A Real Look


Psalm 65
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed.
2O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.
3When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions.
4Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!
5By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas;
6the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might;
7who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples,
8so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
9You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.
10You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.
11You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
12The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy,
13the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.

This psalm rightly places God in the place of power, and us in the place of repentant sinners. The overriding current throughout the psalm is thanks – thus you will often hear this psalm during Thanksgiving worship services across the U.S. This is one of those psalms that are fantastic to have in your back pocket for your own personal devotional time. It makes the perfect prayer of praise and causes us to spend time meditating on the glory and power of God.

This psalm also serves to drive us to our knees in repentance. Honestly, we can be reminded of our need for a Savior on a regular basis and this psalm does just that. In just a few verses we come away knowing that God is aware of our iniquity and has provided a Savior because of that need.

These kinds of psalms cause me to pick just one verse to hang onto and internalize for a time. The verse in this psalm that draws me in is, “Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple! By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation.” The thought of dwelling the Lord’s court makes my heart glad. I am comforted by His answering righteousness and of course, He is my salvation. Those words can carry me through the next several days!

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