Author: timritanickel@gmail.com

Psalm 66:18-20 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: but verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.

The Psalmist is confidant in faith that God has heard his prayer, paid attention to it, and that He has not turned away the answer nor His mercy. If, however, if he had regarded iniquity in his heart, that is, cherished it and held on to sin, he knew the Lord would not hear him. But he has confessed his sin, repented, and let it go. In confession and faith, he received forgiveness. “But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.”

Instead of regarding sin in the heart, we respond to the promise of mercy by confessing both I am a sinner and that God, for Christ’s sake, has forgiven me. Now having a clean heart, we come to Him in the prayer of faith, knowing that the Lord hears me. The response of confession, instead of holding it in, moves me to believe the gospel and receive grace. God hears my humble, believing prayer.

Psalm 66:15 I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats.

Offering and sacrificing to God is mistakenly seen as a way of getting God to do what you want. Some bargain with God. They might say, “If you help me now, I’ll obey you.” But then they forget their promise. That sounds like what the Psalmist could be saying here, but it’s just the opposite: we offer to God after we have received the blessing, the gift, the salvation, the answer.

As a response of thanks to God for His indescribable gift, unmerited favor, free mercy, awesome grace, answer to prayer, great salvation, and abundant blessing, we offer sacrifices of thanksgiving. It is not to obtain a blessing, but it is because we have already received it. We are so glad for the abundant riches God graced us with on account of Jesus that are excited to share God’s grace and blessing with others, even if it means sacrificing something to give it. We do not offer our time, money, and effort for the benefit of others in order to get something from God, but rather because we we have already gotten it.

Psalm 66:8 O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard.

Come and see the works of God: he is terrible in his doing toward the children of men (v. 5). The response to seeing and believing the great works of God in Creation and Salvation is to bless God (say good things about Him), and call on all to make the voice of His praise to be heard. Believing is seeing, and seeing the terrible love of God on the cross and the awesome power of God at the tomb calls forth blessing and praise as the natural response to the great power of God to save.

The Lord is terribly bad toward sin and evil, but terribly good toward the sinner. The Holy Spirit blesses us with faith through the Gospel to see. We believe. We see. We praise. Our New Life is full of blessing and praise.

Psalm 66:1-3 Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands: Sing forth the honor of his name: make his praise glorious. Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah.

Because God has done terrible works for us through the greatness of His power and the goodness of His love, we will respond by making a joyful noise, sing, praise, say, and worship the Lord. For He is good, His mercy endures forever, He has saved us, and made our enemies submit to Him.

Jesus Christ, in His life, death, and resurrection, has done it all for us and our salvation. And He sent the Holy Spirit to create faith in Christ. All that’s left for us to do is live lives of praise and worship everywhere and all the time. Even if we can’t sing well, we can make a joyful noise unto Him, say good things to God, and worship and praise God in our hearts all day long.

It is a victory song in our hearts and on our lips, for He has defeated all of our enemies decisively and forever. Everything will submit to God one day. Praise Jesus!

Psalm 65:4 Blessed is the man whom thou chooses, and cause the to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

The person whom God chooses is blessed, for He causes him to approach God and dwell in His Presence. There we will be satisfied with His goodness, kindness, and faithful love. The outcome of God, in love, sending His Son to die for us and then to live in us is that we may come to God at any time and live in His presence (courts). There, in the temple of God, which is our body, we will be satisfied with His goodness and mercy. Nothing can be more fulfilling than God living His life in us.

The Holy Spirit has brought us to Christ who brings us into the presence of God. He lives in us, dwells in His temple, and there He meets us to answer our prayers, to solve our problems, to fill our needs, to deliver us from evil, and to love us with unlimited, unconditional, and everlasting love. Life is good!

Psalm 64:10 The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

The believer is accounted righteous because of faith in Jesus. Therefore, he responds to this work of Christ by being glad and rejoicing in the Lord. Joy is the fruit of the Spirit, and such gladness characterizes the life of the Christian. And no matter what happens he maintains a joyful spirit, for he trusts in Him for all things.

The Lord grants an upright heart, and because of that imputed righteousness we glory in the Lord. To glory is to boast in the cross of Christ and brag on God about how great and good He is. To glory is to live in God’s reflected glory, which we enjoy by grace through faith. The glory and kindness of God is reflected in us and comes out through us. God is always good, and we glory in that truth.

Psalm 64:1 Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer; preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

In his distress, David prays to God to hear his voice and preserve his life from fear of the enemy. In our own lifetime on earth our spiritual enemies, Sin, Death, and the Devil, scare us with all kinds of threats and attacks. When we sense what is going on in the spiritual world of our soul we realize that enemies are scaring us to be afraid, to doubt, to be anxious, and to worry. That is a signal to lift our voice in prayer to God. We respond to impending trouble by turning to the Lord, asking Him to preserve the soul from fear. “Deliver us from evil.”

We will not turn away from God at the first sign of bad things; instead, we turn toward the Lord. And He preserves us from fear, doubt, and worry. Our sin has turned God away from us (“your sins have separated Me from you”). But God loved us still and sent His Son, so that because of Christ God now turns toward us. He hears our prayer and preserves from fear. So we fear, love, and trust God alone.

Psalm 63:7 Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

God is my help in every time of need; He is my covering and protection from evil at all times. “As a hen gathers her chicks,” so the wings of Almighty God deliver and protect His believing children. Because the Lord hears my prayers and covers me, I am able to respond with a life of joy. My Father provides for me and cares for me always, leaving me free to rejoice in the Lord always. Fear, doubt, worry, and anxiety are replaced by peace, love and joy in the Lord.

We pray, “Deliver us from evil,” from the evil of a bad situation and from the threats of our spiritual enemies. He hears our prayers and fills us with joy. He sets us free, and we are free to enjoy life. Rejoicing is a hallmark of the Christian’s life. We may rejoice always, for we are always under His wings and we always have His help.

Psalm 62:3-5 Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee. Thus will I bless thee while I live; I will lift up my hands in thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips.

David responds to the Lord with praise and blessing to His loving and glorious name, using his lips and hands and mouth to praise the Lord. He vows to bless (say good things about) the Lord as long as he is alive. Dead men can’t praise God, but believers will be resurrected to an eternity of praise in heaven.

The cause of such continual praise and joy is the lovingkindness (faithful love) of God. God’s life, and His love, is better than the corrupted, temporal life in a sinful world. It demands praise. It is awesome that God’s eternal life lives within and next to our sinful, mortal life. Therefore, we praise the Lord.

The result of His abiding life in us is that we are satisfied with the best (marrow) and with abundance (fatness). Therefore we praise. Praise comes from faith, and praise produces more faith, which results in enjoying God forever. We respond with more praise and blessing, which brings more joy and abundant life, which prompts more praise, which brings…etc., etc., in a blessed circle.

Psalm 63:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longest for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.

David was in the wilderness of Judah, and the dry physical circumstances reminded him of the spiritual condition of the soul in a parched world, without the refreshment of God’s presence as the water of life. In the midst of dryness and emptiness he responds by seeking God early. He recognizes how empty life is without God. His soul and flesh feel the thirsting and longing for God. The physical thirst reminds him of what is spiritually missing, what the soul really needs: it is God Himself, His life and love, the joy, peace and refreshment of God living His life in ours.

Therefore, we begin the day seeking the Lord, listening to and turning our attention to Him. We do not seek as though He were lost or hiding. We find Him where we know He is: He is in His Word of Gospel and Grace; He lives within us as Lord and Savior; He is in the fellowship of believers. We know where to find Him and we go there to find, not to search. “Seek ye first…” “Seek and you will find.” He is not far; He is near. He is always seeking us. Thank God He found us.