"Blessed is the man You choose, and cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts" (Psalm 65:4a).
In Psalm 65 David constructs an eloquent song to the Lord, praising Him for His glorious power in bringing about the salvation of His people. As you read this psalm, you cannot help but be captivated by David’s deep emotion and adoration of God as His Savior and Lord. As David stood in the temple and praised God for His mercies, he thanked God on behalf of all the people for His hearing their prayers, forgiving them of their sins, and choosing them from all the peoples of the earth to glory in His presence forever. Two of the most cherished blessings of every believer in every generation are communion with God and the forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus.
David emphasizes a great truth in this psalm that is often overlooked, ignored, or rejected by many in the church today—our salvation is not dependent on anything we do, but only on the free grace of God’s sovereign choice. It is only because God enables us to have faith that we enjoy the benefits of His glorious salvation. “Faith and prayer may be means for procuring us an interest in the grace of God,” Calvin wrote, “but the source whence it flows is not within but without us.” We, who were once strangers to His covenant, children of wrath, came near to Him only by the exercise of His favor, not by any merit within ourselves. When we were overwhelmed by our sins, David said, God atoned for our transgressions. “Blessed is the man whom You choose, and cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts” (v. 4).
Those whom God has chosen to be His people enjoy the privilege of approaching Him in prayer and worship. One way our adoption into His covenant family evidences itself is that we gladly approach Him in worship under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Those who display no interest in the great blessings of prayer and worship can have no assurance of salvation in Christ Jesus. This is because a mark of genuine faith is a desire to worship and praise God for the atoning work of Christ and for God’s great mercy in choosing His people out of the world, not on the basis of any decision or merit within themselves, but simply by His wisdom, power, and grace.
Read 1 Peter 2:9–12. How does David reflect in Psalm 65 Peter’s exhortation to all of God’s people in this passage? What does it mean to be a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation? Throughout the day consider Peter’s exhortation in verses 11 and 12 that you may glorify God in all you do.
