It is always good to step back and ask ourselves questions as to why we do what we do. This will include what we do as Christians as well. These ‘Christian things’ might include, for instance, basic things like worshiping God. But why we do worship Him? There can be a host of reasons. Psalm 65 provides for us many good reasons as to why we should worship and praise God. Right from the start, the Psalmist opens with the words, ‘Praise is due to you.’
In the first place, we worship the God of both grace and mercy. In verse 2, read that He hears our prayers. Perhaps as we look back at the past eleven months, we can remember the times when we come before God. It may be because of a crisis, a challenging issue at work, an emotional-draining situation etc. We know also that many times, we do not deserve his blessings. Yet, He still hears our prayers. This is grace – where God blesses and bestows to us what we do not deserve.
In verse 3, read that He atones our transgressions and sins. This is nothing short of the mercy of God. He is righteous, whose eyes is too holy to behold evil (Hab. 1:13) And yet, we read that God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:8). This is mercy – where God withholds punishment and judgement on what we deserve.
In the second place, He is the God of power and authority. This can be seen in that not only is He the One, Who by His strength established the mountains (vs. 6), He is also the One who is able to still the roaring waves (vs. 7). Interestingly, the Psalmist in this same verse adds a line – ‘the tumult of the peoples’, in reference to Him Who stills the roaring seas. One wonders if the Psalmist is here describing the upheavals we face in life, which can sometimes be so humongous, that it seems to overwhelm us like thundery waves. But we can take heart and praise God because He sits with power and authority over the mountains and the seas. Friends, if you are going through a crisis that is too deep for you to manage, take heart. Our God stills the tumults of the peoples.
In the third place, He is the God of providence. In the last section of the Psalm, the Psalmist makes several references of God being the One Who is the author of many of things we take for granted. For instance, He waters the earth and enriches it (vs. 9a); He provides grain (vs. 9b); He waters, settles and softens the furrow ground, showering it with water and causing it to grow (vs. 10).
Living in an environment where we head for the supermarket each time we need things like fruits, vegetables, rice, chilli, etc, it is very easy for us to forget that it is God Who is source of all good things. Matthew 5:45 records, ‘. . . . He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.’
We are drawing close to the end of the year. We thank God that we have so many good reasons for us to be in church to worship and praise Him. In totality, we can echo the words of the Psalmist in vs. 11 – ‘You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.’ This is a beautiful picture of God’s overflowing blessings. So, we do have good reasons as to why we worship God. Praise God for Whom all blessings flow.
Elder Richard Lai
