Meditations on the Psalms

The Rock that is Higher than I

To the Chief Musician. On a stringed instrument. A psalm of David. 1 Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. 2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3 For You have been a shelter for me, a strong tower from the enemy. 4 I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings. Selah 5 For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name. 6 You will prolong the king's life, his years as many generations. 7 He shall abide before God forever. oh, prepare mercy and truth, which may preserve him! 8 So I will sing praise to Your name forever, that I may daily perform my vows.

David wrote several psalms on account of Absalom's unsuccessful revolt against his him (2 Samuel 15-18, cf. the introduction to Psalm 3). Psalm 61 is one of them. He wrote it on the way back to his palace from his hiding place east of the Jordan. He describes in it his situation in those critical times, when he was unable to think and express himself. It was God's peace within him that made him sing.

The psalm includes the following:

• First: A Weary Heart's Cry (verses 1-4)

• Second: A Weary Heart's Confidence (verses 5-8)

	First: A Weary Heart's Cry

(verses 1-4)

1. The weary heart's prayer: "Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer. From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I"> (verses 1,2). David lifts up his prayer to "God", the master who has all authority in heaven and on earth, the God of the covenant who pledged to protect and care for His people long before they called upon His name. Sometimes we focus on the problem and complain how big it is and how we cannot solve it, but from David we can learn how to turn to God, who has the solution, and say to Him, "Hear attend." He both prayed in a faint voice and shouted at the top of his voice. He was both fervent and insistent when he asked God not to keep silent till He had rescued and blessed him (Genesis 32:26). God will bear with us when we get emotional, and incline His ear toward us. We ought to thank Him for His favour and admit our wrongdoing to Him. We ought to ask Him to provide all our needs.

   David was banished from his palace, place of worship and seat of rulership. He fled to the "end of the earth", to the east of the Jordan away from Jerusalem. His heart was overwhelmed by sorrow because of his removal from his God and the shock his dear son Absalom and his "loyal" friends gave him.

   Despite this he knew that there was a "rock that is higher than him"> to which God will lead him. He could not lead himself, and his counsellors were too confused to suggest a suitable solution, so he turned to his God who gave him a sense of power and continuity. "He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved... In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God"> (Psalm 62:2,7). When we are led to a rock that is higher than we, we become higher than our enemies, but we will need strength to be able to climb it and a guide to show us the way to do so. We will need God's eternal arms to lift us up and an inner strength which His Spirit produces within us to respond to the attracting power of those divine arms (Deuteronomy 33:27).

2. A prayer based on sweet memories: "For You have been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy"> (verse 3). "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous shall run to it and are safe"> (Proverbs 18:10). The psalmist turned to the Lord, trusting that the One who stood by him in the past will do the same in the present and the future. "I have been young and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread"> (Psalm 37:25). God was a tower of protection for David from the lion and the bear that attacked his flock, as well as from Goliath the giant, Saul's attempts on his life and Absalom's unsuccessful revolt against him.

3. A prayer with two promises: "I will abide in Your tabernacle forever; I will trust in the shelter of Your wings"> (verse 4). In this prayer he gives two promises. The first of these is to worship God always in His tabernacle: "One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple"> (Psalm 27:4).

   After experiencing God's love which gave him confidence and peace in his time of trouble, he promised the Lord that he would dwell worshipfully in His house always. A worshipper is one who makes himself a servant of God and lives in obedience to Him. Worship is not just repeated words, but a life-style of service and voluntary servanthood to the Lord.

   David's second promise to the Lord was to "trust in the shelter of His wings"> to feel secure like a little chick. He would take refuge in those two big wings, and there, enjoy love, warmth, stability and comfort. It is then that the promise will be fulfilled for him: "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid"> (John 14:27).

	Second: A Weary Heart's Confidence

(verses 5-8)

1. Confidence based on God's previous dealings: "For You, O God, have heard my vows; You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name"> (verse 5). Our confidence in the God who supported us yesterday refreshes us and makes us trust Him today and tomorrow. David put his confidence in the Lord to whom he made a vow, and the Lord regarded him and heard his request. His ancestor Jacob had also made a vow while fleeing from his brother Esau (Genesis 28:20-22) and when God confronted him (Genesis 31:13). The Lord answered Jacob's request, but 42 years went by before Jacob paid his vow to the Lord, so the Lord reminded him of it (Genesis 35:1). Here David promises the Lord not to delay the paying of his vow because the Lord himself never delayed the fulfilment of his promises. He gave the descendants of Abraham an inheritance, which was the land of Canaan, although it was impossible to obtain through their own military might. The Lord promised and fulfilled His promise. Christ also promised the disciples to fulfil all their needs, and He did. To make them aware of this fact, He asked them, "When I sent you without money bag, sack, and sandals, did you lack anything?"> So they said, "Nothing"> (Luke 22:35).

   (See note on vows in the comment on Psalm 50:14).

2. Secure confidence in the continuity of God's love: "You will prolong the king's life, his years as many generations. He shall abide before God forever. Oh, prepare mercy and truth which may preserve him"> (verses 6,7). David feels secure with God's enduring love and trusts that He will make him live a long and fulfilled life. He will return to his throne after the unsuccessful revolt of his son against him, because "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with his hand"> (Psalm 37:24). It isn't David who was meant by "his years as many generations"> because "David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell asleep"> (Acts 13:36). The reference here is to the King, Son of David, of whom it was said seven hundred years before His birth: "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this"> (Isaiah 9:6,7 NIV).

   David says that mercy and truth preserve him. Mercy comes first, for the Lord shows unmerited mercy upon us. Truth is God's faithfulness toward the believers and toward His promises to them. It was through His mercy that He entered in a covenant with His people, and is through His truth that He guarantees the continuity of that covenant (John 10:28-30; Romans 8:35-39).

3. Confidence that expresses itself through singing: "So I will sing praise to Your name forever, that I may daily perform my vows"> (verse 8). David concludes his confident prayer with praise, which is a part of his vow. Whenever a man praises his heart fills with joy. "Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms"> (James 5:13). David started crying out in prayer and ended up expressing his confidence in the Lord through singing.

	Questions

1. The psalmist prays and promises God two things - what are these two promises?

2. On what bases does the psalmist build his trust on God?

My Trust Is in God Alone

To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A psalm of David. 1 Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation. 2 He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be greatly moved. 3 How long will you attack a man? You shall be slain, all of you, like a leaning wall and a tottering fence. 4 They only consult to cast him down from his high position; they delight in lies; they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly. Selah 5 My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. 6 He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved. 7 In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. 8 Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah 9 Surely men of low degree are a vapor, men of high degree are a lie; if they are weighed on the scales, they are altogether lighter than vapor. 10 Do not trust in oppression, nor vainly hope in robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them. 11 God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God. 12 Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; for You render to each one according to his work.

Psalm 62 speaks of true confidence in God alone. It was sung by the choir led by the leader of singing Jeduthun the Levite. "To Jeduthun"> means to the tune that Jeduthun set. The same can be said of Psalm 39 and 77. The sons of Jeduthun were gatekeepers to the house of the Lord (1 Chronicles 16:42) but they were also the best singers. When one does his work well, he also praises and thanks God well. Those who praise well are not ashamed of doing any service to the Lord, for their motto is: "I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness"> (Psalm 84:10).

In Hebrew this psalm is marked by the repetition of the word "akh'" six times. It has been translated in this psalm in four different ways: "truly", "only", "alone" and "surely". It was used in connection to with God four times: "Truly my soul waits silently for God"> (verse 1). "He only is my rock"> (verse 2). "My soul, wait silently for God alone"> (verse 5). "He only is my rock"> (verse 6). And was used twice in connection to the enemies of the psalmist: "They only consult" (verse 4). "Surely men of low degree are a vapour"> (verse 9). David used the same word to say that he surely will overcome the difficulties and that, because of this, he will put his trust in God alone.

As Saul was chasing David to kill him, his friend Jonathan, Saul's son, came "and helped him find strength in God" (1 Samuel 23:16 NIV). Also when David's friends were angry and rose up against him, wanting to stone him, "David found strength in the LORD his God" (1 Samuel 30:6 NIV). This psalm is a poetic expression of the secure confidence in the Lord, especially in times of despair.

The psalm includes the following:

• First: True Confidence (verses 1,2)

• Second: Complaining Confidence (verses 3,4)

• Third: Teaching Confidence (verses 5-12)

	First: True Confidence

(verses 1,2)

1. Confidence waits on God: "Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation"(verse 1). The psalmist waits upon God who fulfils His promises, as Moses stated about Him: "Therefore know that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments" (Deuteronomy 7:9). Joshua said of Him, "Not a word failed of any of the good things of which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass" (Joshua 21:45; 23:14). Solomon said of Him, "Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to His people, according to all that He promised. There has not failed one word of all His good promise, which He promised through His servant Moses" (1 Kings 8:56). Paul declared that "God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:9). The Epistle to the Hebrews speaks about God's promise and oath to His people: "That by two immutable things [the promise and the oath] in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us" (Hebrews 6:18).

   While waiting for the Lord, the psalmist declares that his confidence in the coming salvation is beyond any doubt. While waiting, he also meditates quietly and reverently, reparaing God's previous dealing with him. While waiting, he also rests, for anxiety leaves the person who pours out his heart before God. God has already prepared salvation, and is preparing us for it. He preserves us for the salvation about to be revealed in the end times (1 Peter 1:5). The psalmist is a son waiting for his Father with sure expectation and confidence, saying along with Christ, "Father, if it is Your will, remove this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42). He waits like a pupil who learns from his teacher, sitting at his feet and listening to the words of grace that issue from his mouth. The disciples did just the same: they followed Christ and learned from His words, answers, actions and reactions. He waits like a vessel in the hands of the Great Potter to be shaped and decorated (Jeremiah 18:4). He waits like a servant of God whose eyes are fixed on his Master's hand "As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us" (Psalm 123:2). The eyes are fixed on Him, knowing that He "is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask of think, according to the power that works in us" (Ephesians 3:20).

2. Confidence is made sure by God: "He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved"(verse 2). David took heart and waited for the Lord. He was reassured because he trusted in God's love for him and in His perfect timing to bless. He waited for the Lord because of His abundant wisdom, which could see what David could not. He waited for the Lord because He is powerful and able to fulfil his promises. This confidence is made clear through three attributes David ascribes to God:

   1. A rock: "He... is my rock."He is uplifted, faithful, unchangeable, constant, and in Him we always find protection. To Him Isaiah said, "O Lord, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things... You have been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shade from the heat" (Isaiah 25:1,4). "He also brought me out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps" (Psalm 40:2).

   2. A saviour: "He only is my salvation"(verse 2a). "From Him comes my salvation" (verse 1b). He saves from sickness: "He healed all who were sick" (Matthew 8:16). He saves from trouble: "But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble" (Psalm 37:39). He saves from anxiety: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things" (Matthew 6:34). And, above all, He saves from sin: "For the Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). He always saves: From the past through forgiveness, in the present through sanctification and in the future He will perfect the salvation of His trusting servant when He admits him into His eternal glory.

   3. A defence: "He is my defence."He is the only One able to defend those who take refuge with Him. He is an impregnable refuge for anyone who needs rescue and shelter from a raging sea or terrifying waves, "I shall not be greatly moved." When the salvation that the psalmist expects is fulfilled, his confidence in the Lord increases, which makes him state again, "I shall not be moved" (verse 6). After the Lord rescued David from all his enemies and from the of Saul, he said, "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my saviour-- from violent men you save me" (2 Samuel 22:1-3 NIV).

	Second: Complaining Confidence

(verses 3,4)

Every true believer is aware of the fact that he lives in an antagonistic world. The closer he walks with God the fiercer becomes the evil one's opposition to him. The devil will not be pleased when he loses his followers to the Kingdom of God. Therefore our lives are never empty from troubles and difficulties: "All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution" (2 Timothy 3:12). Christ warned, "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." (John 15:19). Nevertheless, in the midst of all these troubles God still shows us His love for us clearly. "God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10:13). For this reason the psalmist lifts his complaint up to God, being confident that He would be answered. David's complaint had to do with:

1. The continuity and abundance of troubles:He wonders: "How long will you attack a man? You shall be slain, all of you, like a leaning wall and a tottering fence" (verse 3). They attacked him violently, but cowardly, because they were many and he was just one! They thought he was weak and wobbly like a tumbling wall- just one push and he would fall! They had already attacked and failed, but they rallied themselves again and did not give up. In a similar way the devil attacked Christ and failed: "Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time" (Luke 4:13). So let us always be prepared for the attack of the evil one against us and not wait for him to surprise us.

2. An evil, hypocritical plot to remove him from his high morals: "They only consult to cast him down from his high position; they delight in lies; they bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly"(verse 4). Great are the temptations that come after gaining victory over sin and getting saved. We must never trust the defeated enemy, but let us always put on God's perfect armour, let us shield ourselves with it, because the devil will always surprise us with a new assault and in great numbers (Ephesians 6:13). "They consult" against a single man "to cast him down from his high position." Yet, one man together with the Lord is mighty, and established in truth and righteousness. "They delight in lies" to make the believer doubt the efficacy of his faith, to talk him into believing in the impossibility of his victory. The devil is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). On the contrary, let us hear this divine wisdom: "My son, do not walk in the way with them, keep your foot from the path" (Proverbs 1:15).

	Third: Teaching Confidence

(verses 5-12)

After expressing his confidence in the Lord and lifting up his complaint to Him, David started to advise himself, his followers and his enemies once more:

1. The psalmist who trusts the Lord teaches his soul (verses 5-7):

   1. He teaches it to wait on the Lord: "My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my defence; I shall not be moved"(verses 5,6). David had already revealed this truth in verses 1 and 2. He repeats it here for himself. He exhorts himself to wait on God because he started to get restless from waiting. Again he began to encourage himself to wait and be patient a little bit more, because the light of dawn must shine no matter how long the night seems! He says to his soul, "My hope comes from him" (NIV). He lives in hope, therefore he is no longer moved greatly. He has become more secure. It is clear to all who wait on the Lord that the future of the believer is far better than his past, and his tomorrow better than his today. In that attitude he trusts that no matter how the winds and the rains bring troubles, the Lord will give him his share of protection, glory and salvation. "When my soul fainted within me, I reparaed the Lord; and my prayer went up to You, into Your holy temple" (Jonah 2:7). Let each one of us say to his soul, "My soul, do not give up, neither doubt God's love. Hold your ground and continue waiting for the Lord. Draw your hope from Him" "in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory" (Ephesians 1:12 NIV).

   2. He teaches it to take refuge in God: "In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength and my refuge, is in God"(verse 7). The psalmist encourages his soul with God's great qualities and teaches it that the One who has such qualities must be trustworthy. He is salvation, glory, the rock of strength and the safe shelter. He is our Saviour, our object of boast and glory. Since our salvation is in and from God, glory and honour must also be from and to Him. God perfects the believer's salvation through the glory that is revealed in him. So let us always take shelter in Him.

2. The psalmist who trusts God teaches his followers (verse 8):

   1. To always depend on God: "Trust in Him at all times, you people"(verse 8a). He wants them to experience what he experienced and to get the reassurance he got. He advises them not to fear, but rather to entirely rely on the Lord, at the times of comfort as well as of discomfort. "You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, for in YAH, the Lord, is everlasting strength" (Isaiah 26:3,4).

   2. To pray and be open to God: "Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us"(verse 8 b). In His presence they empty their hearts of all anxiety, and at His throne of grace they pour out their hearts and express their fears. When He delivers them from all their fears, they do not keep anything hidden from Him, rather they get announce all. "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7). King Hezekiah indeed did the same as he took the letters of Rabshakeh, the Assyrian commander, as full of mockery and derision as they were, and set them before God. Thus he found refuge, shelter and rescue (Isaiah 37:14).

3. The psalmist who trusts God teaches his enemies (verses 9-12):

   1. That men, both high and low, are but vapour and dust: "Surely men of low degree are a vapour, men of high degree are a lie; if they are weighed in the balances, they are altogether lighter than vapour"(verse 9). Adam was created of dust, and his name (earthly) even indicates that, for earth is called "adamah". Adam's second son's name was "Abel" which means vapour of vanity. He must die, and dust must return to the dust from which it was taken. Man is here today but tomorrow no one will find him. "All flesh is grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of the Lord blows upon it" (Isaiah 40:6,7). "If they are weighed in the balances, they are altogether lighter than vapour," which should teach us not to trust in them. "Thus says the Lord, Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord... Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord" (Jeremiah 17:5,7). "Do not put your trust in princes, nor in a son of man in whom there is no help. His spirit departs, he returns to his earth; in that very day his plans perish" (Psalm 146:3,4). Human beings are all as useless as vapour, they neither help nor harm, and no hope is found in them. Likewise, nothing about them should frighten us, regardless how much harm we think they can do.

   2. That riches are not everything: "Do not trust in oppression, nor vainly hope in robbery; if riches increase, do not set your heart on them"(verse 10a). Man might think that he rises in status when he oppresses someone else, but oppression must bring destruction to its originator. It is unfair for a man to rob someone else of his honour and rights, neither will it profit the robber "The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing" (Psalm 34:10). "He who gets riches, but not by right; it will leave him in the midst of his days, and at his end he will be a fool" (Jeremiah 17:11). This was James' advice to the rich who got their riches through unlawful ways: "Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you... Indeed the wages of your labourers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth" (James 5:1-4).

      "If riches increase, do not set your heart on them"(verse 10b). Man may think that he got his own riches by his own cunning, that his health and cunning will last for ever and that circumstances will always be in his favour. Yet, nothing on earth lasts for ever. The psalmist says to him who robs and to him who relies on his riches, "God shall likewise destroy you forever; He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place, and uproot you from the land of the living. The righteous also shall see and fear, and shall laugh at him, saying, Here is the man who did not make God his strength, but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness" (Psalm 52:5-7).

   3. That power belongs to God: "God has spoken once, twice I have heard this: that power belongs to God"(verse 11). The words of the Lord hit the ears of the psalmist so hard that they echoed deep down in his heart, for "he who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Matthew 13:9). What a world of difference between the psalmist who can hear and discern the voice of God (John 10:4) and the sinner, whom Elihu puts in total contrast "For God may speak in one way, or another, yet man does not perceive it" (Job 33:14).

      God's word is one- it is effective and authoritative, therefore He does not repeat it in vain. Yet, this one word is repeated twice in the ears of the psalmist: When God created him and when He cares for him, when He gave him the new birth and when He granted him victory over sin, when He gave the first step of salvation through forgiveness as soon as he repented and when He gives the second step of salvation through sanctification. This second step will last a lifetime.

      We perceive God's strength and power twice: In the love displayed on the cross and in the power of resurrection. No man dares lay down his life on our behalf. "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:7,8 NIV). This is the power of self-giving love. There is still the power of the triumphant resurrection, for death could not hold Christ, rather He conquered death and the grave and rose again. He "destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel" (2 Timothy 1:10 NIV). We perceive God's power twice: In that He adds to the Church every day those who get saved (Acts 2:47). He did this in the first century and He still does it today with those He brings back to Himself. His power is manifested also in the continuity of the Church despite all adverse circumstances that would crush it, but the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it (Isaiah 54:17; Matthew 6:18).

      How many sinners do not hear God's voice or see his power! They defy the divine will and resent surrendering to it. They do not call on God, and try to manage their own affair themselves. Indeed "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes" (Proverbs 12:15). And how many sinners are torn by anxiety because they have given up all hope in God's mercy, and, through their unbelief, set up a barrier between themselves and their God.

   4. That God is merciful and just: "Also to You, O Lord, belongs mercy; for You render to each one according to his work"(verse 12). God recompenses the righteous with His mercy and punishes the wicked with His justice, giving to all what they deserve. Solomon said to Him at the time of inaugurating the temple, "Act. Judge between your servants, condemning the guilty and bringing down on his own head what he has done. Declare the innocent not guilty, and so establish his innocence" (1 Kings 8:32 NIV). It is out of God's mercy that He does not punish a person until He has given him the chance to repent, therefore Paul says to those who do not repent, "Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realising that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God's wrath, when his righteous judgement will be revealed. God will give to each person according to what he has done.' ...for those who follow evil, there will be wrath and anger ...but glory, honour and peace for everyone who does good" (Romans 2:4-10).

      Those who do good works, however, will have their reward from God according to His mercy, because they only do what is required of them regardless how much good they do. They give back only a little what He has already given them. The money they give Him is His gift. The effort they exert has been provided by Him! Only His mercy recompenses the good person for his good works.

      May God grant us to depend on Him alone, because He alone is trustworthy. He is the Almighty, the Merciful and the Just. He deserves to have said about Him: "Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation."

	Questions

1. 1 - David rests relaxed in God for three reasons. Mention them.

2. 2 - David taught his followers two lessons. Mention them.

My Soul Thirsts for You

A psalm of David when he was in the wilderness of Judah. 1 O God, You are my God; Early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked for You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory. 3 Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise You. 4 Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. 5 My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. 6 When I repara You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. 7 Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. 8 My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me. 9 But those who seek my life, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. 10 They shall fall by the sword; they shall be a por-tion for jackals. 11 But the king shall rejoice in God; everyone who swears by Him shall glory; but the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped.

David wrote Psalm 63 when he was in the wilderness of Judah, geographically removed from the house of the Lord. In it he expresses his extreme longing for attending the worship in the house of the Lord, where he could see the divine presence and find spiritual power. He loves the Lord so much, fellowships and communicates with Him. He had so many spiritual experiences when he was a fugitive in the wilderness of Judah, in whose caves he often hid himself from Saul and once from his son Absalom. A Jew's worship always had to do with offering a sacrifice in the tabernacle or temple of the Lord, just as Hannah, the mother of Samuel the prophet, did (1 Samuel 1). David's worship, however, was not confined to ceremonies, but involved a personal and deep relationship with God. He was a friend and a lover of the Lord. As he was running away from his son Absalom, Zadok the priest and the Levites with him brought the ark of the Lord's covenant to where David was. Yet David said to the priest, "Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favour in the eyes of the Lord, He will bring me back and show both it and His habitation" (2 Samuel 15:25).

In the wilderness of Judah David was in a "mental wilderness" and a "spiritual thirst" for God. In his geographical removal from the house of the Lord he expressed his longing for Him by writing this psalm. John Chrysostom said of this psalm, "this psalm must be read every morning because it is a medicine that wipes out sin, ignites the heat of longing for God inside us, kindles the fire of worship to Him. Then our lives will overflow with goodness and love and we will be equipped for approaching God and being found in His presence."

The psalm includes the following:

• First: The Believer's Longing for the Lord (verses 1-4)

• Second: The Believer's Satisfaction with the Lord (verses 5-7)

• Third: The Believer's Covenant with the Lord (verses 8-11)

	First: The Believer's Longing for the Lord

(verses 1-4)

1. Seven reasons why the psalmist longs for the Lord:

   1. Because He is his God (verse 1a):The psalmist belonged to the Lord and could find no rest away from Him. Augustine said, "God, You created us for Yourself, therefore our souls will not find rest until they rest in You." He is the strong God to whom we turn with confidence at the time of crisis.

   2. Because He has the first priority in his life: "Early will I seek You"(verse 1b). God is first and foremost in the life of the psalmist. He begins his day talking with Him because he loves Him with all his heart, soul, mind and strength. It was said of Christ that "Early in the morning all the people came to Him in the temple to hear Him" (Luke 21:38). The prophet said, "With my soul I have desired You in the night, yes, by my spirit within me I will seek You early" (Isaiah 26:9).

   3. Because he is thirsty for Him: "My soul thirsts for You; my flesh longs for You"(verse 1c). He was satisfied with the Lord, yet his soul was still thirsty for Him. A spiritual meal does not leave in no need for the next spiritual meal, much the same way as a physical meal does not leave in no need for the next. A believer who tastes of the Lord's sweetness seeks to taste and be filled with more of it. The closer he walks with Him and lives in His presence the more he discovers that he cannot go far away from Him, but rather enjoy him more. A certain saint said, "we are often in error when we try to feed the dead, because those who are dead in transgressions and sins do not thirst or hunger for the word of God. A spiritually living man, however, thirsts and hungers for the heavenlies!" A spiritually living man will say, "My soul longs, yes, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God" (Psalm 84:2).

   4. Because the world does not quench his thirst: "In a dry and thirsty land where there is no water"(verse 1d). Knowledge satisfies the mind and food satisfies the body, but they cannot satisfy the spirit that remains thirsty and hungry for God. He is the only One who can satisfy the soul. God is as "rivers of waters in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land" (Isaiah 32:2).

   5. Because He is the God of holiness: "As I have looked for You in Your sanctuary"(verse 2a). Sanctuary (ha-kodesh) can also mean holiness. God's holiness captivated David as it did Isaiah when he heard the seraphim shouting: "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of hi glory!" And at that he exclaimed, "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts" (Isaiah 6:3,5). In his realisation of his sins, David longed for a touch from the holy God in His holy house, to cleanse his life and purify his heart.

   6. Because He is the God of power and glory: "To see Your power and Your glory"(verse 2b). The psalmist is weak in himself, unable to meet the requirements of life which presses him more than he can bear. He definitely needs God's power and glory. The ark of the Lord was a symbol of the Lord's presence amongst His people in His power and glory. But at that time he was distant from the ark of the covenant and wanted to return back to it to feel the presence of the God of power and glory.

      We, believers, today realise that being deprived of the presence of believers around you does not mean that God is not present with you. The prophet Ezekiel was taken captive to Babylon at the River Chebar. Nevertheless, he enjoyed God's gentle hand on him and was able to see the visions of the Lord (Ezekiel 1). John, too, was banished to the island of Patmos for the witness of Christ, but he was in the Spirit and saw the visions of the Spirit (Revelation 1).

   7. Because He is the God of mercy: "Because Your lovingkindness is better than life"(verse 3a). The psalmist wanted to behold God's power and glory in his holy temple, but it was the divine mercy (lovingkindness) that gave him life. When Moses requested to see God's glory, God showed him His goodness (Exodus 33:18-20).

      God's mercy is better than life, which is the dearest thing a man can possess. Without it life is a mere desert, a certain death! The psalmist's life was under threat, but the threat vanished as soon as God showed him mercy.

2. The way longing for God is expressed:

   1. With thankful singing: "My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live"(verses 3b,4a). He expressed his longing for the Lord through praise. His lips praise and his life also praises out of gratitude for the good, powerful, glorious, holy and merciful God. "Thus", on account of Your mercy I bless You, extol You and sing to You as long as I live. Every time we recall God's benefits we bless Him with all that is within us (Psalm 103:1,2). His mercies upon us never end; they are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22,23). Therefore, we sing to God with endless praise, and every morning.

   2. With prayer: "I will lift up my hands in Your name"(verse 4b). We lift up our hands for prayer in the name of the Lord, who reveals Himself to us and says, "If you ask anything in My name, I will do it" (John 14:14). Our response to this is: "Hear my cry for mercy as I call to you for help, as I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place" (Psalm 28:2 NIV). In like manner King Solomon spread out his hands as he offered up to God a prayer at the inauguration of the temple, saying, "Lord God of Israel, there is no God in heaven above or on earth below, who keep Your covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts" (1 Kings 8:23). "I desire that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting," Paul exhorted (1 Timothy 2:8). In prayer we spread and lift up our hands, a symbol of our prayerful hearts which are lifted up before the throne of the Lord: "To You, O God, I will lift up my soul" (Psalm 25:1). Lifting up hands shows watchfulness and concentration in prayer, as well as focusing on the Lord who speaks to the person.

	Second: The Believer's Satisfaction with the Lord

(verses 5-7)

1. The reason for satisfaction: "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness"(verse 5a). He acknowledged that God satisfied his heart. David did not mean literal marrow and fatness, for he said, "as with marrow and fatness." He meant that God satisfied him with the heavenlies and the spiritual, and that the Lord has.

   The expression "marrow and fatness" has two meanings:

   1. Lasting riches and fattiness:The marrow was the most expensive part of a sacrifice because it was the most satisfying part for man. Similarly, God's gift is the best, for it offers lasting satisfaction. Right after writing the Torah Moses sang a song in which he described God's blessings to His people. He said that God gave them "curds from the cattle, and milk of the flock, with fat of lamb" (Deuteronomy 32:14). Isaiah said that marrow and fatness were God's banquet for His people "The Lord of hosts will make a feast of fat things full of marrow" (Isaiah 25:6). The Lord Himself said, "I will satiate the soul of the priest with abundance, and My people shall be satisfied with My goodness" (Jeremiah 31:14).

   2. Man is satiated with the divine things:The Mosaic law commanded all of the marrow of a sacrifice to be given to God: "All the fat is the Lord's. This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all Your dwellings: you shall eat neither fat nor blood" (Leviticus 3:16,17). The psalmist describes the divine fulfilment in these words: "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him" (Psalm 34:8). "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness" (Matthew 5:6). "They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, and You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures" (Psalm 36:8). We are always guests of the King, who prepares a table for us and makes our cup overflow (Psalm 23).

2. The result of satisfaction: "And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. When I repara You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. Because You have been my help, therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice"(verses 5b-7). When the psalmist's soul was filled to capacity with divine things his lips overflowed with praise. "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name" (Hebrews 13:15). He praises "when I repara You." Every time the psalmist feels sleepless he meditates on the mercies of the Lord and recalls them with thankfulness. And as he ponders and praises day and night his soul becomes more and more reassured. Both his conscious and unconscious mind do not cease to meditate on God's providence in the past, which makes him repara the Lord with joy. He, then, begins to thank the Lord because He was his help, and to rejoice in the shadow of His wings. At this moment the psalmist must have been thinking of a great eagle with strong, big wings spread over its little ones for protection. Moses described such an eagle as follows: "Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions. The LORD alone led him; no foreign god was with him" (Deuteronomy 32:11,12 NIV). Or perhaps he was thinking of the wings of a tender-hearted hen "As a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing" (Matthew 23:37 NIV).

	Third: The Believer's Covenant with the Lord

(verses 8-11)

As a result of having all his longings met in the Lord, the psalmist decided to renew his covenant of following the Lord closely. Afterwards he mentioned the result of fulfilling the requirements of this covenant:

1. The subject of the covenant: "My soul follows close behind You"(verse 8a). The psalmist fulfilled the commandment: "You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and to Him you shall hold fast" (Deuteronomy 10:20). His relationship with the Lord was deep and constant, just as that of a man who leaves his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). The psalmist clung to the Lord, just as Ruth did Naomi when she said, "Wherever you lodge, I will lodge" (Ruth 1:16) and as the branch clings to the vine to receive the sap and yield fruit. David's soul clung to the Lord without any hindrance that could prevent the blessing from coming to him. The Lord was his chief and leader, and he became submissive and obedient. Just the body cannot be separated from the head David was joined to the Lord and abided in Him. So the Lord abided in David and was joined to him. The love of Christ will never be separated from you as long as you say, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" (Romans 8:35).

2. The result of the covenant (verses 8b-11):The psalmist mentioned two results of his commitment to his covenant with the Lord:

   1. The exaltation of the believer: "Your right hand upholds me, but those who seek my life, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth. They shall fall by the sword; they shall be a portion for the jackals"(verses 8b-10). The Lord says to the psalmist, "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am Your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand" (Isaiah 41:10). The Lord will destroy the psalmist's enemies; they will go down to the lower parts of the earth, die and be buried. Perhaps the psalmist recalled what happened to the dwelling places of the children of Korah, Dathan and Abiram who rejected Moses' leadership and attempted a revolt against him. The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, and they went down alive into the Pit (Numbers 16:25-32). God's warning was made good: "I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who seek their lives, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth" (Jeremiah 19:7 NIV). In the same way Saul fell on his sword, and "all who draw the sword will die by the sword" (Matthew 26:52 NIV).

   2. The joy of the believer: "But the king shall rejoice in God; every one who swears by Him shall glory; but the mouth of those who speak lies shall be stopped"(verse 11). King David expressed his longing for the house of the Lord, and covenanted with God to follow close behind Him, therefore he experienced genuine joy. Likewise everyone who enters in the Lord's covenant glories in the Lord and his heart fills with joy. David has sown in tears, and he must reap in joy (Psalm 126:5). "He who blesses himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God of truth; he who swears in the earth shall swear by the God of truth; because the former troubles are forgotten" (Isaiah 65:16). "The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him, and all the upright in heart shall glory" (Psalm 64:10). The enemies of the psalmist, however, who speak lies, their mouth shall be stopped by God "that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (Romans 3:19).

      The psalmist's soul thirsted for God, and God quenched his thirst in His person. Consequently, the psalmist's heart rejoiced in the Lord, and he gloried in Him. Now, do you yourself long for the Lord, so that He should gladden you with Himself?

	Questions

1. The psalmist mentions seven reasons for thirsting to God. Write them.

2. What is the meaning of "marrow and fatness"?

A Complaint to Divine Justice

To the Chief Musician. A psalm of David. 1 Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; preserve my life from fear of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, 3 Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows -- bitter words, 4 That they may shoot in secret at the blameless; suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear. 5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter; they talk of laying snares secretly; they say, "Who will see them?" 6 They devise iniquities: "We have perfected a shrewd scheme." Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep. 7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly they shall be wounded. 8 So He will make them stumble over their own tongue; all who see them shall flee away. 9 All men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider His doing. 10 The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.

Psalm 64 is a complaint to divine justice. We all must have gone through this experience, whether our complaint was about God to God, about friends whom we expected to help us but didn't, about friends who hurt us or enemies who came against us. We may even complain about ourselves to God because we were not up to the spiritual level we expected ourselves to be, and were therefore disappointed!

We thank God, however, because He is our refuge in all cases. This is exactly what the psalmist found out, for he lived a life of beautiful fellowship with God and continual communion with Him. He believed that God was with him in all circumstances. The Spirit-born believer is marked by the fact that his eyes always turn to God, since He is faithful to deliver. As a result of the psalmist's previous experiences he was sure that the Lord is the one and only deliverer, so he learned to knock at His door before doing anything else. Then, through the Lord, he can tap into other sources of help, according to the commandment: "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). His mind got renewed and he began to turn his gaze immediately from the problem to God.

The psalm includes the following:

• First: The Enemy's Plot (verses 1-6)

• Second: God's Justice (verses 7-10)

	First: The Enemy's Plot

(verses 1-6)

The psalmist sings his song so that God would save him from the cunning of his plotting and devious enemies who insist on getting him. He trusts that God will surely intervene on his behalf.

1. He complains of the enemy's plots (verses 1,2):

   1. He complains of his own inability: "Hear me, O God, as I voice my complaint"(verse 1a NIV). This is a cry of a man who is unable to face the situation and request a speedy help.

   2. He complains about his fear: "Preserve my life from fear of the enemy"(verse 1b). He is not imagining a problem, but he is living through one! He does not underestimate the enemy, the son of Satan, who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whomever to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Nevertheless, he knows the value of the divine help he has in the Lord who is able to preserve his life and redress the injustice done against him.

   3. He complains about the wicked: "Hide me from the counsel of the wicked"(verse 2b). The wicked have a perverse behaviour. They plan perverse things and move on to attack him. Nothing will protect him from their secret ruses and devices but the divine hiding place, for "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1). God hides and conceals the psalmist so that his enemies won't find him. This was also the experience of Jeremiah and Baruch the scribe, whom the Lord hid from the wickedness of King Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 36:26).

   4. He complains of the worker of iniquity: "From the insurrection of the workers of iniquity"(verse 2b). The workers of iniquity overstep God's boundaries and do not set the fear of God before their eyes. David's enemies were cunning, practised in iniquity and experts in devising intrigues. David's eyes, however, were fixed on heaven, and his heart was with the Lord.

2. He complains of the words of the enemy (verse 3):

   They wielded the weapon of words against the psalmist to shake his trust in the power of prayer:

   1. Words like a sword: "Who sharpen their tongue like a sword"(verse 3a). Their words are like a sharpened deadly sword. Often the wound caused by words is deeper than that caused by a sword. The psalmist describes the tongue that slaughters with honeyed words as "smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords" (Psalm 55:21). He also describes the tongue that attacks and slaughters relentlessly: "I am in the midst of lions; I lie among ravenous beasts-- men whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords" (Psalm 57:4 NIV).

   2. Their words are like an arrow: "And bend their bows to shoot their arrows-bitter words"(verse 3b). An Arab poet said:

      The wounds of the swords will heal, But those of the tongue never will!

      "But no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness"(James 3:8,9 NIV). Wounded by words, the believer turns to the divine help, knowing that "if you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you" (1 Peter 4:14).

3. He complains about the traps of the enemy (verses 4,5):

   1. They came together against him: "That they may shoot in secret at the blameless; suddenly they shot at him and do not fear"(verse 4). "The bloodthirsty hate the blameless" (Proverbs 29:10). They are not courageous enough to face him, so they sneak up in secret. They come suddenly and unexpectedly in order to get what they want. They neither fear God nor respect man, so they plot together and encourage each other against the psalmist.

   2. They speak against him: "They talk of laying snares secretly; they say, Who will see them?'"(verse 5). Their words are like hidden traps that would ensnare the psalmist. They think no one will see them, as though divine justice will not do justice to the oppressed. They forget that one official is eyed by a higher one, and over them both are others higher still (Ecclesiastes 5:8). "Woe to those who seek deep to hide their counsel far from the Lord, and their works are in the dark; they say, Who sees us? and, Who knows us?" (Isaiah 29:15).

4. He complains about the schemes of the enemy (verse 6):

   1. A shrewd scheme: "They devise iniquities: We have perfected a shrewd scheme.'"(verse 6a). With every new day the wicked devise a snare more powerful than the day before. They use a perfect, secret counsel to block every way of escape before the psalmist.

   2. Deep cunning: "Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep"(verse 6b). Man's cunning is deep: "Every man hunts his brother with a net. That they may successfully do evil with both hands" (Micah 7:2-3). But God knows the secrets of the hearts "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Jeremiah 17:9,10).

   The psalmist got weary and sought rescue. Satan taught the enemies how to devise their schemes, but the psalmist asks the Holy Spirit to teach new gifts to be able to face his enemies and conquer them.

	Second: God's Justice

(verses 7-10)

1. God's justice punishes the wicked: "But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly they shall be wounded"(verse 7). The wicked shoot their arrow in secret (verse 40. But the arrow of the Lord is clear, quick and hits suddenly. The arrow that is aimed at the believer must rebound on his enemies. God's arrows, however, are quicker and more powerful. The only thing we can say about them is, "You will make them turn their back; You will make ready Your arrows on Your string toward their faces" (Psalm 21:12). "Vengeance is mine, and recompense" (Deuteronomy 32:35,36; Romans 12:19).

   As Rabshakeh came at the head of the great army of Assyria to attack the children of Israel, he mocked King Hezekiah and wrote him this letter: "Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.'" Hezekiah took the letters of Rabshake to the temple and prayed, "O LORD Almighty, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth. Give ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; listen to all the words Sennacherib has sent to insult the living God." Then the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp, and the rest of the army returned to where they came from. (Isaiah 37 NIV).

2. The wicked hurt themselves: "He will turn their own tongues against them and bring them to ruin; all who see them will shake their heads in scorn"(verse 8 NIV). The sharpened, judging sword of words must return back against those who used it for harm. It judges itself and turns back on its owners. Those around them, however, will shake their heads in scorn and wonder at what befell the enemies of the psalmist who seemed to have the upper hand. The wicked were active and strong, but they vanished suddenly!

3. God's justice teaches mankind: "All men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider His doing"(verse 9). Men realise that God's power does what is best for those who believe in Him. They consider His divine work as they see God's hand working to deliver the believer and destroy the wicked. Wickedness may seem prosperous for a season, but sure enough it will fall down on the heads of those who practice it. Believers may live as a minority under the big, outward pressures but the good God works among them, through them and for them with all power and authority. God said through Hosea, "Who is wise? Let him understand these things. Who is prudent? Let him know them. For the ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them" (Hosea 14:9).

4. God's justice makes the righteous glad: "The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory"(verse 10). The psalmist began the psalm with complaint and fear and ended it with the joy of justification which God grants the believer making him righteous. He is glad because he experienced the divine goodness and justice and was delivered by God.

   This is the experience of the Church collectively and individually. Every believer lives the story of this psalm at all times. Let us, therefore, live joyfully in the Lord who made us righteous. Let us trust Him more, so that the wicked may be ashamed and all believers take heart and rejoice.

	Questions

1. Why is the psalmist afraid?

2. What is the cure of his fears?

A Song of Praise for the Harvest

To the Chief Musician. A psalm of David. A Song. 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.

Psalm 65 was written to be sung at the harvest feast, or the feast of firstfruits. The children of Israel observed it according to the Lord's commandment: "When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord, to be accepted on your behalf" (Leviticus 23:9-14). They held a special celebration at the feast of firstfruits during which they sang this psalm together to worship and give thanks. They offered the Lord the firstfruits of their harvest to acknowledge his favour upon them. We Christians read this psalm at the end of every year, offering thanksgiving to God for His blessings that He bestowed upon us throughout the previous year.

The psalm includes the following:

• First: Believers Praise God (verses 1-5)

• Second: Nature Praises God (verses 6-8)

• Third: The Harvesters Praise God (verses 9-13)

	First: Believers Praise God

(verses 1-5)

It befits believers to meet in the house of the Lord to lift up grateful praises to the One Who hears the prayers of all His creation. True, their sins separate them from Him, but He provides atonement for them in order for them to find the greatest happiness in His house and presence.

1. Believers praise Him who hears prayer: "Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion; and to You the vow shall be performed. O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh will come"(verses 1,2). Believers praise the Lord and perform their vows to Him because He gave them what they wanted. They acknowledge their gratitude in public "My praise shall be of You in the great congregation; I will pay my vows before those who fear Him" (Psalm 22:25). (See comment on vows in Psalm 50:14.)

   John Calvin said that God ceases to hear prayer only when He ceases to be God! He hears prayer because He is able to take notice of the requests of those who pray to Him and accomplish all that is for their best. "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him" (1 John 5:14,15 NIV). Accordingly we ought to pray always and not lose heart (Luke 18:1). Let us ask in order to receive and seek in order to find and knock in order for the door to be opened to us (Matthew 7:7). He both hears and gives to all men. People are divided into two groups: children receiving from their heavenly Father, and beggars beseeching their gracious master. But the gracious master wants to promote our status from beggars to sons. He graciously adopts all those who accept Christ as Saviour and put their trust in His redemption (John 1:12). They say to each other, "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1 John 3:1). They are no longer slaves, but sons and heirs (Romans 8:17). And it is because of sonship that we come to Him in times of need as well as in times of plenty. We express our love to Him, tell Him of our longings and pour out our souls before him, saying, "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (Psalm 42:2). Thus we draw closer to Him at all times, so that our souls might be satisfied with the fruit of his love and peace and enjoy His fellowship that refreshes the soul.

2. Believers praise Him who forgives them: "Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them"(verse 3). Iniquity is any crooked behaviour. He attributes these iniquities to himself and to his people when he says, "You will provide atonement for them." Transgressions contradict and oppose the divine will. In using both the singular and the plural, one sees that a worshipper must confess his sin as an individual as well as the sins of the congregation. We stand before God both as individuals and as a group; each one of us confessing for himself and admitting the shortcomings of all believers. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Whom God set forth to be a propitiation" (Romans 3:23-25). The Mosaic Law commanded both individual and collective confession. On the great day of atonement the high priest used to go into the Holy of Holies, first with blood for himself, and the Lord would accept his repentance, then with blood on behalf of all the people so that the Lord would forgive them all (Leviticus 16). Nehemiah did the same when he said, "Both my father's house and I have sinned" (Nehemiah 1:6). Daniel, too, prayed and confessed his own sin and that of his people (Daniel 9:20).

   Iniquities and transgressions are the enemies that we cannot overcome on our own, for they "prevailed against us". No one, however righteous, can provide atonement for himself. Let us all turn to the Lord and implore Him, saying, "Forgive us our sins and atone for our transgressions." After confessing our sins and repenting, God provides atonement for us and our sins no longer stand against us in His presence. It is noteworthy that forgiveness and atonement go together. Thus the New Testament teaches us that the redeeming sacrifices of the Old Testament were symbols for Christ's perfect sacrifice, Who is "the lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29)? It is He Who washed us clean from our sins by His great sacrifice and made us kings and priests for God His father (Revelation 1:5,6). Through His atonement Christ pays our debts: "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5 NIV). Through His cross He fulfilled the demands of divine justice as well as demonstrating God's mercy in the clearest way. Through His atonement "Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other" (Psalm 85:10).

3. Believers praise Him whom they worship: "Blessed is the man whom You choose, and cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts"(verse 4a). The Lord chose the tribe of Levi and the descendants of Aaron to serve His house, but also designed all the children of Israel to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exodus 19:6). In doing so He made them His guests and filled them with His grace, as well as considering them His own household. He gave them the responsibility of delivering the message of His love and goodness to their neighbours. Yet they were reluctant to do that and kept it all to themselves. Consequently, God gave this privilege to everyone who would accept Christ as Saviour and Redeemer. Blessed is the man whom God chooses to dwell in His courts because "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty" (Psalm 91:1). Such a person is secure. His alienation from God has ended and he can now settle down and rest. Such a person can be described by this statement: "And He led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city for habitation. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful things to the children of men!" (Psalm 107:7,8). He who dwells in the courts of the Lord worships Him in the adornment of holiness (Psalm 93:5). He hears His word that cleanses the heart (John 15:3), enjoys an intimate relationship with God and receives the fulfilment of Christ's statement: "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves me will be loved by My father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him... If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:21,23).

   The greatest blessing, however, is that "We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, of Your holy temple" (verse 4b). In the Lord's holy temple the soul becomes satisfied: "The desire of our soul is for You" (Isaiah 26:8). "They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house" (Psalm 36:8). It is not by bread alone that man lives, but by having his spirit satisfied with the word of the Lord. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness" (Matthew 5:6).

4. Believers praise the One who is in full authority: "By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation"(verse 5a). We fear and reverence God. His loving care strikes us with awe as we see Him answering us with remarkable concern. Examples of this care were manifested in the miracles that happened with the children of Israel. Here are a few: the Exodus, the pillar of fire, the pillar of smoke, the division of the Red Sea, the water that gushed forth from the rock, the skies that rained manna every morning and the clothes and the sandals that never wore out in the span of forty years. Seeing the punishment God inflicted upon them and the blessings God bestowed on the Israelites, the Egyptians were struck with awe. These are the "awesome deeds in righteousness". God strikes the enemy with awe and dread because He is righteous and just, and saves His own because He is merciful.

   Today we can experience both God's justice (righteousness) and mercy, for He pays everyone according to his own works. He forgives the wrongs of those who confess their sins and take shelter in Christ's atonement. So let us walk in obedience to God, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God Who works in us to will and to act according to His good purpose (Philippians 2:12,13 NIV).

5. Believers praise the God of the whole universe: "You Who are the confidence of the ends of the earth, and of the far-off seas"(verse 5b). Even if they did not know or worship Him, they still rely on the light of His sun and the generosity of His rain. Here the psalmist goes beyond the local thought of the Israelites to speak of God, the God of the entire universe. He sees Him as the God of all beings, the confidence of all mankind and the One Who hears the cry of all people. "All the ends of the earth shall repara and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You" (Psalm 22:27,28). The Lord does good to all people with genuine love, and he does not reproach. "These all wait for You, that You may give them their food in due season... You open Your hands, they filled with good" (Psalm 104:27,28). Paul said to the idolatrous people of Athens, "Therefore, the One Whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: God, Who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth... He gives to all life, breath, and all things" (Acts 17:22-25).

	Second: Nature Praises God

(verses 6-8)

God created the cosmos and He holds it under His control. He controls and sustains all the forces of nature. Nehemiah said to Him, "You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all things on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all. The host of heaven worships You" (Nehemiah 9:6).

1. Nature praises God who establishes it: "Who established the mountains by His strength, being clothes with power"(verse 6). He is a Creator Who does not forget about His creation. He created it and cares for it; planets go around in their orbits, stars revolve in exactly the same location and mountains remain unmoved in their places. "Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides" (Psalm 119:90). Therefore they were called "the perpetual hills" (Habakkuk 3:6). Christ said, "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working" (John 5:17). Truly, God's work in the creation of the world ended, but He still rules the universe. Let us, therefore, cry out, "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power" (Revelation 4:11).

2. Nature praises Him who stills its noise: "You Who still the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people"(verse 7). The Lord said, "I made the sand a boundary for the sea, an everlasting barrier it cannot cross. The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail; they may roar, but they cannot cross it" (Jeremiah 5:22 NIV). It is the Lord Who "rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up; so He led them through the depth, and through the wilderness. He saved them from the hand of them who hated them, and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy" (Psalm 106:9,10). It is the Lord also Who silences the storm. Storms rage and the waves rise up, so the Lord silences the storm to make the waves calm down. Christ did just the same, for He had authority over nature (Matthew 8:26,27). Describing God's authority over the nations that rose against His people like raging seas, Isaiah said, "Woe to the multitude of many people who make a noise like the roar of the seas, and to the rushing of nations that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters! But God will rebuke them and they will flee far away, and be chased like the chaff of the mountains before the wind, like a rolling thing before the whirlwind. Then behold, at eventide, trouble! And before the morning, he is no more. This is the portion of those who plunder us, and the lot of those who rob us" (Isaiah 17:12-14).

   When the waves of the sea roar, trouble comes and the nations get confused. Sometimes nations rise against God's people and we wonder, "Why do the nations rage, and the peoples plot a vain thing?" (Psalm 2:1). God stills the roaring and the tumult in such a way that nature praises the Lord Who stills its noise, and the believers join in!

3. Nature praises the Lord who uses it to teach mankind: "They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs; You make the outgoing of the morning and evening rejoice"(verse 8). When men ponder God's work in nature, they see that "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world" (Psalm 19:1-4 NIV). God makes His sun rise, making the dawn rejoice in the beginning of a new day. As the sun goes down, then comes the dusk of the evening, making the people rejoice because God has crowned the work of the day with success. He gave His labouring servants rest after a long day's work.

   In the same way God crowns the beginning of a repentant sinner's life as a believer with forgiveness, making the dawn of his life rejoice. At the end of his life, too, God gives him the crown of life, so that he ends his days rejoicing: "The righteous shall shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matthew 13:43).

	Third: The Harvesters Praise God

(verses 9-13)

The psalmist's aim in writing Psalm 65 was to thank God for the abundant harvest He gave to His people on a specific occasion. Ample rain watered the land, making it yield its heart-gladdening fruits. The meadows turned green and sheep increased, and the harvesters burst into spontaneous praise.

1. The harvesters praise Him who waters the land: "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 have You prepared it. You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth"(verses 9,10). God sends early rain at the beginning of winter to prepare the ground for the seeds, as well as the latter rain at the end of winter to prepare the crop for harvest. Harvesters cannot reap an abundant crop unless God sends rain at the right time and in suitable quantities. The Lord has storehouses of water (Deuteronomy 11:11; Job 38:25-28). This is how He provided their grain: He prepared the ground for the seeds through early showers of rain, watered its ridges and prepared its furrows. He also settled its soil to make it easy for the roots to go down. The farmer does his job of tilling the land and sowing the seeds, but the seeds will not germinate unless God does His job, for "neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, Who makes things grow" (1 Corinthians 3:7). "As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yield seed for the sower and bread for the eater" (Isaiah 55:10 NIV). Moreover, the harvesters cannot reap any harvest unless the ground embraces the seeds, producing first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head (Mark 4:28).

   Believers also rejoice in the living water with which Christ revives the souls of those who love Him. Christ says to them, "Whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14). Christ satisfies the souls of those who love Him according to His promise: "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and He who believes in Me shall never thirst" (John 6:35).

2. The harvesters praise Him who gives growth to the plants: "You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance. They drop on the pastures of the wilderness, and the little hills rejoice on every side"(verses 11,12). The fields yielded their fruits and the people reaped a good harvest. God has crowned the year with His goodness, for the crown of the year is the reaping of the harvest. God's gifts manifested themselves so evidently in the trails of carts laden with plenteous crops and in what overflowed from every side of the carts. The carts were loaded to capacity with such a blessing that they just dripped with abundance. This figure of speech means that God gave a greater blessing than they asked or thought. He showered them with more than just their needs, because He gives liberally and richly. Grass increased in the pastures and there was enough feed for the flocks, therefore the little hills rejoiced on every side. This figure means that the hills tied their waist with a belt to dance for joy. "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands" (Isaiah 55:12 NIV).

3. Harvesters praise the shepherd of sheep and men: "The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered with grain; they shout for joy, they also sing"(verse 13). The number of sheep increased so that the pastures were covered with them. They looked like they were clothed with sheep! The land received its share of water and yielded grass and grain, which germinated and covered the valleys like a garment. "He makes peace in your borders, and fills you with the finest wheat" (Psalm 147:14). With the swaying of plentiful vegetation in the mild winds, it seemed that the valleys were swaying too, suggesting to whoever saw them that they were dancing. Crops covered every part of the valley, so the valleys shouted aloud and sang a song of thanksgiving and praise to God for the blessing given them by His loving care.

   So let us praise God our Shepherd Who looks for the one lost sheep until He finds it, and when He finds it He carries it on His shoulders and celebrates its deliverance and safe homecoming. Let us praise God our Shepherd, with Whom we lack nothing (Psalm 23:1). Let us praise Him Who sets the poor on high, far from affliction (Psalm 107:41). Let us sing this psalm because God always hears and forgives. He gives us another chance to repent and worship Him, answers us and allows us to enjoy nature as He establishes it and subdues it, in order to teach us that it is under His command. He always waters and satisfies us in a much greater measure than we need and gives us what we cannot get if we depend on our own efforts. He is worthy of our praise. "All you have made will praise you, O LORD; your saints will extol you. They will tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might" (Psalm 145:10,11 NIV).

	Questions

1. How does nature praise God?

2. How do harvesters praise God?

What He Has Done for my Soul

To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm. 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!

Psalm 65 was a psalm of thanksgiving for the harvest and the consummation of the agricultural year. This psalm is a song of thanksgiving for victory and deliverance. In Psalm 66 the psalmist expresses gratitude to God for His kindness toward his people and himself in both the past and the present. In the first half of the psalm, the psalmist speaks in the plural (verses 1-12) and in the second half he speaks in the singular (verses 13-20). Perhaps the occasion for composing Psalm 66 was the deliverance of King Hezekiah and his people from the Assyrian attack. The king thanks God first on behalf of his people and second on his own behalf. The title of the psalm is "A Song. A Psalm." In this psalm, the psalmist offers thanksgiving to God through words and tunes. Both we and the psalmist thank God with our words as well as with our singing.

The psalm looks back to the past. It shows God as active through history. The psalmist says that He "turned the sea into dry land" (verse 6) then "brought us out to rich fulfilment" (verse 12). On the basis of this blessed experience the psalmist confirms his deep relationship with God and his concern to live in God's fear and in obedience to Him in the future. He makes a commitment to Him that in the future "I will pay You my vows" (verse 13). He also declares his commitment to testify to Him: "I will declare what He has done for my soul" (verse 16).

Psalm 66 teaches us to thank God for saving us and for His unending assistance, in sickness, trouble, need, confusion or depression. He rushes to our aid whether we or somebody else is the cause of our troubles.

The psalm includes the following:

• First: The Declaration of a Grateful Soul (verses 1-7)

• Second: The Confession of a Grateful Soul (verses 8-12)

• Third: The Promises of a Grateful Soul (verses 13-20)

	First: The Declaration of a Grateful Soul

(verses 1-7)

1. A call to thanksgiving (verses 1,2):

   1. The psalmist asks all the earth to shout: "Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!"(verse 1). He is the One to Whom all flesh will come because He is the confidence of all the ends of the earth (Psalm 65:2,6). Let all the inhabitants of the earth shout to Him in thanksgiving and sing in their diverse tongues.

   2. Let the shouting be out of exultation: "Sing out the honour of His name"(verse 2a). Let the sound of singing be loud enough to wake up all the people of the earth, to declare the kind acts of the Creator toward them. His goodness to them is uncountable!

   3. Let the shouting be accompanied by music: "Make His praise glorious"(verse 2b). We thank Him through singing and acclaiming His greatness, as well as His good deeds, in a manner worthy of His glory. May the heart and tongue and the whole being make a joyful shout, declaring the greatness of His person and acts and the immensity of His love. Let us join the seraphim in shouting: "Holy, holy, holy!" (Isaiah 6:3).

2. The motive for the declaration of thanksgiving (verses 3,4):His works that gladden His servants terrify His enemies, thus all his works praise Him (Psalm 103:22).

   1. His works are awesome and solemn: "How awesome are Your works!"(verse 3a). His works are extraordinary, astonishing and unexpected. They have always been so, and they will always be. "Among the gods there is none like You" (Psalm 86:8). "Great and marvellous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed" (Revelation 15:3,4).

   2. His deeds are powerful: "Through the greatness of Your power Your enemies shall submit themselves to You"(verse 3b). He subdues them through His power and all they can do is cringe in submission. "Your enemies shall submit to you, and you will tread down their high places" (Deuteronomy 33:29). It is for the good of the enemies to reconcile themselves to Him and pacify His anger. There are many people who have no faith-based relationship with the Lord but they flatter Him and seek His help and favour because they fear His power and punishment. But it is because of God's love that His people worship Him in love and true submission, thus "All the earth shall worship You and sing praises to You; they shall sing praises to Your name" (verse 4).

3. A Meditation on God's works (verses 5-7):

   1. There are general works for all men: "Come and see the works of God; He is awesome in His doing toward the sons of men"(verse 5). The psalmist calls his audience to meditate on God's wonderful works in the past toward all men from all races, whether they were kind acts to those who loves Him, or punishment to those who hate Him. God has given people a free will and has allowed them to form an opposition party. He has even given them the blessings, which they could use to oppose His kingdom- if they wished! He makes His sun rise on them every morning, gives them life, and is patient with them, so that perhaps they might repent. And when they rebel, He turns the evil they practice into good for His own kingdom (Genesis 50:20).

   2. There are special works for His own people: "He turned the sea into dry land; they went through the river on foot. There we will rejoice in Him"(verse 6). "Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left. The Egyptians pursued them, and all Pharaoh's horses and chariots and horsemen followed them into the sea... Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians...' and the LORD swept them into the sea" (Exodus 14:21-29 NIV). Then Moses and the children of Israel sang, "I will sing to the LORD, for he is highly exalted. The horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea... But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters" (Exodus 15:1,10 NIV). Also in the days of Joshua the Jordan river was divided in two and the children of Israel crossed on dry land: "As the priests who carry the ark of the LORD -- the Lord of all the earth -- set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap" (Joshua 3:9-17).

   3. God's works are permanent: "He rules by His power forever; His eyes observe the nations; do not let the rebellious exalt themselves"(verse 7). He has a mighty arm and His authority is from everlasting to everlasting. He neither changes nor grows weak. What He has done in the past He will continue to do. He is unchangeable. He is the great God Who divided the waters to serve His people. His eyes search about in all the earth searching to honour those who belong to Him and punish those who oppose His good will. Everything is naked and exposed before Him and nothing is hidden from His eyes. He sees the plot of the wicked in the dark and keeps the believer in safety even as he sleeps. He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). And (Philippians 2:10,11 NIV). "Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen" (Revelation 1:7 NIV). Yet there is a difference between the tears of terror in the eyes of the rebellious, who will not be exalted, and tears of joy in the eyes of those waiting for Him. These will sing songs of joy and glorification and will make His praise glorious.

	Second: The Confession of a Grateful Soul

(verses 8-12)

The psalmist began this psalm by calling all the earth to make a joyful shout to the Lord, then he called all the nations to give Him thanks: "Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard" (verse 8). David declared God's favour to his ancestors when He divided the Red Sea and the Jordan River, as well as God's favour to him personally.

The psalmist gives three proofs of God's favour toward him:

1. He saved him from stumbling: "Who keeps our soul among the living, and does not allow our feet to be moved"(verse 9). Their enemies wanted them to die, but God bound their lives securely in the bundle of the living (1 Samuel 25:29 NIV). Their enemies wanted their feet to stumble into the pit of slavery and torment, but He rescued them because He rules supreme forever! Having given us new birth and saved us from bondage to Satan, He now shields us by His power so that we can continue in the life of liberty (1 Peter 1:3,5 NIV). Believers are called and kept by Jesus Christ (Jude 1). "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholds him with His hand" (Psalm 37:23,24).

2. He saved him from testing: "For you, O God, tested us; you refined us like silver"(verse 10 NIV). The Lord allowed the enemy to trouble His people so that they would draw closer to Him. The fires of pain were to refine and purge them so that they should become as pure as silver. All their dross would then be burnt away as the Bible says, "I will turn my hand against you; I will thoroughly purge away your dross and remove all your impurities" (Isaiah 1:25 NIV). Oh that the enemy would know that his persecution of believers does not burn but that it purges them! Oh that he would know that the blood of the saints is the seed of the Church! Oh that the enemy would know that the flames do not burn the bush but makes it turn greener! May all believers know that the aim of every testing and trouble is to purify them, so that we would be found "to praise, honour, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:7).

3. He saved him from pressures: "You brought us into the net; You laid afflictions [Heb: mu'akah meaning pressure] on our backs. You have caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water"(verses 11,12a). God allowed the enemies to hunt His people and gather them like fish in a net, or like a prisoner in a dungeon. They laid heavy burdens on them, both financially and emotionally, so that their wealth was plundered and they had to pay tribute. They were defeated in wars; they went through fire and through water and cried out along with Jeremiah, "From above He has sent fire into my bones, and it overpowered them; He has spread a net for my feet and turned me back" (Lamentations 1:13). But the Lord has promised that "When you pass through waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you" (Isaiah 43:2). God allowed His people to be caught in the hunter's net, the adversary's fire and the drowning waters, yet He is with them throughout all these. He brings them out purer and more refined.

The psalmist ends all that with what he describes as "rich fulfilment" (verse 12b). It is a happy ending to a sad situation. God has brought His people out of oppressive servitude and severe pain to a land that overflows with milk and honey. He brought Joseph out of Pharaoh's prison to establish him as the second most important person in Egypt. Indeed, there is a glorious resurrection after every painful crucifixion. In place of the pressure that weighs us down, God puts a crown on our heads, and instead of making the enemies ride over the heads of His people, H