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July 21, 2002 - Psalm 65:1-13

Open It

1. What have you learned about nature lately?
2. What do you enjoy most about animals, plants, the land, or some other aspect of nature?

Explore It

3. What words of commitment introduce this psalm? (65:1-2)
4. What character traits of the Lord did the psalm writer praise? (65:1-13)
5. What gift does God give to His people? (65:3)
6. Who can enjoy the presence of the Lord? (65:3-4)
7. What benefits do God's forgiven people enjoy? (65:3-4)
8. How does the Lord exert His control over creation? (65:5-8)
9. How is God involved in the affairs of the nations? (65:5-8)
10. In what ways does God bring order to the world? (65:5-8)
11. What image did the psalm writer use to describe the turmoil of the nations? (65:7)
12. What should motivate all people to praise the Lord? (65:8)
13. In what specific ways did the Lord answer the prayers of the Israelites? (65:9-13)
14. How does the earth celebrate the Lord's goodness? (65:13)

Get It

14. How do you see God's hand at work in creation?
15. What does this psalm teach us about God's character?
16. What can we learn about God from creation?
17. How does our understanding of God's character affect the way we live our everyday lives?
18. What motivates you to offer praise and worship to God?
19. What benefits from the Lord do you enjoy?
20. How has God answered your prayers?
21. How does remembering God's guidance and provision in the past encourage you for the future?
22. Out of gratitude for the Lord's forgiveness, provision, and blessings, what commitment should we make to Him?
23. How do you plan to respond to God's goodness to you?

Apply It

24. What action could you take in the next few weeks to learn more about God's character and how He wants you to live?
25. In what way could you show your appreciation to the Lord for the things, people, and experiences He has enabled you to enjoy?
26. Who is one person you could tell about God's goodness?

In Old Testament times, vows were taken seriously and fulfilled completely. No one had to make a vow, but once made, it was binding (Deut. 23:21-23). The vow that is being fulfilled here is the promise to praise God for his answers to prayer.

Although we may feel overwhelmed by the multitude of our sins, God will forgive them all if we ask sincerely. Do you feel as though God could never forgive you, that your sins are too many, or that some of them are too great? The good news is that God can and will forgive them all. Nobody is beyond redemption, and nobody is so full of sin that he or she cannot be made clean.

Access to God, the joy of living in the temple courts, was a great honor. God had chosen a special group of Israelites, the tribe of Levi, to serve as priests in the tabernacle (Numbers 3:5-51). They were the only ones who could enter the sacred rooms where God's presence resided. Because of Jesus' death on the cross, all believers today have personal access to God's presence everywhere and at any time.

This harvest psalm glorifies God the Creator as reflected in the beauty of nature. Nature helps us understand something of God's character. The Jews believed that God's care of nature was a sign of his love and provision for them. Nature shows God's generosity--giving us more than we need or deserve. Understanding God's abundant generosity should make us grateful to God and generous to others.

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