Blessed Beyond Measure

BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE—Psalm 65:1-13

Diets GENERALLY focus on a desired result without acknowledging the real problem...That is, once the desired weight is reached due to the radical & largely unhealthy procedure of the diet, then the weight must be maintained, but in a ‘healthy’ manner.

!OPENER UNUSED!

A real problem for you & me is that God has so blessed us beyond measure, that there is nothing that is not available to us. And because everything is at the disposal of so many people, it may become hard to manage.

The American holiday of THANKSGIVING is a day where God’s people acknowledge the undeserved bounty we have by means of Jesus Christ!

Need:

There may be many who are irreverent, careless, indifferent, & inattentive at/in their Thanksgiving celebrations.

Why should our hearts overflow with thanksgiving today or this week?

We must ask ourselves, ?What have we got to be thankful for?....

*The key to a Thankful Thanksgiving is to rekindle a true awareness of God’s Favor/Grace/Provision...

In Psalm 65, David reminds us of the blessings that are upon God’s creation. And because of that, we are reminded of some very simple reasons to be thankful.

God’s creation is truly lavished upon us in His abundance.

?How, or In what ways, are we blessed beyond measure?

3 Confirmations of God’s continued blessing toward us.

:1—<<To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.>>

•This Psalm is addressed to “the Chief Musician” who would be in charge of providing music for various aspects of worship. King David’s intent is that the “chief musician” would commit to this Psalm for personal & corporate contemplation. He particularly wants to ensure that it is set to music for the same reasons. The prophet-writer does this particularly for the sake of those who would worship in Jerusalem, as well as beyond it’s bounds.

1—We are blessed beyond measure by God’s...

PROVIDENTIAL Bounty/Richness(:9-13)

Explanation:(:9-13)Provisional

:9—“You visit the earth & water it, You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water; 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.”

: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.”

Another year has passed & we have been the recipients of the great & gracious bounty from God’s hand.

Phrases describing God’s providential & provisional care:

“You visit the earth”

“You greatly enrich it”

“You provide their grain”

“You water its ridges abundantly”

“You bless its growth”

“You crown the year with Your goodness”

“Your paths drip with abundance”

“They drop on the pastures of the wilderness”

“The pastures are clothed”

“The valleys also are covered”

*Col. 1:17—of Christ—“And He is before all things, & in Him all things hold together.”

God does not operate by ‘chance.’ God is intimately involved in the progress & purpose of all things.

Since He supernaturally created all things, He also has committed Himself to supernaturally maintain all things. He maintains all creation within the confines of each of the special needs associated with their governance(personal, physical, & spiritual realms).

•Angels are created beings, & thus as a result of their God-ordained original FREEWILL, both good & evil exist & are propagated in the world.

•Likewise, mankind is maintained within the bounds of his God-ordained freewill. Man’s freewill often CHALLENGES God’s desire, BUT it can also be SUBMITTED TO God’s desire...

...And man ‘properly’ answers God’s desire by means of an aspect of God’s Provision & Providence—Mankind’s salvation along with it’s attending commitment to God’s lordship. All of which comes to individuals by means of their personal trust in Christ Jesus.

Argumentation:

The book of Job chapters 38-41(& 42) is an excellent place to go for reminders of God’s Providence.

Job 38:1-4, 12, 16, 28, 37; 39:1; 5-6; 9, 19, 26; 40:15-20; 41:1-3—“Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, & said: “Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, & you shall answer Me. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.”... :12—“Have you commanded the morning since your days began, And caused the dawn to know its place,”... :16—“Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths?”... :28—“Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?”... :37—“Who can number the clouds by wisdom? Or who can pour out the bottles of heaven,”..... 39:1—“Do you know the time when the wild mountain goats bear young? Or can you mark when the deer gives birth?”...:5-6—“Who set the wild donkey free? Who loosed the bonds of the onager, Whose home I have made the wilderness, And the barren land his dwelling?... :9—“Will the wild ox be willing to serve you? Will he bed by your manger?... :19—“Have you given the horse strength? Have you clothed his neck with thunder?”... :26—“Does the hawk fly by your wisdom, And spread its wings toward the south?”...40:15-20—“Look now at the behemoth, which I made along with you; He eats grass like an ox. See now, his strength is in his hips, And his power is in his stomach muscles. He moves his tail like a cedar; The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit. His bones are like beams of bronze, His ribs like bars of iron. He is the first of the ways of God; Only He who made him can bring near His sword. Surely the mountains yield food for him, And all the beasts of the field play there.”... 41:1-3—“Can you draw out Leviathan with a hook, Or snare his tongue with a line which you lower? Can you put a reed through his nose, Or pierce his jaw with a hook? Will he make many supplications to you? Will he speak softly to you?”