O You Who Hear Prayer – Psalm 65

On Thursday [June 2, 2021], [Utah] Gov. Spencer Cox issued a declaration calling for Utahns to participate in a weekend of prayer from Friday to Sunday.  “I’ve already asked all Utahns to conserve water by avoiding long showers, fixing leaky faucets, and planting water-wise landscapes. But I fear those efforts alone won’t be enough to protect us,” Cox said. “We need more rain and we need it now. We need some divine intervention.” [cnn.com]

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.

Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed.  O you who hear prayer, to you shall all flesh come.  When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions.  Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts!  We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!

By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas; the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might; who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, the tumult of the peoples, so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.  You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.

You visit the earth and water it; you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide their grain, for so you have prepared it.  You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.  You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.  The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy, the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.  (Psalm 65 ESV)

Because we buy our food in supermarkets and rarely make a connection with the land and the need for God’s blessing on it in order to produce our needed sustenance, we do not appreciate how grateful we must be for God’s making our land fertile.  The psalmist acknowledges the praise that is fitting for God because He has enriched the earth and brought such a bountiful harvest.  The tracks that the wagons have worn are full once again of overflowing harvest carts.  The people He has so blessed draw near to His house, the temple, in full assurance of the forgiveness He has provided through atonement, and all the nations of the earth, not just Israel, are in awe of His greatness.