Psalms 65 - 67, 69 - 70 (12th May) - Pamelia

PSALMS 65
Psalms 65 is a song of praise to the great God who is over all. In the future all men will come to God and praise Him because He answers prayers (v1-2). If His people sin, God will forgive them (v3). This is true of Israel or of any nation in the world, but there is a special blessing for those whom God chose to live near His temple, which David was planning to build (v4).

God is the only ground of hope for all nations, and He will deliver His own people (v5). Men can see that God is great because He alone has power in the world of nature. He made the mountains and can control the waves of the sea (v6-7). People all over the world can understand God’s power in nature everyday (v8). We have seen in Psalm 19:4 that this message goes out through the whole world.

God sends rain and food to all men (v9-10). He gives a good harvest at the end of the year and there is plenty of food wherever He goes (v11). The ground produces grass for the sheep and grain for men (v12-13). When men gather their food at the end of the year, everyone should be happy and give thanks to God. Paul tried to give this message to the men of Lystra, Acts 14:17. All people ought to thank God for all His blessings, but many never do so, Romans 1:21.

This psalm teaches us that we should give thanks to God for our food and for every blessing He gives. It also tells us about the time when all living people will come and worship Jehovah (v2). Then there will be a great blessing in the whole world. Today, we should tell our friends about our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour, then we will be happier when we get to heaven (v4).

PSALMS 66
God had delievered the nation of Israel from some terrible trial and the writer of the psalm called on all nations to praise God. First he called on all the men of the earth to sing praise to God (v1-2). God has the power to defeat all His enemies, and everyone should worship Him (v3-4).

The Holy Spirit then asked the people of the world to consider what God had done for Israel in the past years (5-7). God turned the Red Sea into dry ground, Exodus 14:21. He held back the water on the River Jordan so that His people could walk right across, Joshua 3:14-16. These things had happened long ago, but God still had power to rule over all the nations (v7). God warned these nations not to revel against Him, Psalm 2:2, but even today they are still refusing to obey His word.

Again the people of the world are told to bless God because He had delivered Israel (v8-9). He put His people to the test, as men heat silver to take out what is not pure (v10-11). At first the enemy was stronger, and Israel went through a time of trial which was like going through fire and water, but God brought them asfely through it all (v12).

During this time of trial the writer of the psalm promised God that he would bring offerings if He would deliver His people. This write may have been a kind of Israel; if so, he could act for the whole nation. He was now ready to bring these sacrifices (v13-15).

Then the writer asked all who fear God to listen while he told what God had done for him (v16). This man had simply prayed and given praise to God (v17), but he knew that God would not hear him if there was any sin in his heart (v18). He could now praise God because He had answered prayer and delivered His people (v19-20).

PSALMS 67
In this psalm the Holy Spirit called on the people of the world again to praise God. First the men of Israel asked God to bless them in the same way that the high priest prayed for them, Numbers 6: 24-25. They asked for this blessing however so that all nations would know God’s way and power (v2). They wanted all men to prase God (v3-5).

God is ready to judge all nations in righteousness as He judged Israel. If they were willing, He would also guide them as a shepherd guides His sheep (v4), Psalms 23: 2-3. The nations should praise God for this time also (v5).

This time is coming when God will set His King on His holy hill of Zion, Psam 2:6. The Lord Jesus Christ will govern all nations righteously and well. Then men will rejoice in the belssing God gives. There will be plenty of food for all (v6). God will bless His people Israel, and even people far away at the ends of the earth will know and fear the God of Israel (v7).

In Psalms 66 and 67, the Holy Spirit called on the nations of the world to praise God because He has great power. mGod showed this power to Israel, to help them, but also so that other nations might learn to fear Him. We too have been saved for this purpose: that we should tell others about the power and love of God.

PSALMS 69
First we see that David was in trouble (v1-5). He felt like a man standing in mud and deep water. The water was getting deeper and he could not get out (v1-2). He was tired of weeping and crying to God for help (v3). His enemies were strong, but David had not done anything to make them hate him. He was willing to pay back what he had not taken away, but he did not claim to be perfect in God’s sight (v4-5).

Men were dishonouring David because he trusted in God, but he prayed that his friends would not be pit to shame on his account (v6-7). Even his own family rejected him (v8). He had a great desire to be in God’s house, so the men who dishonoured God insulted David too (v9). David went without food and and wore rough clothing to show that he was sad, but this just made them laugh all the more, especially those who had drunk too much wine, (v10-12).

In the rest of the psalm, David first prayed, then gave praise to God for delivering him. This praise would please God more than an animal sacrifice. The Lord always hears the prayers of His people. Some day everyone will praise God and the men of Israel will build their cities again and those who love God’s name will live in them.

This psalm shows man’s terrible mistake when they rejecte dthe One whom God had chosen. It also teaches that God is righteous when He judges those who will not repent. Again we see God’s grace toward men who accept Christ as Saviour. We who believe in Christ love the Bible which tells us about Him. We can see in this psalm many verses which help us to understand the thoughts and feelings of our Lord Jesus Christ when he suffered for us.

PSALMS 70
Israel had five main offerings to bring to Jehovah: the burnt offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering and the guilt offering Leviticus 1-5. In all these sacrifices we see pictures of our Lord Jesus Christ in His death.

In the burnt offering the whole animal was burnt on the altar as a sacrifice to Jehovah. In Psalm 40:7-8, we hear the voice of the Lord Jesus who gave Himself more than what he had failed to give the first time, Leviticus 5:16. Our Lord Jesus paid the debt for us, not for Himseld, because He had done nothing wrong. He paid back what He had not taken, Psalm 69:4. For this reason Psalm 69 suggests the death of Jesus as the guilt offering.

Psalms 70 has almost the same heading as Psalm 38. Both of these psalms may have been used with one of the offerings in Leviticus 2:2. In all these psalms, David prayed to God that He would deliver him from his enemies.

Psalm is almost the same as the last 5 verses of Psalm 40, except that the name God is used three times instead of Lord. This psalm is also very much the same as parts og Psalm 69. David prayed to God to help him quickly. He asked God to judge his enemies. He prayed for his friends.

God will save us from our enemies if we ask Him, but all our blessings come to us because the Lord Jesus dies for us on the cross.