Psalm 65

Illus: Master’s/ Augusta—Beautifully cared for. Compared to my yard.

There is forgiveness with the Lord.

V1 Praise awaits or even silence praises you. God is deserving of praise.

Zion is His holy hill.

Psalm 48:2 CSB

rising splendidly, is the joy of the whole earth. Mount Zion—the summit of Zaphon— is the city of the great King.

Vows—expressions of gratitude in fulfillment of God’s promises. A form of praise to the Lord expressing joy in His kind acts.

Psalm 22:25 CSB

I will give praise in the great assembly because of you; I will fulfill my vows before those who fear you.

v2-3 God is a forgiving God, He is full of mercy and grace.

He hears our prayers even though we don’t deserve his ear.

And all nations will come…the promises from the beginning have been meant for all nations. That doesn’t mean there wasn’t a special place for Israel.

Isaiah 40:5 CSB

And the glory of the Lord will appear, and all humanity together will see it, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Joel 2:28 CSB

After this I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity; then your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your old men will have dreams, and your young men will see visions.

Micah 4:1–5 CSB

In the last days the mountain of the Lord’s house will be established at the top of the mountains and will be raised above the hills. Peoples will stream to it, and many nations will come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us about his ways so we may walk in his paths.” For instruction will go out of Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He will settle disputes among many peoples and provide arbitration for strong nations that are far away. They will beat their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nation will not take up the sword against nation, and they will never again train for war. But each person will sit under his grapevine and under his fig tree with no one to frighten him. For the mouth of the Lord of Armies has spoken. Though all the peoples each walk in the name of their gods, we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.

We sin…grievously against the Lord. Are sins are overwhelming...

Illus: Mr. Incredible…overwhelmed by weight.

The weight of our sin should rightly crush us…but through grace and mercy we can be forgiven. This is an amazing God.

God atones for our sin…he removes our sin and the judgment that we deserve for it. Of course that judgment can only be removed if there is a substitute for it. Scapegoat in OT. Jesus.

Forgiveness enables us to be in His presence.

Forgiveness enables us to be in His presence.

v 4

Happiness comes from obeying God’s word and being in his presence.

Remember the balance of God’s sovereignty and human responsibility.

Blessing comes from God’s presence. EDEN/Jerusalem/New Jerusalem

Exodus 19:6 CSB

and you will be my kingdom of priests and my holy nation.’ These are the words that you are to say to the Israelites.”

Isaiah 33:15–16 CSB

The one who lives righteously and speaks rightly, who refuses profit from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears from listening to murderous plots and shuts his eyes against evil schemes— he will dwell on the heights; his refuge will be the rocky fortresses, his food provided, his water assured.

1 Timothy 4:8 CSB

For the training of the body has limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

1 Peter 2:1–10 CSB

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all slander. Like newborn infants, desire the pure milk of the word, so that you may grow up into your salvation, if you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, a living stone—rejected by people but chosen and honored by God—you yourselves, as living stones, a spiritual house, are being built to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and honored cornerstone, and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame. So honor will come to you who believe; but for the unbelieving, The stone that the builders rejected— this one has become the cornerstone, and A stone to stumble over, and a rock to trip over. They stumble because they disobey the word; they were destined for this. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Blessed are those who submit to God’s rule.

V5-13 Describes what is it is like to be under God’s rule.

The Lord has done amazing things and is the hope not just a Israel but of the whole earth.

God is strong but he is also righteous.

Righteousness as a divine perfection guarantees the establishment of God’s rule.

Isaiah 66:19 CSB

I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, Lud (who are archers), Tubal, Javan, and the coasts and islands far away—who have not heard about me or seen my glory. And they will proclaim my glory among the nations.

He is a Savior and the nations will clearly know of his salvation.

He is a Strong God. He formed Mountains.

Amos 4:13 CSB

He is here: the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, the one who makes the dawn out of darkness and strides on the heights of the earth. The Lord, the God of Armies, is his name.

Amos 5:8 CSB

The one who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night, who summons the water of the sea and pours it out over the surface of the earth— the Lord is his name.

V7 The seas represent chaos. The river and stream give life but the seas are chaotic. God is Lord over the seas. He Lord over the chaotic nations.

He is Lord over North Korea, China, Syria, and USA.

When Jesus walks on water…he is saying HE IS GOD. and that HE IS THE CREATOR who subdues the chaos of the sea.

V8 Creation reveals the Wonders of God. From the east to the west, God rules and the nations will sing songs of Joy instead songs taunting him.

v9-11 The Lord is who produces crops and food and green grass. He waters his earth.

April showers bring May flowers.

It’s as if the Lord, like a gardener has carts that overflow and bring goodness.

12-13

The blessings of the Lord extend unto the whole earth. Even the earth rejoices at the mercy that God displays.

Where we are heading is to a renewed earth.

Heaven—New Earth—Boring?

God is both Creator and Redeemer.