God’s Special Care for His Creation

Psalm 65

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

¹Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed.
²O you who hears prayer,
to you shall all flesh come.
³When iniquities prevail against me,
you atone for our transgressions.
⁴Blessed 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!

⁵By 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;
⁶the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being girded with might;
⁷who stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,
⁸so 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.

⁹You 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.
¹⁰You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
¹¹You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
¹²The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills gird themselves with joy,
¹³the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy.

God’s Special Care for His Creation

Several months back, my family and I got a new puppy.

Ty is a mix of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and an Australian Shepherd and from the moment we brought him home, my 12-year-old daughter Lucy was in love. She carried him around the house, doted on him, and even went above and beyond in potty-training him. At night, there was no question where Ty was going to sleep; Lucy was going to have him with her.

She loves the puppy and cares well for him.

In our Psalm for today we find God doing much the same for His creation. David writes, Praise is due to you, O God in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed. Why is this praise due?

Just listen to what God does for His creation!

God…

• Hears our prayers (v. 2)
• Atones for our transgressions (v. 3)
• Chooses us and brings us near to dwell with Him (v. 4)
• Answers our prayers (v. 5)
• Established the mountains (v. 6)
• Stills the roaring of the seas (v. 7)
• Stills the tumult of the peoples (v. 7)
• Makes the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy (v. 8)
• Visits, waters, and enriches the earth, (v. 9)
• Provides grain (v. 9)

I could go on, but I’d encourage you to read the rest of the Psalm and note all of the ways in which God is doting on His creation.

David also communicates a special care that God has for His creation. God settles, softens, blesses, crowns, prepares, establishes, and stills. It is a beautiful thought that God is doing these things for our world, even now! God is tender, attentive, and loving with His creation.

Psalm 65 reminds me of Luther’s explanation to the first article of the Apostles’ Creed, in which Luther notes all that God has done and continues to do for His creation.

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.

What does this mean?

I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still takes care of them.

He also gives me clothing and shoes, food and drink, house and home, wife and children, land, animals, and all I have. He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life.

He defends me against all danger and guards and protects me from all evil. All this He does only out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me. For all this it is my duty to thank and praise, serve and obey Him.

This is most certainly true.

Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion, and to you shall vows be performed.

Why?

Because our loving Lord continues to attentively and tenderly care for His creation with even more tenderness than a 12-year-old girl has for her puppy.