Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap.

Our first chapter for today, Psalm 65, was probably written as praise for a feast or harvest time.

David starts out by saying praise is due to God in Zion, which, as you may recall,

is another way of referring to Jerusalem. Since Mount Zion is the highest peak in Jerusalem, the two

names are often used interchangeably. And they're also both used to refer to the nation and the people

of Israel as a whole. I love this psalm. Every line is so rich and dense.

I think there's something really beautiful about the way David lays out verse three. It says,

When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions. David's iniquities are

stronger than his ability to rescue himself. They prevail against him.

He knows he needs God's rescue, and he praises God for making atonement for his sins.

David goes on praising God for the fact that he's the hope and joy of his people,

is the creator and sustainer of all things.

And as they're harvesting the crops, David sees the abundance God has given them this

year. David praises God's abundant provision in verse 11 when he says, you crown the year with your

bounty. In Psalm 66, David praises God for the ways he triumphs over his enemies and for protecting

his people. David has a God-honoring

view of the trials he has been through, and he's able to praise God even for the hardships.

We see it in verses 10 through 12 especially. He says, for you, oh, God, have tested us. You have tried us

as silver is tried. You brought us into the net. You laid a crushing burden on our backs.

You let men ride over our heads. We went through fire and through water. Yet you have brought us out

to a place of abundance. David isn't holding a grudge toward God because of what Israel has gone through.

He's not saying, I don't trust you anymore.

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