Psalms for Turbulent Times - Psalm 65: The gates of the morning and evening sing your praise

Wheat fields in the hills of Tuscany

Psalm 65[1]

1    Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion;  
       to you that answer prayer shall vows be paid.
2    To you shall all flesh come to confess their sins;  
       when our misdeeds prevail against us, you will purge them away.
3    Happy are they whom you choose
       and draw to your courts to dwell there.  
       We shall be satisfied with the blessings of your house,
       even of your holy temple.  
4    With wonders you will answer us in your righteousness,
       O God of our salvation, O hope of all the ends of the earth
       and of the farthest seas.
5    In your strength you set fast the mountains  
       and are girded about with might.
6    You still the raging of the seas, the roaring of their waves
       and the clamour of the peoples.
7    Those who dwell at the ends of the earth tremble at your marvels;  
       the gates of the morning and evening sing your praise.  
8    You visit the earth and water it;  you make it very plenteous.
9    The river of God is full of water; you prepare grain for your people,
       for so you provide for the earth.
10  You drench the furrows and smooth out the ridges;  
        you soften the ground with showers and bless its increase.
11  You crown the year with your goodness,  
        and your paths overflow with plenty.
12  May the pastures of the wilderness flow with goodness  
        and the hills be girded with joy.
13  May the meadows be clothed with flocks of sheep  
        and the valleys stand so thick with corn
        that they shall laugh and sing.

This psalm lifts the spirits. It is a psalm of praise and connection. Under the arc of eternity, from beginning to end, from Alpha to Omega, it draws all humans and creation together. And even if no human was to utter a prayer of praise to God in these next 24 hours, creation itself would sing with joy. But the psalmist is bold in suggesting that of course human praise is never silenced – and that is a wondrous truth to remember.

All around the globe – in that most distant part and farthest island - people cannot but sing God’s praises because of the signs of God in creation as well as the story of God’s saving power in history. Those who know that story and identify with that story through faith find themselves fed by the knowledge of forgiveness (vs2) and the nourishment of daily worship in the presence of God (vs3). Then there are praise-givers who see the signs of God in creation and find connection to God through the rhythms of the day (vs8) and the provision of God through creation (vss9-13).

During this global pandemic, as lives have been under threat and we have reassessed our priorities in the light of our mortality, prayer has grown. A commitment to pray regularly has also grown. In my own experience, I have found myself praying with others more (over social media) and in many more circumstances. While the gathering sense of disorientation continues – and there is a lot of wearying disorientation – yet the song of praise at the break of day and sometimes even the end of the day is there.

At the heart of the psalm is verse 8, which is rendered thus in three comparable translations:

Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds
are awed by your signs;

you make the gateways of the morning and the evening
shout for joy.[2]

O God, to the farthest corners of the planet
people will stand in awe,
startled and stunned by your signs and wonders.
Sunrise brilliance and sunset beauty
both take turns singing their songs of joy to you.[3]

Those who dwell at the ends of the earth tremble at your marvels;  
the gates of the morning and evening sing your praise.[4]  

May you find in your prayers, for the people of this planet and creation’s web which holds our life in fragile collaboration, a joyful rhythm of trust and praise – marked by the gates of the day and the night. My particular tradition expressed through Anglican worship has day and night markers for prayer. In this lockdown phase these have been like pools of refreshment in what is often, it seems, a desert of sameness. Yet, that camera in to which I stare and that screen through which I connect, is not the desert it sometimes feels – sapping me of energy. It is the media through which also comes praise and prayer and connection.

Yet creation will keep on singing God’s praises even when we close down our screens and disconnect our phones.

May the richness of your creation, Lord,
and the mystery of your providence
lead us to that heavenly city
where all peoples will bring their wealth,
forsake their sins and find their true joy,
Jesus Christ our Lord.[5]

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[1] Common Worship: Daily Prayer, material from which is included here,
is copyright © The Archbishops' Council 2005 and published by Church House Publishing.

[2] NRSVA

[3] The Passion Translation

[4] The Psalter of the Church of England

[5] Common Worship: Daily Prayer, material from which is included here,
is copyright © The Archbishops' Council 2005 and published by Church House Publishing.