Historically

·        There was a temple Harvest. A Thanksgiving Service and the celebration of New Year were in an eight-day-long festival.

·        This also included remembrance of how God had re-created Israel when he brought them out of servitude in Egypt.

·        This was because, once the grape harvest (the last to be brought in) was finally gathered, the farmer must necessarily begin to prepare all over again for the new cycle of the agricultural year.

·        It is a review of God’s gracious dealings with us 

Psalm 65:1-13

1  There will be silence before You, and praise in Zion, O God,

And to You the vow will be performed.

2  O You who hear prayer,

To You all men come.

3  Iniquities prevail against me;

As for our transgressions, You forgive them.

4  How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You

To dwell in Your courts.

We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house,

Your holy temple.

5  By awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation,

You who are the trust of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea;

6  Who establishes the mountains by His strength,

Being girded with might;

7  Who stills the roaring of the seas,

The roaring of their waves,

And the tumult of the peoples.

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.

9  You visit the earth and cause it to overflow;

You greatly enrich it;

The stream of God is full of water;

You prepare their grain, for thus You prepare the earth.

10  You water its furrows abundantly,

You settle its ridges,

You soften it with showers,

You bless its growth.

11  You have crowned the year with Your bounty,

And Your paths drip with fatness.

12  The pastures of the wilderness drip,

And the hills gird themselves with rejoicing.

13  The meadows are clothed with flocks

And the valleys are covered with grain;

They shout for joy, yes, they sing.

I.       Praise for God’s Favor God Hears! Verses 1-4.

A.   Praise is voiced for verse 2

1.     We should be encouraged to pray God is ready to answer our prayers

a)     God answers prayers with awesome deeds verse 5

(1)   Keep a prayer journal of what God has done

(2)  What you are praying for

(3)  What the answer ultimately is

(4)  God answers so much more then what we ask for and more then we realize, we need to not for get God’s benefits     

2.     God is after ALL MEN not just Israel, not just Christians “to you all men come”

a)    God invites Gentiles to come right in to the Holy of Holies 

Isaiah 56:6-8

6  “Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,

To minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord,

To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath

And holds fast My covenant;

7  Even those I will bring to My holy mountain

And make them joyful in My house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar;

For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”

8  The Lord God, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares,

“Yet others I will gather to them, to those already gathered.”

Romans 10:12-13

12  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;

13  for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 

3.     God is desirable to people in the earth

B.   God answers us with His forgiveness of our sin, God Forgives verse 3

1.     They are our transgressions, not God’s unfair demands

2.     Sin mars us God, is forgiving & healing    

II.    God Satisfies with His spiritual favor verse 4

A.   Gives us joy in His presence

1.     God desires to be near us

2.     To dwell in His courts

B.   We are blessed when we dwell in God’s courts

1.     They are not courts of judgment

2.     They are courts of majesty and security, and provision     

III.  To everyone The universal call to the whole of humanity

A.   The last half of verse 2,

B.   Last part of verse 7,

C.   Verse 8

D.   It is not about us, it is not about the nation Israel, it is about the kingdom of God, and that we come to it      

IV.Our only correct and appropriate response …Praise for God’s Power Verse 5-8.

A.   For God’s awesome Power

1.     God answers us in righteousness verse 5

2.     O God our salvation 

B.   God is the trust of the ends of the earth and all the seas verse 5 b

C.   God establishes mountains by His strength verse 6 

1.     God’s deeds are pictured as awe-inspiring and righteous, even to men at the ends of the earth

a)    His dominion in creation

b)    His power to still storms are but two illustrations of his sovereignty over the earth.

(1)  Jesus stilled the storm

(2)  Clamed the sea

(3)  Only God does that

(4)  In fact it was in the psalms before the New Testament Gospel 

 Psalm 107:29

29  He caused the storm to be still,

So that the waves of the sea were hushed.

V.   Verses 9-13. Praise for God’s wonderful Provisions  

Provision

For vision

A preparatory step taken to meet a possible or expected need

The act of providing or supplying something

Supplies of food and other things required, especially for a journey

A.   You visit the earth, and cause it t overflow, water it

1.     This praise is for the harvest and the seasons

2.     It is clearly God who waters the earth, prepared the seed, and made ready the soil

a)    We take for granted Gods blessing

b)    We had a patch of dryness just recently that made everyone take notice

(1)  I remember the day it broke and it was raining so hard you could not walk 3 feet with out being drenched

(2)  People were happy and not only did not complain but were in the “bring it on” mode  even though they were the ones getting soaked and it was inconveniencing them getting to their car 

c)     Drought makes you thirsty

(1)  Are we thirsty for more of God

(2)  Or has he spoiled us into spiritual bratdom

(3)  Are we needing a lesson in gratefulness   

d)    10year Dust bowls make you grateful for bounty

(1)  Do you think the people who lived through the era of the dust bowl

(2)  Look at food as a guaranteed thing?

(3)  The years of the dustbowl actually prolonged the great depression    

3.     God’s provision for us

a)    Brings record harvests

b)    You crown the year with bounty

(1)  Are we growing?

(2)  Are we harvesting what God has caused to grow in our fields?

(3)  It can be a long season to watch things grow,

(a)    Are we pulling things out by the roots to see if it is gowning

(b)   Or are we patiently waiting till harvest?

(4)  As we go about our work we should also be looking for repining of the souls around us the Father is calling     

4.     When we cooperate with the Grace of God

a)    There is such happiness that the hills, pastures, and valleys join in the rejoicing verse 13