Harvest Thanksgiving Service (Psalm 65)
Psalm 65 is clearly connected to the harvest, as we can see from the closing verses of the psalm. It is suggested that David composed it for use at the annual feast of Tabernacles in Israel which was connected to the harvests. So we can deduce that the psalm teaches us how to approach God when giving thanks for the harvest that he provides. Therefore we can look at the psalm and find guidelines for us.
Coming near to God (vv. 1-5)
The first detail is that approaching God involves consecration on our part (v. 1). I think this is the significance of the psalmist’s reference to vows. God had been good to them and therefore they came to worship him with a strong sense of dedication. We can think of Romans 12:1-2 in this regard since Paul connects the activity of offering ourselves as a living sacrifice to the great goodness of God shown in his mercy towards us. And hear too they are thinking about God’s goodness, although more in natural matters.
The second detail is that we can worship the Lord with confidence (v. 2). He is addressed as the one who hears prayer. No doubt the worshippers had prayed often about the crops they had sowed. The harvest was proof that God answered their prayers and this would have encouraged them to pray about other matters.
Their confidence seemed to extend to include others joining in the worship of the true God. The others were the Gentiles. It could be that the worldwide nature of the harvests encouraged true Israelites to look forward to the time when the Messiah’s kingdom would be worldwide. In Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas told the Gentiles in Iconium that one reason for God sending harvests to them was so that they would worship him.
A third response from us as worshippers at harvest time should be confession of sin (v. 3). After all, none of us deserves anything from the Lord. The psalmist is conscious that the Lord has provided a method of atonement for him whereby his sins can be dealt with. He is aware of the strength of his sinful tendencies, but he is so glad that the Lord who provided the harvest has also provided the means of forgiveness and sanctification. And we know so much more about that through the gospel.
Then we have a fourth response in verse 4, contentment. The atonement provided by God enabled the worshipper to draw near to God. As the worshipper thought about this privilege, he realised that God had initiated it – he chose his people and provided a way for them to draw near to him. And what they saw in the temple revealed his love in ways that the harvest did not. In the tabernacle, they saw the signs of his mercy and his great love for his people. They caught a glimpse of the splendour of God, the one who is high above all.
Verse 5 may continue the contentment that they see when they gather in God’s presence. Their prayers focussed on the time when he would be recognised as the God of the whole earth. They knew from their own history that the way redemption was provided involved great displays of divine righteousness when God liberated his people from bondage in Egypt. Perhaps that upheaval told them that when the Lord moves in power we should expect ‘awesome deeds’. Still, they prayed for the coming of the kingdom throughout the world.
The control of God (vv. 6-8)
In verses 6-8, the psalmist speaks of the control that the mighty God has over all that happens in the earth. The Lord reveals his control in different ways. David mentions how the Lord by his power made the mountains firm. We have seen humans make things firm, perhaps a wall or a foundation. But which human or group of humans could make a mountain secure? The only one that can do so is the Lord and he is the only One who can move them.
Then, David speaks of God’s power as it is revealed in the calming of storms at sea. If a mountain is beyond our power, what can we say about the behaviour of the seas and oceans. We know about Canute and his stupid, vain attempt to control the sea. They are totally beyond our power. Yet the great God of heaven controls them, and can do so easily. Jesus showed this aspect of divine power when he calmed a storm on the Sea of Galilee.
A stranger to God might accept the possibility that a supreme being could control the inanimate elements represented by the mountains and the seas. Yet David knew that his God could control much more than the natural order. He mentions also that the Lord controls all the actions and disturbances of all the peoples of the earth. This is a good verse to remind ourselves about as we watch the news. We have an election looming in our country and we know that there are changes taking place everywhere. Who can grasp all that is going on? God does, and he can grasp it in more ways that one. There is no-one outside his control.
What does David mean when he says that everyone is at awe at the Lord’s actions. Obviously, he means that they see the actions of God. Sadly, they attributed those actions to false gods, but even that response shows that the people notice that something beyond them is taking place all the time.
David also mentions the recurring reality of morning and evening and personalises them as expressing joy. Maybe he has in mind sunrises and sunsets. But whatever he has in mind, he is saying that the creation in some way rejoices to fulfil its God-given functions.
The completeness of the harvest (vv. 9-13)
In the third section of the psalm, David focuses on the provision of the harvest by God. He highlight the process God uses and the plenty that he provides. Through it all, he is personally involved. It is a thought to reflect on that God knows how may potatoes and how many carrots are produced in every harvest, and that he was involved in each one of them.
As far as the process is concerned, he focuses on the manner in which God supplies water, and that would have been a more obvious provision in a land where drought is common. The point to note is that he does not regard creation as functioning by itself according to its own rules. Rather, he sees God behind it and in it all. After all, how much harvest would there be if God withheld water?
The psalmist points out that God provides plenty, indeed an abundance of food for his creatures, and again he personalises the creation rejoicing in having such an amount. It is almost as if the creation is encouraging humans to participate freely and gladly in what it has to offer.
As we think of the plentiful harvest we have been given, there are four matters that I would mention. First, God remembers the promise that he made to Noah about springtime and harvest, autumn and winter, continuing for as long as the earth exists. God does not intend to break that promise, whether or not there are changes caused by global warming.
Second, we should marvel at the content of God’s common grace, that is the divine favour he shows to us as his creatures, whether we are his people or not. God annually provides much more than we actually need. He overflows with his provision, and this is an evidence of his love, and we see it every day in supermarkets, restaurants and homes.
Third, we should be appalled at the sinful ways we react to the abundance provision of God. God has given enough to ensure that no-one should be deprived of food at any time. There is no doubt that God will eventually judge the selfishness of the rich nations.
Fourth, what does it mean to be godlike? Jesus gives an answer to this when he says that we should love even our enemies because his Father shows common favour to the just and to the unjust.
Preached in Fortrose Free Church, 12/11/2019