Hobart Herd Devotional – Psalms 65
This Psalm was probably a song that David wrote to be sung annually when the people of Israel brought to the Lord the first fruits of harvest in celebration as commanded by God.(Leviticus 23:9-14) This was a song of worship to the Lord Who had blessed the land with rain in season and a good harvest for His people. As I look at the blessings of God upon our nation and the great plentiful harvests through the years, I realize that we have not given God from our first fruits and worshipped Him for all His loving care on us.
David starts off this Psalm with the recognition of the connection between God’s forgiveness of our sin and the blessing of His harvest. We party and revel in the abundance of God’s blessings without ever considering our need for confession, repentance, and forgiveness of sin before our Holy God. We take advantage of God’s mercy and grace without the right response to His forgiving love. We need to remind ourselves of His forgiveness that allows us to remain in close fellowship and proximity of His blessing. You might say that we need to remind ourselves that “you can’t have one without the other”.
Psalms 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) What a picture of God’s amazing grace and love, that He would bless us with “awesome deeds of righteousness bringing the hope of salvation to all the ends of the earth. What a wonderful Savior, that has reached even me, a sinful man without hope and far away from God, through the awesome deeds of righteousness found in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. How undeserving I am to be forgiven by His wonderful grace and love. May I never forget that His blessings in my life have been provided by my Savior, who brings me forgiving love, and abundant blessings. Psalms 65:8 Those living far away fear your wonders; where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy.(NIV) Praise God my Savior that He reaches even me who was far away, but has been brought near by His Grace!
Verses 9-13 describe all that God has done in bringing about His ordained blessings of rain and enriched soil with good seed to produce the abundant crops for His people. The testimony of all that God does for us brings the spreading of joy, worship, and glory that draws others to the Savior. May we show a life of humble repentance and forgiveness leading others to our Savior. Our abundant life of blessing should be seen through the joy and praise for His forgiveness and provision revealing to others our Wonderful Savior!
Father, forgive me for taking for granted Your abundant blessing and provision in my life. Somehow I have come to expect Your grace without connecting it to my sinful need of forgiveness. May I never forget that Your Son, my Savior provided the atoning sacrifice for my sin. I need to confess and repent of my sin so that Your blessings may flow into my life, revealing to all the Wonderful Savior. In Jesus Name, Amen! Pastor Rob