May 27, 2024 - Psalms 66-70

David begins his psalm:  “Shout for joy to God, all the earth;   Sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise!  Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.  All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name’”  (Ps. 66:1-4).  The deeds of the Lord!  With a word, he created all that is.  Covenanting with Abraham, he created a people for himself!  In the face of a foreign power and attacks on Joseph’s character, God blessed him so that he became a great leader in Egypt.  His people under genocidal policies in Egypt, the Lord delivered them through the sea.  Regularly through forty years of wilderness wandering, he fed his people miraculously and delivered them from their enemies.  Facing great danger in their new land, the Lord gave Israel victory after victory until she possessed the land.  Faced with a failed kingship, God raised up a shepherd boy, David, to be king and promised a redeemer who would come from his family line.  The people constantly sinning under unrighteous kings, the Lord sent them into exile only to restore them to their land.  Following the prophets, four and a half centuries later, God made good on his promise to send a redeemer.  Jesus’ birth, protection of him and his family, the mighty works done by Jesus, the apostles, the churches and, one day, the consummation of all things according to his good and righteous purposes.  And all this is just scratching the surface; I have not even mentioned the two thousand years until now.  Indeed, to our God we say, “How awesome are your deeds!”

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!

O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation!

Come, all who hear; now to his temple draw near,

join me in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, above all things so wondrously reigning;

sheltering you under his wings, and so gently sustaining!

Have you not seen all that is needful has been

sent by his gracious ordaining?   -- Joachim Neander (1680)