The God Who Provides (Harvest Talk - 2020)

SERMON OUTLINE:

• (1). God of grace (vs 1-4).

• (2). God of might (vs 5-8).

• (3). God of plenty (vs 9-13).

SERMON BODY:

Ill:

• According to the American radio and television writer Andy Rooney.

• The two biggest sellers in any bookstore, are the cookbooks and the diet books.

• The cookbooks tell you how to prepare the food,

• And the diet books tell you how not to eat any of it.

Ill:

• Orson Welles once said,

• “My doctor has advised me to give up those intimate little dinners for four,

• Unless, of course, there are three other people eating with me.”

Ill:

• A California scientist has computed that the average human being,

• Eats 16 times his or her own weight in an average year,

• While a horse eats only eight times its weight.

• This all seems to prove that if you want to lose weight, you should eat like a horse.

• TRANSITION: Ok, let’s move on and look at Psalm 65.

• The psalm has a simple purpose:

• To express thanksgiving to God for rain and harvest,

• Without these two things we would die!

• Remember most Jewish people worked the land, they depended on a farming economy.

• The psalm is addressed directly to God,

• We are not going to hear about the Psalmists troubles etc,

• It is all about God and presents him in three ways.

(1). GOD OF GRACE (vs 1-4)

1 Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion;

to you our vows will be fulfilled.

2 O you who hear prayer,

to you all men will come.

3 When we were overwhelmed by sins,

you forgave our transgressions.

4 Blessed are those you choose

and bring near to live in your courts!

We are filled with the good things of your house,

of your holy temple.

Note:

• The expression: “Praise awaits you”.

• It is a difficult phrase to translate into English.

(1).

• It literally means “To you, silence [is] praise”,

• It may imply “silence is praise” - and it may mean to fall silent before God.

ill:

• Met your hero a famous sports or movie star, or maybe someone like the Queen,

• Your mind might go blank leaving you speechless.

• So, it can mean to fall silent before God.

• As you reflect on the wonder & majesty of his presence.

(2).

• The C.E.V. translates the phrase:

• “Our God, you deserve praise in Zion”

• Zion is a term that refers in its literal sense to Jerusalem’s temple mount,

• And then by extension to the temple itself.

• It can sometimes also refer to land of Israel.

So straight away in this Psalm is the reminder that God deserves our praise:

• David, in this psalm, talks about how God blesses us and why God is worthy of praise,

• Scan the Psalm and see the many reasons given.

• Verse 2: Praise him because He hears prayers.

• Verse 3: Praise him because He forgives sins.

• Verse 4: Praise him because He chooses people to dwell in His presence.

• Verse 5: Praise him because He answers prayer.

• Verse 5: Praise him because He delivers.

• Verse 5: Praise him because He saves.

• Verse 6: Praise him because He creates the mountains.

• Verse 6: Praise him because He demonstrates strength.

• Verse 7: Praise him because He calms the seas.

• Verse 7: Praise him because He calms the nations.

• Verse 8: Praise him because He strikes the nations with awe.

• Verse 8: Praise him because He inspires praise of the nations.

• Verses 9-10: Praise him because He sends rain on the earth.

• Verse 9: Praise him because Makes the earth fertile.

• Verse 9: Praise him because He makes grain grow.

• Verses 9-10: Praise him because He ripens crops.

• Verse 11: Praise him because He blesses the annual cycle.

• Verse 11: Praise him because He gives abundance.

• Verses 12-13: Praise him because He provides rich pasture.

• TRANSITION:

• Praise isn’t like the carriages of a train that just follows what happens,

• Rather it is more like the engine of a train that makes things happen.

• Now out of those 19 reasons mentioned for praise God,

• I want for a moment to dwell on verse 3:

“When we were overwhelmed by sins,

you forgave our transgressions”.

Question: What is the difference between ‘sins’ and ‘transgressions’?

Answer: them in reverse order:

(1). “TRANSGRESSION”:

• "Transgression" is:

• When we "go beyond or overstep some boundary or limit".

• In everyday situations we transgress the law of the lands when we break the speed limit.