May 12 - Psalms 65-67, 69-70: Praise God for Rescuing Us Despite our Sin

Today’s Reading: Psalms 65-67, 69-70

The Message

English Standard Version

I've received many complaints about the comments section. I can't change Google's Blogger commenting system, so funnel all comments to the Sonoma Mountain Parkway Church of Christ Facebook page instead. Thanks to Sharla for posting each day's reading for me.

Thought to Guide Your Reading

God knows David's sins but loves and protects him anyway.

Psalm (P)Synopsis

Psalm 65

God hears our prayers in all times. We expect all good things from our God. David calls down blessings for the land.

Psalm 66

Praise God for protecting us from our enemies! God brought us through a refining fire and gave us a peaceful place. So we bring gifts to Him. Come, let me tell you how God listened to my prayer and stayed loyal to me.

Psalm 67

Everyone sees God's blessings and thanks Him. They enjoy God's blessings and give Him honor.

Psalm 69

David cries out to God for protection. Every time he serves God he is met with more and more problems. He cries out for salvation because he knows nowhere else to go. God will give the land to the righteous, so David cries out for rescue.

Psalm 70

David knows that everyone who obeys God will sing and celebrate. He calls out for God to rescue him quickly because he is about to fall.

How Today’s Reading Contributes to the Gospel: God is Setting All Things Right

God takes away our burdens of sins.

This year I have intentionally stayed away from the "sin" angle taken by most Bible studies. I find it overdone, somewhat shallow, and often limits the Gospel to what Dallas Willard calls "the gospel of sin management." However, today's reading drips with this theme. David writes,

We all arrive at your doorstep sooner
   or later, loaded with guilt,
Our sins too much for us—
   but you get rid of them once and for all. (65:2-3, The Message)

Notice that the problem they have is the guilt of their sin. Their problem is not their inability to stop sinning but their inability to stop the self-punishment of their sin. This is why God's removal of our sins provides such a release—we no longer need to punish ourselves for our past sins! Lay the burden of your mistakes at God's doorstep and He will take them away once and for all!

Sacrifices come in response to what God has done for us.

As opposed to many other religions where sacrifices are meant to appease the gods to ask for blessings or prevent the gods from getting angry and punishing the people, sacrifices to God come after God blesses His Chosen People. David brings the choicest cuts of lamb, goat, and beef because God blessed His Chosen People with a "well-watered place." Give sacrifices to God in response to His blessings, not in expectation of greater blessings.

David's enemies blamed him for everything they disliked about God.

Tucked away in this psalm of complaint and a cry of rescue is the short thought,

My brothers shun me like a bum off the street;
   My family treats me like an unwanted guest.
…
They blame me for everything they dislike about you. (69:8-9, The Message)

Obedience to God brings this type of response. When God's Chosen People obey God, others take their frustrations against God out on them. I write this not to encourage the oft-trumped "Christian martyr" mindset—when Christians think that condemning anyone and everyone is the same as obeying God and see any form of disagreement as persecution—but to encourage those who truly feel unwanted because of their obedience. God will rescue this person—even if it is not when the person expected.

Shouting God's name in praise and in prayer is better than sacrifice.

What is better than a sacrifice of thanksgiving to God? Telling others how wonderful God is to you. Praise God in shouts and prayers—He loves this more than any religious observance!

Are you hunting for God?

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