Praise to God for His Salvation and Providence
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.
“Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion; and to You the vow shall be performed. O You who hear prayer,
to You all flesh will come.
Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them.
Blessed is the man You choose, and cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, of Your holy temple.
By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of the far-off seas; Who established the mountains by His strength, being clothed with power; You who still the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples.
They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs; You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice. You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, for so You have prepared it. You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth.
You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance. They drop on the pastures of the wilderness, and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered with grain; they shout for joy, they also sing.”
“To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.” David dedicates many of his psalms to “the Chief Musician.” But to whom is David referring? While there was at least one leader of the musicians in the temple, personally, I like to believe that David is referring to God, who gives birds their songs, who causes oceans to roar, who causes mountains to tremble, and who gives the wind its voice.
“Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion; and to You the vow shall be performed. O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh will come.” God’s people are already praising Him and waiting for Him to manifest His glory. Fulfilling a vow to God is one of the highest forms of praise. God’s creation longs to come to Him, but people are sometimes very foolish and separate themselves from God by rejecting Him.
“Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them.” Our own sins are more dangerous than any attack from someone else. Only God can provide complete atonement for these sins.
“Blessed is the man You choose, and cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, of Your holy temple.” We can only approach God because God allows us. If God hides Himself, we are powerless to find Him. When God’s Holy Spirit abides in a place, we can feel the goodness and the righteousness in a way that satisfies our souls, calming us and fulfilling us like nothing else.
“By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation, You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of the far-off seas; Who established the mountains by His strength, being clothed with power; You who still the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples.” We see natural wonders and take them for granted, little realizing that it is the righteousness of God that brings all these things to pass. What some unbelievers choose to call natural law is actually God’s righteousness at work.
“They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs; You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice. You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, for so You have prepared it. You water its ridges abundantly, You settle its furrows; You make it soft with showers, You bless its growth. You crown the year with Your goodness, and Your paths drip with abundance. They drop on the pastures of the wilderness, and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered with grain; they shout for joy, they also sing.”
The rest of the psalm describes God’s righteousness at work. As a shepherd, David keenly observed as dry deserts blossomed during the rains. Now David is singing a hymn of praise for all the goodness he has witnessed. David also claims that the land itself is singing and shouting for joy.
APPLICATION: This psalm is one of the favorites read in churches during harvest season in farming areas. Anyone working the land has witnessed the miracles described here on an annual basis. Isaiah 35 mentions “the desert will blossom as a rose,” a real phenomenon in dry places that suddenly receive much-needed rain. Right now, we are entering the dry season in northern Ghana. Our teak trees are beginning to drop their huge leaves and our grass is withering. Only the mango trees leaves remain glossy and green.
We are entering a lean season and praying for the harvest. This year has not been a good year for farming, and we are seeing increasing numbers of children requiring transfusions. We worry that the next few months we will see an increase in malnourished children; only yesterday one severely anemic four year old girl weighing 6 kg (13.2 lb) was admitted.
People who regard land as inanimate are completely wrong. The earth knows when someone who loves it is caring for it and it will respond. What we term natural disasters frequently occur because someone mishandles the land. The catastrophic dust storms of the 1930’s in the high plains part of America came because of over-grazing and poor farming practices. Now the land has recovered in many places because good conservation methods have been set in place. But not everything we call progress brings positive results. When American farms were smaller, there were many fences and hedge rows with vegetation growing up around them. Not only did these areas shelter wildlife and birds, but they also reduced the effect of winds, leading to less soil erosion and less blockage of highways from snow in the wintertime. Now that these fences and hedge rows are gone, there is more wind erosion and state highway crews are coping with more snow drifts in the winter.
Today, why not thank God for His goodness, His mercy, and His love! Remember that if we don’t praise Him, the very rocks will cry out.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives and help us to praise You for Your goodness, Your mercy, and Your love. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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