hymns and psalms of thanksgiving is that praise hymns are general and psalms of thanksgiving are related to specific blessings from God. A. Sometimes these elements are mixed in a single psalm. B. Psalm 65 deals in specific blessings.

4 4 III. Outline: A. The author praises God for forgiveness of sins (1-4), for deliverance (5-8) and for bountiful harvests (9-13). God cares for man s spiritual (1-4), national (5-8) and physical needs (9-13). 1. Psalm 65:1-4, Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple. (NIV) 2. Psalm 65:5-8, You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. Those living far away fear your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy. (NIV) 3. Psalm 65:9-13, You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing. (NIV)

5 5 Commentary: Praise for Forgiveness Psalm 65:1-4, Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple. (NIV) Psalm 65:1, Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. (NIV) I. The word praise is only used once in the psalm, but the tenor is implicit throughout. A. Praise awaits you could be rendered praise befits you, which is more suitable. 1. The word under consideration is dumiyyah, which means stillness, silence, trust or submission. 2. Stillness could suggest waiting, but trust could refer to that which is befitting. II. Zion (1a), that is, Jerusalem where the temple was located, was a proper place to thank God, perform vows (1b) and offer sin offerings (3). A. Psalm 65:1, 3, Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. (NIV)

6 6 B. The temple was where God met with His people (1 Kings 8), and so should evoke satisfaction Kings 8:1-66, Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD's covenant from Zion, the City of David. All the men of Israel came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month. When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, and they brought up the ark of the LORD and the Tent of Meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up, and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted. The priests then brought the ark of the LORD's covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles. These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today. There was nothing in the ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the Israelites after they came out of Egypt. When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple. Then Solomon said, "The LORD has said that he would

7 7 dwell in a dark cloud; I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever." While the whole assembly of Israel was standing there, the king turned around and blessed them. Then he said: "Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, who with his own hand has fulfilled what he promised with his own mouth to my father David. For he said, 'Since the day I brought my people Israel out of Egypt, I have not chosen a city in any tribe of Israel to have a temple built for my Name to be there, but I have chosen David to rule my people Israel.' "My father David had it in his heart to build a temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. But the LORD said to my father David, 'Because it was in your heart to build a temple for my Name, you did well to have this in your heart. Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh and blood he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.' "The LORD has kept the promise he made: I have succeeded David my father and now I sit on the throne of Israel, just as the LORD promised, and I have built the temple for the Name of the LORD, the God of Israel. I have provided a place there for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with our fathers when he brought them out of Egypt." Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven and said: "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it as it is

8 8 today. "Now LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, 'You shall never fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me as you have done.' And now, O God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true. "But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, 'My Name shall be there,' so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. "When a man wrongs his neighbor and is required to take an oath and he comes and swears the oath before your altar in this temple, then hear from heaven and act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty, and so establish his innocence. "When your people Israel have been defeated by an enemy because they have sinned against you, and when they turn back to you and confess your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your people Israel and bring them back to the land you gave to their fathers. "When the heavens are shut up and there is no rain because your people have sinned against you, and when they pray toward

9 9 this place and confess your name and turn from their sin because you have afflicted them, then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of your servants, your people Israel. Teach them the right way to live, and send rain on the land you gave your people for an inheritance. "When famine or plague comes to the land, or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers, or when an enemy besieges them in any of their cities, whatever disaster or disease may come, and when a prayer or plea is made by any of your people Israel each one aware of the afflictions of his own heart, and spreading out his hands toward this temple- then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with each man according to all he does, since you know his heart (for you alone know the hearts of all men), so that they will fear you all the time they live in the land you gave our fathers. "As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name- for men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm when he comes and prays toward this temple, then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name. "When your people go to war against their enemies, wherever you send them, and when they pray to the LORD toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name, then hear from heaven their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. "When they sin against you for there is no one who does not sin and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to his own land,

10 10 far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their conquerors and say, 'We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly'; and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their conquerors to show them mercy; for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace. "May your eyes be open to your servant's plea and to the plea of your people Israel, and may you listen to them whenever they cry out to you. For you singled them out from all the nations of the world to be your own inheritance, just as you declared through your servant Moses when you, O Sovereign LORD, brought our fathers out of Egypt." When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. He stood and blessed the whole assembly of Israel in a loud voice, saying: "Praise be to the LORD, who has given rest to his people Israel just as he promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises he gave through his servant Moses. May the LORD our God be with us as he was with our fathers; may he never leave us nor forsake us. May he turn our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the com-

11 11 mands, decrees and regulations he gave our fathers. And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his people Israel according to each day's need, so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other. But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time." Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the LORD. Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the LORD : twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the LORD. On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the LORD, and there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar before the LORD was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings. So Solomon observed the festival at that time, and all Israel with him a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. They celebrated it before the LORD our God for seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all. On the following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the LORD had done for his servant David and his people Israel. (NIV) II. The fulfilling of vows was a demanding responsibility of those who would please God.

12 12 A. The making of vows was voluntary, but the breaking of those vows was condemned (Deut. 21:21-23; Eccl. 5:4-6). 1. Deuteronomy 21:21-23, Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid. If a man guilty of a capital offense is put to death and his body is hung on a tree, you must not leave his body on the tree overnight. Be sure to bury him that same day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God's curse. You must not desecrate the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. (NIV) 2. Ecclesiastes 5:4-6, When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it. Do not let your mouth lead you into sin. And do not protest to the temple messenger, "My vow was a mistake." Why should God be angry at what you say and destroy the work of your hands? (NIV) B. The psalmist promises God that their vows will be fulfilled. Psalm 65:2, O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come. (NIV) I. God is one who hears prayer in contradistinction to false gods or idols who could neither hear nor help (Isa. 41:14-16, 21-24). A. Isaiah 41:14-16, 21-24, Do not be afraid, O worm Jacob, O little Israel, for I myself will help you," declares the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. "See, I will make you into a threshing sledge, new and sharp, with

13 13 many teeth. You will thresh the mountains and crush them, and reduce the hills to chaff. You will winnow them, the wind will pick them up, and a gale will blow them away. But you will rejoice in the LORD and glory in the Holy One of Israel. "Present your case," says the LORD. "Set forth your arguments," says Jacob's King. "Bring in your idols to tell us what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come, tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods. Do something, whether good or bad, so that we will be dismayed and filled with fear. But you are less than nothing and your works are utterly worthless; he who chooses you is detestable. (NIV) B. Hear carries the connotation of acting, as verse 3 indicates. 1. Psalm 65:3, When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. (NIV) 2. The psalmist envisions the time when all men will come to hear the God who hears prayer and delivers. 3. The Christian era is a remarkable fulfillment of this prediction. Psalm 65:3, When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions. (NIV) I. Overwhelmed by sins indicates man s awareness of his helplessness to extricate himself from the throes of sin. A. You forgave renders a form of the verb kaphar, which is defined as to cover, forgive, expiate, make atonement for.

14 Sins were truly forgiven in Old Testament days, as this and many other references make clear. Psalm 65:4, Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple. (NIV) I. The priests lived at the temple during the days of Samuel and Eli (1 Sam. 3:2,3). A. 1 Samuel 3:2, 3, One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. (NIV) B. The poet pronounces a special blessing on those who spend time in God s courts. C. These are among the good things of God s holy temple. Praise for Deliverance Psalm 65:5-8, You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. Those living far away fear your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy. (NIV) Psalm 65:5, You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, (NIV)

15 15 I. Either awesome deeds (5a, NIV), or dread deeds (RSV) can satisfy the meaning of yar?a. A. The passive participle employed here can mean to fear, be afraid, or revere. B. In answer to prayer, these great acts of righteousness, that is, deliverance should cause great rejoicing. C. God is elaborately described in verses 5b Psalm 65:5-7, You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. (NIV) 2. God is described as our Savior, and the hope of all the earth. a. Earth is a metonymy for the people of the earth. 3. The psalmist is depicting the universal sovereignty of God and the need for all men, including Gentile nations, to acknowledge this and to submit to Him. Psalm 65:6, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, (NIV) I. God s creative power is used as a reality of His ability to deliver those in need.

16 16 A. God s forming the mountains gives evidence of His being armed with strength. I. Psalm 65:7, The mountains (6a) and the seas (7a) employs the figure merismus in which polar terms are used to indicate totality. A. Psalm 65:6,7, who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. (NIV) II. The roaring of the seas is a metaphor of the turmoil of the nations. A. The God who stills the mighty seas can control the mighty nations. 1. God subdued Assyria and Babylonia. 2. These empires held Israel captive for a long time, but they were eventually destroyed. Psalm 65:8, Those living far away fear your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy. (NIV) I. Where morning dawns and evening fades describes God s controlling the actions of what modern science knows as the rotation of the earth on its axis, which determines day and night. A. In the physical realm, things happen according to the principles that God set forth in creation. Praise for Rains and Bountiful Harvests

17 17 Psalm 65:9-13, You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing. (NIV) Psalm 65:9, You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it. (NIV) I. The streams of God indicates the source of the waters. A. God created and He controls the waters of the earth. 1. God cares for the land, and for the people who occupy it. 2. He provides grain to feed man, as He has ordained. B. God upholds the purpose for which he created these blessings. Psalm 65:10, You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops. (NIV) I. Verse 10 reflects the God-given ability of man to till the soil to enable it to provide for his needs. A. God, however, is the one who sends the showers to cause the seed to germinate and come to fruition.

18 18 Psalm 65:11, You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. (NIV) I. Farming implements are described as God s. A. He is the one who gave man made in His image the knowledge to provide these things. II. God causes harvest time to overflow with abundance. Psalm 65:12, The grasslands of the desert overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. (NIV) I. Grasslands, desert and hills employs the figure merismus, using polar terms to indicate totality. A. Hill country was used as grazing land, and the valleys and plains for growing grain. B. The entire country is bountiful because of God s blessings. C. The grasslands, desert and hills are personified and pictured as clothed with gladness. Psalm 65:13, The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing. (NIV) I. Verse 13 is structured as a climactic triplet. A. The first two lines are written in balanced lines. II. Meadows and valleys form a word pair, as do flocks and grain.

19 19 A. These terms describe the two major farming enterprises of the time of the psalmist. B. The climax comes in the personification of these physical things as shouting for joy and singing. Application: C. They bring joy to the nation because of God s bounty. I. How wonderful it is when man recognizes and acknowledges the ultimate source of his blessings! A. Such an attitude prevents arrogance and enhances spirituality. B. How unlike the man portrayed by Jesus in His Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-21). 1. Luke 12:13-21, Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" hen he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded

20 20 from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." (NIV) a. That man spoke of my crops, my barns, my grain and my goods. b. He left God out of the picture! C. The psalmist thinks in terms of God s bounty. 1. How different was his outlook on life. II. How blessed is modern man if he blesses God for all his blessings.

21 21 Questions Psalm 65:1-13 (Questions based on NIV text.) 1. awaits in and to him the faithful their because their. To God will. 2. When men were by, God their. 3. are those God and to in his. They are with the of his and of his. 4. God answers the prayers of the righteous with awesome deeds of righteousness. List as many of these deeds as space permits. 5. God is our, the of all the of the and of the. 6. God formed the by his. God is with. God the of the and the of their and the of the.

22 Those God s ; where and God calls forth of. 8. How has God cared for the land and with what results? 9. Psalm 65 is a of offered on of the. 10. What is the primary difference between praise hymns and psalms of thanksgiving? 11. Outline Psalm 65.

23 Where/what is Zion? When Psalm 65 was written was the temple located there? 13. The making of vows was voluntary but breaking vows was serious. What were the penalties for failing to keep vows? 14. hears. or could neither nor. 15. The world is indeed overwhelmed by sins. Give evidence that this is true. 16. How can it be said that Samuel was in the temple when Solomon s temple was not constructed until many years later?

24 The psalmist is depicting in Psalm 65 the of and the for, including, to this and to to him. 18. Give examples of merismus as used in Psalm What mistakes did the rich man of Luke 12:13-21 make? 20. How it is when man and the of his! Such an prevents and.