The Sixth Sunday of Easter (Ps) May 5th

Psalm 65:1-13

¹ Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion,

and to you shall vows be performed.

² O you who hear prayer,

to you shall all flesh come.

³ When iniquities prevail against me,

you atone for our transgressions.

⁴ 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!

⁵ 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;

⁶ the one who by his strength established the mountains,

being girded with might;

⁷ who stills the roaring of the seas,

the roaring of their waves,

the tumult of the peoples,

⁸ 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.

⁹ 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.

¹⁰ You water its furrows abundantly,

settling its ridges,

softening it with showers,

and blessing its growth.

¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty;

your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.

¹² The pastures of the wilderness overflow,

the hills gird themselves with joy,

¹³ the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,

the valleys deck themselves with grain,

they shout and sing together for joy.

God always deserves our Praise and adoration. God is not worthy because we say he is worthy. God is the one who has created everything, including you. God is the one who takes care of his flocks and their pasture lands. The Lord continues day and night to listen to your cries for mercy.

Listen again to verse 3, "When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions." We constantly are falling into various sins and iniquities. We make promises and fail to keep them. We look at the gifts of God all around us, and think of the riches of the earth, forgetting about the one who enriched it. Iniquities rise up against us as force condemning us to eternal damnation. They speak evil against us all the day long.

Jesus Christ listens to your cries for mercy. He was born of a virgin and suffered under Pontus Pilate and even crucified died and was buried. He is the perfect atoning sacrifice for all sin including your iniquities. As they rise up to hurl deadly threats against us, he takes them upon himself, as he was nailed to the cross. Jesus Christ is the atonement for your transgressions.

God continues to take care of you all the day long. He provides for your life. He provides for you eternal life. He cleanses you from all unrighteousness and leads you beside still waters.