May 12 — Praise from the Ends of the Earth
SCRIPTURE READING:
Psalms 65-67, 69-70
SCRIPTURE:
Psalm 65
¹ To the chief Musician, A Psalm [and] Song of David. Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed.
² O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
³ Iniquities prevail against me: [as for] our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.
⁴ Blessed [is the man whom] thou choosest, and causest to approach [unto thee, that] he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, [even] of thy holy temple.
⁵ [By] terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; [who art] the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off [upon] the sea:
⁶ Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; [being] girded with power:
⁷ Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.
⁸ They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.
⁹ Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, [which] is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.
¹⁰ Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof.
¹¹ Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.
¹² They drop [upon] the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side.
¹³ The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.
Psalm 66
¹ To the chief Musician, A Song [or] Psalm. Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands:
² Sing forth the honour of his name: make his praise glorious.
³ Say unto God, How terrible [art thou in] thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee.
⁴ All the earth shall worship thee, and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing [to] thy name. Selah.
⁵ Come and see the works of God: [he is] terrible [in his] doing toward the children of men.
⁶ He turned the sea into dry [land]: they went through the flood on foot: there did we rejoice in him.
⁷ He ruleth by his power for ever; his eyes behold the nations: let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.
⁸ O bless our God, ye people, and make the voice of his praise to be heard:
⁹ Which holdeth our soul in life, and suffereth not our feet to be moved.
¹⁰ For thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried.
¹¹ Thou broughtest us into the net; thou laidst affliction upon our loins.
¹² Thou hast caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but thou broughtest us out into a wealthy [place].
¹³ I will go into thy house with burnt offerings: I will pay thee my vows,
¹⁴ Which my lips have uttered, and my mouth hath spoken, when I was in trouble.
¹⁵ I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.
¹⁶ Come [and] hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.
¹⁷ I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue.
¹⁸ If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear [me]:
¹⁹ [But] verily God hath heard [me]; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.
²⁰ Blessed [be] God, which hath not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy from me.
Psalm 67
¹ To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm [or] Song. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; [and] cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.
² That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations.
³ Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
⁴ O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah.
⁵ Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the people praise thee.
⁶ [Then] shall the earth yield her increase; [and] God, [even] our own God, shall bless us.
⁷ God shall bless us; and all the ends of the earth shall fear him.
Psalm 69
¹ To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, [A Psalm] of David. Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto [my] soul.
² I sink in deep mire, where [there is] no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
³ I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
⁴ They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, [being] mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored [that] which I took not away.
⁵ O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.
⁶ Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.
⁷ Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.
⁸ I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children.
⁹ For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
¹⁰ When I wept, [and chastened] my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.
¹¹ I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them.
¹² They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I [was] the song of the drunkards.
¹³ But as for me, my prayer [is] unto thee, O LORD, [in] an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation.
¹⁴ Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.
¹⁵ Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.
¹⁶ Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness [is] good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
¹⁷ And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.
¹⁸ Draw nigh unto my soul, [and] redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies.
¹⁹ Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries [are] all before thee.
²⁰ Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked [for some] to take pity, but [there was] none; and for comforters, but I found none.
²¹ They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
²² Let their table become a snare before them: and [that which should have been] for [their] welfare, [let it become] a trap.
²³ Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.
²⁴ Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.
²⁵ Let their habitation be desolate; [and] let none dwell in their tents.
²⁶ For they persecute [him] whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.
²⁷ Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness.
²⁸ Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
²⁹ But I [am] poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high.
³⁰ I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
³¹ [This] also shall please the LORD better than an ox [or] bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
³² The humble shall see [this, and] be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.
³³ For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.
³⁴ Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.
³⁵ For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.
³⁶ The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein.
Psalm 70
¹ To the chief Musician, [A Psalm] of David, to bring to remembrance. [Make haste], O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD.
² Let them be ashamed and confounded that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion, that desire my hurt.
³ Let them be turned back for a reward of their shame that say, Aha, aha.
⁴ Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified.
⁵ But I [am] poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God: thou [art] my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.
DEVOTIONAL:
Psalms 65-67 overflow with harvest, forgiveness, blessing, and the hope that all nations will praise the LORD. Psalms 69-70 move into distress, reproach, urgency, and the cry of the suffering righteous one. The range is striking. The same worshiping community that blesses God for watering the earth also teaches the afflicted to cry, "Make haste." Israel's prayer book refuses to separate joy from sorrow.
In covenant perspective, abundance is not self-generated prosperity. The LORD visits the earth, waters it, crowns the year, and stills the noise of the seas and peoples. Blessing is meant to travel outward, so that God's way may be known upon earth and His saving health among all nations. Israel praises as a people chosen not to hoard mercy but to bear witness to the God who judges righteously and blesses the peoples.
Yet the covenant people also learn to bring humiliation and pain into worship. Psalm 69 is not polite spirituality. It names reproach, shame, enemies, weariness, and the longing for deliverance. This honesty keeps praise from becoming sentimental. The Lord who gives harvest is also the Lord who hears the poor and despises not His prisoners. Praise becomes deeper when it has passed through tears without losing trust.
The New Testament draws Psalm 69 into the suffering of Jesus. The reproaches, zeal for God's house, and righteous anguish find their fullest meaning in the Messiah who bears shame for His people. Through Christ, blessing reaches the nations, and the afflicted discover that their cries are not outside God's redemptive plan. The cross joins the suffering servant and the worldwide praise of God.
In daily life, this reading calls believers to obey God in both gratitude and distress. Character is formed when we can thank Him for provision without ignoring neighbors who are grieving. Families can practice honest prayer at the table and in the sickroom, workers can notice people strained by want or shame, and churches can become places where harvest praise and intercession for the wounded rise together before Christ.
In U.S. civic life, this reading teaches compassionate praise as a public good. It calls for prayer over farmers, caregivers, the poor, the grieving, and those whose suffering is hidden from public view. Christians should show up by joining thanksgiving with mercy so that praise becomes visible in care for neighbors.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
What does this reading teach about the difference between human strength and God's purpose?
Which covenant theme in this passage should shape your worship?
How does this Scripture prepare your heart to see Jesus more clearly?
What faithful action would grow from compassionate praise today?
PRAYER:
ADORATION:
Lord God, You reign with holiness, wisdom, and steadfast love.
CONFESSION:
Forgive me for the pride, fear, or impatience that keeps me from walking in Your ways.
THANKSGIVING:
Thank You for mercy that reaches sinners and for a kingdom that is secure in Christ.
SUPPLICATION – GENERAL:
Teach me to practice compassionate praise with a steady heart and to obey You when obedience is costly.
SUPPLICATION – U.S. / CIVIC:
Raise up Christians who carry compassionate praise into public life, and give help to farmers, caregivers, the poor, the grieving, and those whose suffering is hidden from public view.
SCRIPTURE:
¹ To the chief Musician on Neginoth, A Psalm [or] Song. God be merciful unto us, and bless us; [and] cause his face to shine upon us; Selah.