A Song
Psalms 65
February 23, 2020
So the title of our study of Psalms 65 tonight is a simple one.
I just called it “A Song”
I did that because that’s the way David titled it.
“For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song”
It is certainly a simple and a vague title, not really giving us any insight into the content other than the fact that
• David intended for “the choir director” to sing it.
• David intended for the congregation to learn it.
• David intended for the world to hear it.
• David intended for God to receive it.
“A Song” is really a minimalist title.
It seems less than sufficient.
And I must say that after studying it,
I’m even more convinced THE TITLE IS INSUFFICIENT.
But…
It seems to me that to title this song: “A Song about how awesome God is to hear our prayers, draw us in, forgive our sin, and reveal Himself to us all while putting His awesome power on display for the entire world to see, while simultaneously never failing to sustain and care for all things in creation so that every created thing shouts for joy at the realization of who He is and what He has done”
Seemed to be a title too long.
And so we stick with “A Song”
But what a song it is!
• I know I have read Psalms 65 many times over.
• I had already even given it an outline in the margins of my Bible,
• And yet, this week felt as though I was reading it for the first time.
It is a marvelous truth and in my opinion
One of the greatest songs that David ever penned.
It most certainly should be sung.
The purpose of singing in church;
Both to glorify God and to edify the saints.
That is why it is so important to sing theologically informed music.
Music that enlightens the mind by carrying one deeper into the depths
Of who God is and what He has done.
For it is only when our minds are carried to the depth of understanding
Can our spirit rise into the height of exaltation.
Shallow theology results in shallow praise.
• The tune may be catchy…
• The lyrics may be trendy…
• The rhythm may be fun…
But if there is no weight of doctrine it will produce nothing more
Than a fun little smile or happy little dance.
But if you want your spirit to ascend into the heavenlies
To exalt God with the full force of your conviction
And the full weight of your gratitude
Then sing songs of doctrinal weight that lay open who God is.
That is the type of song David has written for us here.
There are 3 VERSES which David would have us sing
And thus 3 REALITIES that David would have us grasp.
#1 THE GRACIOUS SATISFACTION OF GOD’S PRESENCE
Psalms 65:1-4
It is not hard to see that this is where David is heading in this stanza.
In fact the final two lines of verse 4 read, “We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple.”
David is obviously pointing us to a reality here
That will lead to the ultimate and utter satisfaction of our souls.
That is no insignificant promise.
That is in fact a lofty goal.
That David would tell the church that the singing of this song
And the contemplation of these truths
Will ultimately lead us to full satisfaction of soul.
That’s a pretty lofty promise for a song.
But David also tells us WHAT IT IS THAT WILL SATISFY us as we sing.
“We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house”
David is obviously referring with how wonderful it is
To dwell and worship in the presence of God.
Psalms 84:1-4 “How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God. The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah.”
In that Psalm David would even go on to say:
Psalms 84:10 “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
Obviously David is talking about the sheer soul satisfaction
That is found dwelling in the presence of God.
But that opens for us another question.
WHY?
Why is David so sure that dwelling in God’s house
Or standing in God’s temple will be so altogether satisfying to us?
And there is one overarching reason.
BECAUSE IT IS ONLY BY GRACE THAT YOU GET TO DO IT.
When you realize the grace involved
To allow you to approach God’s presence
Then you’ll understand how satisfying it is to be there.
THAT IS WHAT THESE FIRST 4 VERSES ARE ABOUT.
Now back up to verse 1 and follow David
As he begins to lay out THE REALITIES OF APPROACHING GOD.
As David first contemplates approaching God THE FIRST ATTRIBUTE OR EMOTION that emerges is REVERENCE.
That is what verse 1 is about.
(1) “There will be silence before You, and praise in Zion, O God, And to You the vow will be performed.”
As David contemplates approaching God, he is quite certain that 3 things will occur.
• Silence
• Praise
• Obedience
“There will be silence before You”
What does that mean?
Let me give you some other passages to sort of fill in your CONTEXT.
Romans 3:19 “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God;”
That is to say that God has shattered every argument
And closed the mouth of ever defender.
Consider when Job stood in the presence of God.
Job 38:1-3 “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, “Who is this that darkens counsel By words without knowledge? “Now gird up your loins like a man, And I will ask you, and you instruct Me!”
• There was about to be an interrogation.
• There was about to be a judgment.
• The God of the universe had summoned Job and Job was going to answer.
Twice after that Job would speak.
Job 40:1-5 “Then the LORD said to Job, “Will the faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Let him who reproves God answer it.” Then Job answered the LORD and said, “Behold, I am insignificant; what can I reply to You? I lay my hand on my mouth. “Once I have spoken, and I will not answer; Even twice, and I will add nothing more.”
When standing in the presence of God,
Job had no defense, Job had no complaint.
Job only wished he could rip his tongue out of his mouth.
Then God starts in again, and after another round of judgment:
Job 42:1-6 “Then Job answered the LORD and said, “I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, And I repent in dust and ashes.”
That is the type of scene that David is envisioning.
• Am I really going to go and appear before the LORD?
• Am I really going to go and approach Him?
One thing I know I won’t do is go and run off at the mouth.
And when I do speak, it will only be in praise.
“There will be silence before You, and praise in Zion”
• I am not about to stand before God and boast about all that I have done, it will
only be about what He has done.
I’m also not going to lie to Him. I’m going to do what I say.
“And to You the vow will be performed.”
• You don’t stand in God’s presence and lie to Him.
• (Just ask Ananias and Sapphira)
So you can see that there is a definite reverence in David’s mind
As he contemplates standing before God.
And yet, David also reveals that despite the terror of the thought,
ALL MEN WILL BE SUMMONED TO DO JUST THAT.
(2) “O You who hear prayer, to You all men come.”
• It may indeed be a terrifying thing to stand before God, but all men will in fact do it.
Revelation 20 tells us that everyone, the great and the small
Will position themselves before God’s presence to give an account.
It will be a terrifying moment where men will be too afraid to speak
As God summons them in His power.
And this is the way this Psalm is beginning.
David is contemplating standing before God
For he knows that all men will stand before God.
• Could you imagine entering behind that second veil?
• Could you imagine having nothing but a curtain separating you from the
holiness of God?
And let me tell you why David is afraid.
(3) “Iniquities prevail against me;”
• David already knows that he is sinful.
• David already knows that he is without excuse.
• He doesn’t need the books opened…
• He doesn’t need the record to be read…
• He doesn’t need the evidence to be presented…
He is already well aware of his sin before God.
And he knows the reality of who can stand before God.
Psalms 15 “O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, And speaks truth in his heart. He does not slander with his tongue, Nor does evil to his neighbor, Nor takes up a reproach against his friend; In whose eyes a reprobate is despised, But who honors those who fear the LORD; He swears to his own hurt and does not change; He does not put out his money at interest, Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.”
That might as well be THE SIGN
That is posted outside of the tent of meeting,
And it would discourage every human from daring to enter.
But to know that despite my failure to meet the requirements,
I am summoned anyway,
It would be a sobering and terrifying thing.
But here is where the good news comes in.
(3b) “As for our transgressions, You forgive them.”
David learned that he did not approach God as A SINLESS MAN,
But as A FORGIVEN MAN.
• David did not enter as a deserving man, but as a pardoned one.
• God had graciously granted Him to come in spite of what he was.
And do you want to see sovereign election in the Old Testament?
Did you wonder if David was a Calvinist or rather if Calvin was a Davidist?
“How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You to dwell in Your courts.”
Why did David come?
• It wasn’t because he was worthy.
• It wasn’t because he deserved it.
He came because God chose for him to come.
He came because God brought him near.
We have talked about this so many times.
ON ONE HAND: Even if sinners could come to God, they WOULDN’T.
Romans 3:11 “THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;”
Ephesians 2:3 “Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
Even if given the opportunity (and all men are given the opportunity)
Lost men will not come to God on their own accord.
God doesn’t represent anything that they want.
They won’t come.
BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT DAVID IS TALKING ABOUT HERE.
David is talking about the other reality which is THEY CAN’T COME.
That is, they are not permitted to come.
Psalms 140:13 “Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name; The upright will dwell in Your presence.”
Well who are those upright there?
It’s certainly not us.
(We know it’s only Jesus)
What we are reminded of here is that the ability to come to God
And approach the goodness of His presence
Is nothing short of the absolute grace of God.
That is why Jesus said:
John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”
He didn’t say “no one WILL come” (which would also be true)
But He said, “no one CAN come”
And again:
John 6:65 “And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.”
• The presence of God is FOR the righteous alone.
• The presence of God is NOT FOR sinners.
• The presence of God is NOT FOR those who have rebelled against Him.
Even regarding heaven we read:
Revelation 21:27 “and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Sinners don’t get to go to heaven; only righteous people.
But that is why that last statement is so important;
“but only those who names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
That is only those who have been made alive by the Lamb.
Only those who are clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ.
We don’t come before God by merit, we come by grace.
Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
It is only the sacrifice of Jesus that forgives us and atones for us
And justifies us that allows us to boldly enter the presence of God.
Where there should be fear, there is now anticipation!
Where there should be dread, there is now excitement!
The writer of Hebrews especially loved this thought:
Hebrews 9:24 “For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;”
Jesus went for us.
That is, He went instead of us.
Hebrews 4:16 “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Hebrews 7:19 “(for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.”
Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
Hebrews 10:1 “For the Law, since it has only shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.”
Hebrews 10:22 “let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
• Us? Draw near to God?
• Us? Boldly go behind the veil?
• Us? Walk right up to the throne?
Yes! Because we go in Christ.
We go as David did, not deserving to be there,
But we go in forgiveness, we go in grace.
And when we get there we find the one thing that can satisfy our soul.
THE VERY PRESENCE OF GOD.
We find the One we were created for.
There is no satisfaction like that anywhere else.
This is the privilege of the church
And David wants you to understand that in this song.
• Do you understand that you are freely allowed to enter the presence of God because of His sovereign choice to pardon you and draw you near?
• Do you understand that apart from God’s choosing and drawing you that you would not have come and indeed you could not have come?
• Do you understand that the only thing that can truly satisfy your soul is only available to you because of the grace of God?
That certainly makes this song worth singing doesn’t!
WHEN WE UNDERSTAND the sovereign grace of God
And what He has done on our behalf that we might approach Him,
IT CAUSES OUR SOULS TO SOAR IN SATISFIED WORSHIP!
• We sing, “Hallelujah! All I have is Christ!”
• We sing, “Take this world, but give me Jesus…Take this world, my God’s enough!”
• We sing, “I’d rather have Jesus than anything this world affords today!”
And when David says that we are “satisfied”,
He means that WE ARE SO GRATEFUL to be here.
We Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for drawing me near.
Gratitude is the ultimate expression of satisfaction.
Men don’t thank God because
They have not pondered what He has done.
David wants you to ponder what He has done
So that you will be so grateful to be here.
A good song will do that for you.
So we ponder the gracious satisfaction of God’s presence and we sing.
#2 THE GENUINE WONDER OF GOD’S POWER
Psalms 65:5-8
Here again we see THE END that David is taking us to.
(8) “They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;”
IN THE FIRST VERSE David just wanted us to be overwhelmed with gratitude that we have been granted the privilege of drawing near to God.
BUT IN THE SECOND VERSE David wants to see the congregation
Standing in dumbfounded awe of who God is.
So to do that David pens a verse to help the church
Contemplate the reality of God’s awesome power.
Back in verse 2 David marveled that God hears prayer.
But here in verse 5 David marvels that God answers it.
(5) “By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation.”
And David acknowledges that when God answered.
1) It was Awesome
2) It was righteous
That is to say that God always does the right thing
And He always does it perfectly.
Even to a miraculous degree.
(5b) “You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea;”
In order to show you that God always answers perfectly and powerfully
David reminds you that all of creation trusts God.
The whole of creation leans upon Him.
This morning in Luke we talked about how God rules His kingdom.
And David says that because He rules it perfectly
ALL OF CREATION TRUSTS HIM.
Have you ever noticed the faith of creation?
Job 38:25-27 “Who has cleft a channel for the flood, Or a way for the thunderbolt, To bring rain on a land without people, On a desert without a man in it, To satisfy the waste and desolate land And to make the seeds of grass to sprout?”
Job 38:39-41 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion, Or satisfy the appetite of the young lions, When they crouch in their dens And lie in wait in their lair? “Who prepares for the raven its nourishment When its young cry to God And wander about without food?”
Psalms 96:11-13 “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; Let the sea roar, and all it contains; Let the field exult, and all that is in it. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy Before the LORD, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His faithfulness.”
Romans 8:19-22 “For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.”
Even creation recognizes and trusts God for His sovereign care.
• The pastures don’t depend on man to water them, they depend on God.
• The wild animals don’t depend on man to feed them, they depend on God.
• Jesus said ravens don’t plow or plant, they just trust that God will feed them.
• Jesus said flowers don’t toil nor spin, they just trust that God will clothe them.
God cares for it all.
And to further illustrate God’s amazing power
David picks 3 illustrations of God’s amazing and perfect power.
1) HIS POWER TO SET THAT WHICH CANNOT BE MOVED
(6) “Who establishes the mountains by His strength, Being girded with might;”
David looks at the mountains and the permanence that they demonstrate.
• No one moves mountains.
• They are resolute, they are steadfast.
Our family likes to ski, and often times we follow ski resorts and watch snow reports on the internet.
You’ll hear them talk about snow and needing snow and see them rejoicing when they get more snow, but you never hear them say,
“We just hope our mountain is still here next year.”
And they are steadfast because God made them that way.
They are a tremendous testimony to God’s perfect power.
God’s power is demonstrated in that He sets that which cannot now be moved.
2) HIS POWER TO STILL THAT WHICH CANNOT BE STOPPED
(7) “Who stills the roaring of the seas, The roaring of their waves, And the tumult of the peoples.”
The sea represents uncontrollable power.
• Even in our day of technology and infrastructure we’ve seen the devastating effects of floods or Tsunamis.
When the ocean wants to move, it moves.
You may ride the wave, but you can’t stop it.
But God can.
Job 38:8-11 “Or who enclosed the sea with doors When, bursting forth, it went out from the womb; When I made a cloud its garment And thick darkness its swaddling band, And I placed boundaries on it And set a bolt and doors, And I said, ‘Thus far you shall come, but no farther; And here shall your proud waves stop’?”
Jesus did it with 3 words.
• “Peace be still”
And that was all it took
It is God’s absolute power on display to be able to still that which cannot be stopped.
3) HIS POWER TO SUSTAIN THAT WHICH CANNOT BE FATHOMED
(8) “They who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs; You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.”
Here David speaks of the wonder of a sunrise.
God also asked Job:
Job 38:12-13 “Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place, That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?”
I know scientists have answered all sorts of questions
• As to how the earth rotates and how the solar system moves
• And why we see the sun rise in the east and set in the west.
Science has answered all sorts of questions about that,
But they can’t answer one apart from God and that is: “HOW?”
How does it keep spinning?
Why does it do it?
The best answer science could give was that
There was an apparent explosion and then it just happened.
David points to the power of God.
And when the church stops and contemplates the awesome power of God
To set that which cannot be moved and To still which cannot be stopped
And to sustain that which cannot be explained.
Then we respond “the ends of earth stand in awe of Your signs”
We sing
“O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder Consider all the worlds Thy hands have made I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder Thy power throughout the universe displayed.
When through the woods, and forest glades I wander And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to Thee How great Thou art, how great Thou art!
Contemplating God’s glorious power
Produces awestruck wonder in us regarding who God is.
He has power to do whatever He wants.
And here is the even better truth.
In verse 5 David called Him, “O God of our salvation”
This God who has the power to SET that which cannot be moved
And STILL that which cannot be stopped and SUSTAIN that which cannot be fathomed is the God who is at work to save us!
Romans 8:31 “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?”
• We know that our salvation is secure because God has awesome power.
• We know that our salvation will last because God has perfect power.
He does whatever He wishes
And we rejoice that He has decided to save us!
That is reason for the church to sing!
That is lofty worship!
The gracious satisfaction of His presence
The genuine wonder of His power
#3 THE GRANDIOSE JOY OF GOD’S PROVIDENCE
Psalms 65:9-13
Here again we see where David is taking us.
“They shout for joy, yes, they sing.”
David is talking about loud, boisterous, uncontainable, joy!
What produces this joy?
Understanding that God’s providence generously cares for all things.
Look here as David speaks about THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD.
(9) “You visit the earth and cause it to overflow; You greatly enrich it; The stream of God is full of water;”
Notice there, that not only does God provide or the earth,
But He is extremely LIBERAL IN THAT PROVISION.
Words like “overflow” “greatly” and “full” jump at us.
It is one of the great realities of God’s providence.
Throughout Scripture He tells us to BE CONTENT.
• He tells us not to covet.
• He tells us if we have food and covering that that is enough.
But it’s not like He is stingy.
• While we are commanded to be content, God often shows Himself generous.
Isaiah 25:6-8 “The LORD of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain; A banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, And refined, aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, Even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, And the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces, And He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.”
Ephesians 1:7-8a “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.”
James says:
James 1:16-17 “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”
There is no want to God’s providence.
And then we consider all the areas of God’s providence.
(9b-13) “You prepare their grain, for thus You prepare the earth. You water its furrows abundantly, You settle its ridges, You soften it with showers, You bless its growth. You have crowned the year with Your bounty, And Your paths drip with fatness. The pastures of the wilderness drip, And the hills gird themselves with rejoicing. The meadows are clothed with flocks And the valleys are covered with grain; They shout for joy, yes, they sing.”
Here David speaks of God’s work as a farmer.
Do you see all that He does?
• Preparing the grain
• Softening the earth for plowing
• Wetting the plowed fields
• Blessing the growth of the seed.
And that’s not just for the farmer’s field, but for the vacant pastures.
• Who plows the pastures?
• Who plants the pastures?
• Who cares for them?
God does. His providence knows no end.
And the result is that everyone and everything
Who benefits from His providence and who contemplates it
Will “shout for joy, yes, they sing.”
David sees the blessing of:
• Full Rivers
• Abundant Crops
• Thriving Pastures
• Healthy Flocks
And David must stop and praise God for His abundant provision!
And we join in this song!
• Has God provided for you?
• Does God meet your needs?
• Has He been generous in the care of your body and soul?
• Has He not even provided righteousness and salvation?
Then sing!
Then shout for joy!
So why do we sing this song?
• Because God has been gracious to us and we sing in gratitude for being allowed in His presence though we are undeserving.
• Because God is powerful and we sing in awestruck wonder longing to give Him the glory He deserves.
• Because God is generous and we sing for joy that God has abundantly supplied all that we need.
That is a song we sing.
And it is a song that certainly should be sung!
