Pour out praises!

Slices

Prepare

‘For all Your goodness I will keep on singing/ Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find.’* Write down ten things to praise God for today.

*M Redman, ‘10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)’, Capitol CMG Publishing, 2013

Bible passage

Psalm 65

For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.

Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion;
    to you our vows will be fulfilled.
You who answer prayer,
    to you all people will come.
When we were overwhelmed by sins,
    you forgave our transgressions.
Blessed are those you choose
    and bring near to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,
    of your holy temple.

You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,
    God our Saviour,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas,
who formed the mountains by your power,
    having armed yourself with strength,
who stilled the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    and the turmoil of the nations.
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of joy.

You care for the land and water it;
    you enrich it abundantly.
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with corn,
    for so you have ordained it.
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
    you soften it with showers and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,
    and your carts overflow with abundance.
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;
    the hills are clothed with gladness.
13 The meadows are covered with flocks
    and the valleys are mantled with corn;
    they shout for joy and sing.

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Explore

Having declared that praise ‘awaits’ or ‘befits’ God (v 1), the rest of this psalm is an outpouring of praise focusing on God’s grace and mercy (vs 2–4), his great and mighty deeds (vs 5–8) and generous provision (vs 9–13). David’s praises overflow from a heart that is forgiven and put right through God’s grace. From a state of being ‘overwhelmed by sins’ (v 3), God has brought David to a blessed place where he is ‘filled with the good things’ of God’s house (v 4). To borrow Paul’s words, ‘But where sin increased, grace increased all the more’ (Romans 5:20).

The experience of undeserved grace prompts an outpouring of unreserved praise! Moving outward from the sacred precincts of the ‘holy temple’ (v 4), David’s horizons broaden to encompass ‘the ends of the earth’ as he affirms God as the supreme and sovereign ruler over all creation (vs 5–8) and the faithful sustainer and generous provider to whom everything and everyone owe their existence and flourishing (vs 9–13). As CS Lewis notes, ‘Praise almost seems to be inner health made audible.’** The inner healing and wholeness that David experiences in God are given expression in his joyful songs of praise.

**CS Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, Harcourt, Brace & World, p94

Author
Tanya Ferdinandusz

Respond

‘For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of’ (Matthew 12:34)! What is your heart full of? What will your mouth say to God today?

Bible in a year

Read the Bible in a year: Ezekiel 46,47; 1 John 3

Pray for Scripture Union

Pray that the Creation Care consultation organised by Scripture Union International which takes place this week will inspire wise stewardship of God’s creation and will encourage national movements to explore how this might feature in their ministry.