This Psalm is a praise Psalm. It is upbeat and doesn't contain any complaint or supplication. It is a song of celebration, celebrating the Lord at the Passover or one of the feasts that the Jews celebrated. Its focus is on the many blessings and provisions from the Lord. We can imagine after a great harvest the people singing this song of praise and thanks to the Lord who provided it all.
Watch for the progression of God dealing with his people, then the nations, and then the entire earth.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.
1 Praise is awaiting You, O God, in
And to You the vow shall be performed.
The phrase "praise is waiting" is "silence is waiting" in the NASB. Silence is part of worship but there is another possibility. The word for silence is very close to the word "fitting" or "proper". Some would translate this, "Praise is fitting for you, O God....."
2 O You who hear prayer,
To You all flesh will come.
Jehovah God is the God who hears all our prayers. They were thankful because God answered their prayers. It was clear to them that He is and will always be the sovereign God. At that time not everyone came to him, but in time, in the millennial kingdom, all flesh will come before Him.
3 Iniquities prevail against me;
As for our transgressions,
You will provide atonement for them.
Until the kingdom of the Lord comes and until that day comes when all men worship before the throne of God, we'll live in this fallen world. Until that day when we are perfected Christ, we will deal with sin and the affects of sin. The people at that time could look to the temple sacrifice to provide atonement for them. This atonement was a temporary covering of sin until Jesus came and paid for the sins of man.
4 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.
Nowadays we put so much emphasis on choosing the Lord. Isn't it amazing how we forget that the Lord chose us? From the beginning of time He looked into all of time and saw every sin you would commit. And then He sent His son and died for us anyway. God chose us long before we chose Him. Our ability and right to choose Him was given to us and made possible by Him. We may approach the throne of God; we may dwell in His courts by His provision to approach Him. This is where find that peace that passes all understanding. It is in the place we find satisfaction for the deepest longings of our soul. Men have tried, and continue to try to fill those deep longings with the things of the world. We will only find that satisfaction in the Lord.
5 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;
6 Who established the mountains by His strength,
Being clothed with power;
7 You who still the noise of the seas,
The noise of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples.
8 They also who dwell in the farthest parts are afraid of Your signs;
You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice.
Jehovah God will be known by the awesome deeds He has done. That was how God answered their prayer. He is, was, and will always be the God of our salvation. The Jews were declaring that Jehovah God was not like all the other gods. The pagan gods were these false gods who reigned over a region or some aspect of nature. Their power was limited by ability or geography. Jehovah God is the true and living God. He is the confidence and hope to all men to all the ends of the earth. He is the God who created it all. He established the mountains and the far off seas. In those days where ships were so important to transportation and trade, the waves and waters were always an uncontrollable and unknown factor that could bring peril. The Jews declared Jehovah the God of the waters. He is the God who stills the waves and quiets the tumult. From the place where the sun rises to the place where it sets, God is famous for His signs. This struck fear in the hearts of all men when they heard and saw the move of an almighty God. Some see the references to the sea and water as the multitude of nations. While this fits in other places it doesn't seem to fit here because it is used in conjunction with the mountains.
9 You visit the earth and water it,
You greatly enrich it;
The
You provide their grain,
For so You have prepared it.
10 You water its ridges abundantly,
You settle its furrows;
You make it soft with showers,
You bless its growth.
Just as the pagans gave names to false gods who controlled the waves they also gave names to their false god's of agriculture. In the Psalm, David declares Jehovah God over all the earth. He doesn't stand back withdrawn from it. He waters it and enriches it. He provides grain and makes it grow. God is able to provide exactly what is needed for the crops to provide for His people.
We take so much of this for granted. We buy seeds, put them in the ground and expect a harvest at some future time. Each of these steps is an act of God and when He allows the plants to grow it is a blessing to us. We should look with new eyes at the harvest of our crops and praise God for His amazing work.
11 You crown the year with Your goodness,
And Your paths drip with abundance.
12 They drop on the pastures of the wilderness,
And the little hills rejoice on every side.
13 The pastures are clothed with flocks;
The valleys also are covered with grain;
They shout for joy, they also sing.
This is a picture of the wagon on the farm filled with produce after the harvest. The path on which the wagon travels is dripping with the abundance of the Lord that has fallen from the overflowing wagon. The field or pasture next to the path is covered with flocks of sheep. The valley's are covered with wheat or barley. God had blessed His people with an abundant harvest and they sang their praise and gave all thanks to Him.
How many times has God overflowed us in His abundance and we've failed to praise Him and recognize that it all came from Him?
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