Reflections
Psalm 65: 10, 11, 12-13, 14 (Read)
“The Lord has visited the land and watered it;
greatly has He enriched it.”
Water is so critical for a place like the Holy Land,
as it is here in the arid climate of Southern
California. Without water we could not produce
any crops. We are blessed that “God's
watercourses are filled,” and He provides us with
an abundant harvest.
We also depend upon the Lord to supply us with
what Jesus calls the living water that satisfies our
spiritual thirst. Jesus is the Word that drenches us,
adorns our year with plenty.
How else could we bear fruit?
With His showers He softens the land, blessing its
young sprouts (that is us). We are like untilled meadows
without His word and His grace. How else could
we expect our pastures to be blanketed with grain?
The Lord prepares the earth; our paths overflow
with fruitful rain. The hills are robed in joy.
God’s Word is showered down upon us, and
does not return to Him void;
we do His will; we are His witnesses;
we keep the faith.
Amen
Discussion Questions for Reflection
1. Our psalmist speaks about the Lord having visited
the land and watered it. Tell of how the Lord has drenched
you with His living water that yields a fruitful harvest.
2. The Psalm assures us that the Lord breaks up the clods
of the land and softens it with showers. Give an example
of how God's Word has softened you up spiritually and led
you to do His will.
God waters the earth and makes it fruitful. How much the fruitfulness of this lower part of the creation depends upon the influence of the upper is easy to observe; if the heavens be as brass, the earth is as iron, which is a sensible intimation to a stupid world that every good and perfect gift is from above. We must lift up our eyes above the hills, lift them up to the heavens, where the original springs of all blessings are. All God's blessings, even spiritual ones, are expressed by his raining righteousness upon us.
ReplyDeleteLet all these common gifts of the divine bounty, which we yearly and daily partake of, increase our love of God as the best of beings, and engage us to glorify him with our bodies, which he thus provides so well for.
Water itself quenches and refreshes our physical body when we are thirsty. But when we are yearning for the living water, it is Jesus Christ that satisfies our spiritual thirst. The living water lets us grow in the seed of faith - the word of God which God plants in our hearts.
ReplyDeleteHe provides the earth with His showers to soften the land for the abundant harvest. Without water we could not produce any crops. At the same time without His word and His grace my soul is like the parched land. I could not bear any fruit for God. I could not be His witness. No wonder the Psalmist, David, gives glory to God for what He provides.
God's care of nature is a sign of His love for all creatures whom He created. I am so grateful that I am able to drink His living water - His word makes me satisfied while on earth. Thanks be to God !
Having spent some 30 years in the Pacific Northwest, I am very familiar with the impact of lots and lots of water on the ground on which we live. Everything is lush and green. Now look around you at the natural terrain of Southern California…..it is dry and barren where man and God have not collaborated to add that very precious ingredient ….. water!!! If natural water has that kind of an impact, how much greater will be the impact of the spiritual waters of the Almighty……….unlimited!!!. It’s just up to us to be open to these spiritual, living waters!!!!!!!!
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