Let’s praise God for his blessings to us
Psalm 65
Psalm 65
1 ¶ Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion;
And to You the vow shall be performed.
2 O You who hear prayer,
To You all flesh will come.
3 Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions,
You will provide atonement for them.
4 Blessed is the man You choose,
And cause to approach You,
That he may dwell in Your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Of Your holy temple.
5 By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us,
O God of our salvation,
You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
And of the far-off seas;
6 Who established the mountains by His strength,
Being clothed with power;
7 You who still the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples.
8 They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice.
9 You 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.
10 You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.
12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.
This is a Psalm that recounts the blessings of God. David writes this one, and he makes particular reference to the blessings of God on Zion (Jerusalem). Getting a fix on the exact period of this writing is difficult. David’s reference to the “temple” in verse 4 would indicate that, at the very least, David was anticipating the building of the temple in Jerusalem at the time of this writing. David lists the great blessings and works of God.
Verse 3 is particularly noteworthy: “Iniquities prevail against me; As for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them.” David acknowledges the remedy for sin – then and now; it is purged away by God himself. For us, that’s I John 1:9 (see notes), “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
How awesome are your deeds
Psalm 66
Psalm 66
1 ¶ Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
2 Sing out the honor of His name;
Make His praise glorious.
3 Say to God,
“How awesome are Your works!
Through the greatness of Your power
Your enemies shall submit themselves to You.
4 All the earth shall worship You
And sing praises to You;
They shall sing praises to Your name.”
Selah
5 Come and see the works of God;
He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men.
6 He turned the sea into dry land;
They went through the river on foot.
There we will rejoice in Him.
7 He rules by His power forever;
His eyes observe the nations;
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.
Selah
8 Oh, bless our God, you peoples!
And make the voice of His praise to be heard,
9 Who keeps our soul among the living,
And does not allow our feet to be moved.
10 For You, O God, have tested us;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 You brought us into the net;
You laid affliction on our backs.
12 You have caused men to ride over our heads;
We went through fire and through water;
But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.
13 I will go into Your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay You my vows,
14 Which my lips have uttered
And my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals,
With the sweet aroma of rams;
I will offer bulls with goats.
Selah
16 Come and hear, all you who fear God,
And I will declare what He has done for my soul.
17 I cried to Him with my mouth,
And He was extolled with my tongue.
18 If I regard iniquity in my heart,
The Lord will not hear.
19 But certainly God has heard me;
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer,
Nor His mercy from me!
This unknown author expresses that, while God has allowed him to go through trial, he answers his prayers for deliverance and blessing. Look at verse 18, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.” The author understood that harbored sin interfered with his fellowship with God.
A brief overview of this Psalm is:
- A call on all the earth to praise God (verses 1-12)
- The author offers sacrifice and praise (verses 13-15)
- The author exhorts the people to prayer and praise (verses 16-20).
Incidentally, the multiple occurrences of the transliterated Hebrew word “Selah” here are unusual. While the word of unknown meaning is used 72 times in Psalms and two times in Habakkuk, it is usually found once at the end of a Psalm. Here it is used three times. Perhaps the word meant “rest,” having something to do with the presentation of the song itself.
The New Testament quotations indicating that Psalm 69 is Messianic prophecy
Psalm 69:4
Those who hate me without a cause Are more than the hairs of my head; They are mighty who would destroy me, Being my enemies wrongfully; Though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it.
John 15:25
But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, “They hated Me without a cause.”
Psalm 69:9
Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
John 2:17
Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”
Romans 15:3
For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”
There’s no question that Psalm 69:4 and 9 were definitely held by John, Paul and the rest of the disciples to be references to the Messiah.
While not specifically mentioned in Matthew 27:48, Mark 15:36, John 19:29-30 (see notes) the vinegar given to Jesus seconds before his death on the cross seems to fit nicely with the prophetic words of Psalm 69:21, “They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”
Interestingly enough, Peter makes use of verse 25 when he quotes it as justification for replacing Judas in Acts 1:20 (see notes). It is obvious, therefore, that Peter held Judas wholly culpable for the deeds he had done by the Jewish leaders and Romans at the crucifixion. Peter’s interest there seems to be to eradicate any influence Judas had in the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ.
O Lord, Do not delay
Psalm 70
Psalm 70
1 ¶ Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!
2 Let them be ashamed and confounded
Who seek my life;
Let them be turned back and confused
Who desire my hurt.
3 Let them be turned back because of their shame,
Who say, “Aha, aha!”
4 Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
And let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“Let God be magnified!”
5 But I am poor and needy;
Make haste to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O LORD, do not delay.
This is a prayer of David. Notice that this five-verse Psalm is virtually identical to the five verses found in Psalm 40:13-17 (see notes). The primary difference is the occurrence of the word “Elohim” (translated “God”) here as opposed to the rendering of “Yahweh” (translated “LORD”) in Psalm 40.
The New Testament quotations indicating that Psalm 69 is Messianic prophecy
Psalm 69:4
Those who hate me without a cause Are more than the hairs of my head; They are mighty who would destroy me, Being my enemies wrongfully; Though I have stolen nothing, I still must restore it.
John 15:25
But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, “They hated Me without a cause.”
Psalm 69:9
Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up, And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
John 2:17
Then His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up.”
Romans 15:3
For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”