God Speaks
65 For the choir director: A song. A psalm of David.
1 What mighty praise, O God,
belongs to you in Zion.
We will fulfill our vows to you,
2 for you answer our prayers.
All of us must come to you.
3 Though we are overwhelmed by our sins,
you forgive them all.
4 What joy for those you choose to bring near,
those who live in your holy courts.
What festivities await us
inside your holy Temple.
5 You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds,
O God our savior.
You are the hope of everyone on earth,
even those who sail on distant seas.
6 You formed the mountains by your power
and armed yourself with mighty strength.
7 You quieted the raging oceans
with their pounding waves
and silenced the shouting of the nations.
8 Those who live at the ends of the earth
stand in awe of your wonders.
From where the sun rises to where it sets,
you inspire shouts of joy.
9 You take care of the earth and water it,
making it rich and fertile.
The river of God has plenty of water;
it provides a bountiful harvest of grain,
for you have ordered it so.
10 You drench the plowed ground with rain,
melting the clods and leveling the ridges.
You soften the earth with showers
and bless its abundant crops.
11 You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;
even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
12 The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture,
and the hillsides blossom with joy.
13 The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep,
and the valleys are carpeted with grain.
They all shout and sing for joy!
66 For the choir director: A song. A psalm.
1 Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!
2 Sing about the glory of his name!
Tell the world how glorious he is.
3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.
4 Everything on earth will worship you;
they will sing your praises,
shouting your name in glorious songs.” Interlude
5 Come and see what our God has done,
what awesome miracles he performs for people!
6 He made a dry path through the Red Sea,
and his people went across on foot.
There we rejoiced in him.
7 For by his great power he rules forever.
He watches every movement of the nations;
let no rebel rise in defiance. Interlude
8 Let the whole world bless our God
and loudly sing his praises.
9 Our lives are in his hands,
and he keeps our feet from stumbling.
10 You have tested us, O God;
you have purified us like silver.
11 You captured us in your net
and laid the burden of slavery on our backs.
12 Then you put a leader over us.
We went through fire and flood,
but you brought us to a place of great abundance.
13 Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings
to fulfill the vows I made to you—
14 yes, the sacred vows that I made
when I was in deep trouble.
15 That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you—
the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma,
and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats. Interlude
16 Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell you what he did for me.
17 For I cried out to him for help,
praising him as I spoke.
18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 But God did listen!
He paid attention to my prayer.
20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
or withdraw his unfailing love from me.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Psalm 65 declares praise for God’s interaction and blessing in both the spiritual and physical realms.
Psalm 66, according to Fr. Reardon, points forward to the death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and second coming of our great Savior Jesus Christ. He gives evidence from early Greek and Latin manuscripts of this psalm. *
* Christ in the Psalms, by Patrick Henry Reardon, pp.127-130.
Prayer: Oh, most loving provider, almighty God, I praise and thank You for answering the prayers of Your people. All human beings must come to You. Though we are all overwhelmed by our sins, thank You that through Christ Jesus You have made a way to forgive them all. What joy this brings to those You have chosen to bring near, those who live in close connection with You. What festivities await us both here on earth and in eternity with You forever. You answer our prayers with awesome actions. You rescue us and give us hope. Wherever we are or whatever we are experiencing, You are there with us if we will just acknowledge our need and Your power and authority. Your loving grace inspires shouts of joy. You provide all that is needed for an abundant harvest in both the physical and spiritual realms. We will praise, shout, and sing with heavenly joy forever. All the earth will join in this celebration of Your glory. We will commemorate Your victory over all Your enemies, even death itself. All will gather to review what our God has done whether it is creating a dry path through the Red Sea or conquering rebellious nations. Thank You that our lives are in Your hands, and You can be trusted to keep our feet from stumbling. You captured us in Your net of love and lifted the burden of slavery from our backs. You led us through fire and flood into a place of great abundance. We who trust in You can now offer proper sacrifices. We are free to invite others to come and listen as we recount all that You have done for us. We openly confess the sin in our hearts to You. Therefore, You will not ignore our prayers or withdraw Your unfailing love from us. Thank You so much, Lord Jesus. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will tell someone what Jesus Christ has done for me and will do for them, sometime this week.
- I will take specific time today to tell the LORD God how much I appreciate Him.
- I will memorize Psalm 65:5-6 in whatever version is easiest for me.
- I will make a list of big and little blessings like those in Psalm 65:9-13 and pray them in thanksgiving back to God.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.