Psalm 65 www.christconversation.com
Scott Downing Christ Conversation 10/9/2016
Hike around the Marin Headlands and find a place where you can enjoy the beauty of the coastlands. Take in the vista. Find a small flower or some other plant and take notice of its intricacy. Watch the flight of a bird as it rides the thermals and the winds. Listen to the waves as they proceed and recede from the rocks and shores beneath you. Settle your mind and soul as you wait in God’s presence and hear the Spirit in the song of the Psalmist. Reflections On Psalm 65 Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. 2 O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come. 3 When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. 4 Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts! We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple! 5
By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; 6 the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; 7 who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, 8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs. You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy. 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 furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth. 11 You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance. 12 The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, 13 the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy. (ESV)
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Silence is praise to you, Zion-dwelling God, And also obedience. You hear the prayer in it all. 2-8 We all arrive at your doorstep sooner or later, loaded with guilt, Our sins too much for us— but you get rid of them once and for all. Blessed are the chosen! Blessed the guest at home in your place! We expect our fill of good things in your house, your heavenly manse. All your salvation wonders are on display in your trophy room. Earth-Tamer, Ocean-Pourer, Mountain-Maker, Hill-Dresser, Muzzler of sea storm and wave crash, of mobs in noisy riot— Far and wide they’ll come to a stop, they’ll stare in awe, in wonder. Dawn and dusk take turns calling, “Come and worship.” 9-13 Oh, visit the earth, ask her to join the dance! Deck her out in spring showers, fill the God-River with living water. Paint the wheat fields golden. Creation was made for this! Drench the plowed fields, soak the dirt clods With rainfall as harrow and rake bring her to blossom and fruit. Snow-crown the peaks with splendor, scatter rose petals down your paths, All through the wild meadows, rose petals. Set the hills to dancing, Dress the canyon walls with live sheep, a drape of flax across the valleys. Let them shout, and shout, and shout! Oh, oh, let them sing! (The Message) Reflection Guide on the other side
1. What are your first impressions from this Psalm? 2. Is there a specific verse or set of verses that speak to you?
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3. Do you see the movement in the Psalm from our personal presence before God to God’s personal activity in nature? Why do you think the Psalmist, David, connects these? What does this mean to you? 4. Allow the contrasts in this Psalm to speak: Iniquities prevailing . . . atoning for our sins Stilling . . . roaring Roaring wave . . . tumult of peoples Coming to a stop . . . Come and worship Ridges being softened
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5. In this setting, Marin Headlands, does this Psalm speak differently to you than if you were in your living room? Why?
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6. What do you “take away” with you form this Psalm? A few notes on the text: Verse 1 seems very different in the ESV and the Message. A more literal rendering of would read: “To Thee silence praise . . .” Praise is waiting as a servant; it is due to Thee. (A.R. Fausset on Psalm 65). This silence is anticipatory – it is an expectation of God’s grace and power which is confirmed in the display of nature and God’s power over nature. (Scott Downing, Thoughts on the Psalms)
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Zion is mentioned in verse 1. For the Jew, Zion is Jerusalem and the Temple where the God’s mercy is expressed in forgiveness and proximity (being a ‘guest’ in God’s home [Message]). For the Christian, the New Testament equates Zion to heavenly abode of God – the city of the living God (see Hebrews 12:2224), the “assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven.” (ESV)
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Verse 11 gives us the thought this is a thanksgiving Psalm given in response to the first rains and ending at harvest. The wagons are loaded down with the bounty (which may refer to the God’s storm chariot dropping rain on the earth or to the latter bounty created by the rains that will be harvested.
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A beautiful expression of abundance is found in verse 13 where the ESV uses - “The meadows clothe themselves with flocks . .” and the Message gives us, “Dress the canyon wall with live sheep.” This is a saying: “The flocks are clothed with lambs.” The abundance of the flock is found in the many lambs being born. Renewal. Plenty.
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