Read Numbers 35, Isaiah 58, and Psalms 63-65.
This devotional is about Psalm 65.
We all have favorite songs. Maybe they are songs that are fun to sing or whose melody is really catchy or just really beautiful. Maybe some of our favorite songs resonate with us because the words express things we believe or things we hope for and desire. The best kinds of songs have a tune we love and lyrics we like, too.
I have no idea what the tune to Psalm 65 was like, but I love the lyrics! It begins in verse 1 with the phrase, “Praise awaits you, our God….” The Hebrew in that line is a little tricky. The word translated “awaits” means “silence” or “stillness,” so the idea might be “God’s people are ready to praise you. We are silent but ready to burst into praise.” Think of a choir, assembled on stage, in concert attire, making no music yet, but waiting for the conductor to raise his hands and cue the first note. That’s might be what the Psalmist is saying: We stand ready, God, to sing your praises.
The phrase “in Zion” means “the fortress,” another word for Jerusalem which was a fortress that David captured, made into his capitol, and brought the tabernacle and ark of God there to centralize political and religious power in Israel. The idea, then, is that God’s people have gathered in their most important city and they have gathered to give God praise and worship.
This song may have been written for a special occasion because verse 1b says, “…to you our vows will be fulfilled.” Verse 2 talks about God answering prayer and verse 3 talks about him forgiving transgressions,” so God’s people may have just endured a time of crisis wherein they made vows to God, asked for his help and confessed their sins. Now, this song was written for the occasion when God’s people would keep those vows they made because God answered their prayers for deliverance and forgave their sins.
So, this song crackles with joy as God’s people gather to praise him, thank him, and worship him for the good things he has done and the spiritual work he has performed in his people. Verse 4 proclaims the happiness of the priests and other servants in the tabernacle because there are good things always happening for them in God’s house. The end of verse four says, “We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple.” Everyday the priests smelled the amazing incense that was burned in God’s house. They smelled the burning sacrifices and saw the smiles on people’s faces who just had a baby they came to dedicate or who have repented and come with a sin offering for forgiveness from the Lord. The people singing this song got a taste of that. They saw lives blessed and transformed. They heard people’s testimonies of answered prayer, of forgiveness and reconciliation with God and others. They heard the singing of choirs that David organized and provided with songs like this one.
Who wouldn’t be happy on a day like this to worship like this when God is working like this? If a person loves the Lord, of course he’d be happy to go to God’s house and worship him! The rest of this song is filled with praise for God’s salvation (v. 5), his creation (vv. 6-8), and his sustaining work for his creation (vv. 9-13). These are all soul-thrilling reasons and ways to praise the Lord for those who know him by faith and love him.
These days, we don’t go to Zion or to a temple. We–the gathered church–are the temple of the living God (1 Cor 3:16), so our gatherings for worship should crackle with praise! We should rejoice as sinners come to God for salvation and sinning brothers are reconciled to Him and each other. The singing we do together as a church should cause us to rejoice and, when we leave on Sunday or Wednesday, we should be thinking, “We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple” as verse 4c-d says.
Are you coming regularly on Sunday and to our midweek gatherings? Do you come expectantly, ready to hear what God has to say in his word and ready to share what he has done in your life? Are you listening for the testimony of others whom the Lord has saved and blessed?
One thing’s for sure–if you aren’t in church regularly, you won’t be “filled with the good things” that happen in God’s house (v. 4c). So, make our worship gatherings and our other meetings a priority in your life. Praise awaits God here, so come and be part of that praise. Blessings await God’s people here, too, so come share in those blessings with your brothers and sisters in Christ.