Read Psalm
65-67 & Romans
2
To discover:
As you read consider what
concerns the psalms express for the world.
To ponder:
These psalms
affirm God is due praise not just from David, or Israel ,
but the whole earth. Psalm 65 begins with praise and the obedience of vows
awaiting God in Zion – ie. Jerusalem ,
patterning that which is given him in the church. Why? Because God hears
prayer, forgives sins, and blesses those he has chosen to “live in his courts”
with good things (65v1-4). Whereas David may first have in mind the feasting on
different tithes and certain offerings the chosen people enjoyed at the
tabernacle, the wider psalm suggests he is looking more broadly to God’s
provision throughout creation (65v9-13). So the tabernacle and its provision is
a scale model of God’s “holy temple” – which could refer to heaven, but here
may be the earth itself. So David can declare that “all men” will come to God
at Zion (65v2), no doubt seeing the Abrahamic promise of the entire earth being
blessed somehow fulfilled in God’s promise to give him an everlasting kingdom
(Gen 12v2-7, 49v10). This is of course fulfilled as those of all nations come
to Christ and the church.
This move from Zion
to the world is then seen when David follows his affirmation that God answers Israel
with deeds of righteousness and salvation, by affirming him therefore as the
hope of the “ends of the earth” (65v5). The reason is that he alone does mighty
works by creation, and by stilling nations, causing people far away to “fear”
his wonders (65v6-8). Indeed, the creation itself praises him at dawn and dusk
(perhaps referring to the song of birds and animals). Moreover, as Creator God
provides bountiful crops for people and grass for their flocks. In this way the
meadows and valleys themselves “shout for joy and sing” in the sense that they metaphorically
declare God’s goodness and generosity (65v9-13). The psalm would be great at
harvest, enabling our praise of God as Saviour to be caught up with the
creation’s praise of him as Creator. But it also affirms to all that God alone
can be truly hoped in, and that he is both Almighty and kind (see Acts
14v15-17).
Psalm 66 continues the theme,
calling all the earth to joyful praise for God’s awesome deeds and power, that
causes his enemies to cringe. The declaration that “all the earth” bows in praise
had minor fulfilments when the likes of the Queen of Sheba and Nebuchadnezzar
acknowledged God, but looks ultimately to those of all nations coming to faith
in Christ and praising him for the gospel. Here, however, the call is to see
his awesome deeds in leading Israel through the Red Sea, and preserving,
testing and purifying her (the reference to fire and water) in her desert
wanderings (66v5-12). So having brought her into the prison and slavery of Egypt ,
he finally brought her to the land as a place of abundance (66v11-12). And
because of this, the whole earth are warned of God’s power and watchfulness
over the nations, so that none rebel against him (66v5-7). We are therefore
reminded of the futility of sin, and God’s ability to redeem us from slavery to
it, bringing us to a new creation.
The psalmist’s response (not David)
to this universal perspective is personal worship. It seems God has recently
delivered him from trouble. And so he will bring burnt offerings (stressing
devotion to God and the need of atonement) and fulfil vows that he seems to
have made to God when seeking his help (66v13-15). So the psalm ends with the
psalmist calling the godly to come and hear how God answered his prayer –
because of his love, but also because the psalmist didn’t cherish sin. This
reminds us that God’s great acts of redemption affirm his ability to deliver us
from any difficulty, provided we are truly repentant.
Psalm 67 provides the link between Israel
and the earth. The shining face of God denotes the display of his glory or
nature, as when Moses descended from Sinai. The psalm therefore starts praying
for God to display the excellence of his character in granting Israel
grace (or favour) and blessing. But God had always promised that the blessing
of Abraham’s descendents would be his means of blessing the world – through a
particular offspring and ruler (Gen 12v2-7, 49v10). And so this prayer for
blessing is so that God’s ways and salvation might be known amongst all
nations, as he rules them through his king. And so the psalmist desires that
all peoples praise God with joy because he rules them justly and guides them.
This must first be a reference to his providential rule by which he tears down
tyrants, and his guidance by which he leads peoples to much good. But it looks
ultimately to God’s reign through Christ, in which he executes justice and
leads his subjects. And now, as they experience his blessing, through them
God’s ways and salvation are made known to the world. Here we might consider
the note of “harvest” (67v6). It may simply refer to how God would bless Israel
so the nation could thrive and therefore fulfil its purpose. But it could be
referring to those fearing God from the ends of the earth as a harvest (see Jn
4v35-38).
Thinking
further:
None
today.
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