CHOSEN

BLESSED is the man whom You CHOOSE, and cause to approach You, that he may dwell in Your courts. We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, of Your holy temple – Psalm 65:4

To be CHOSEN by the Almighty God is in itself a Blessing of no mean measure! That’s the crux of our meditation scripture. Psalm 65 is a psalm of thanksgiving that is most appropriately referred to as a “Harvest Psalm.” It is a beautiful poem about nature, but much more about the God of nature, who is gracious to humanity, and awesome in His deeds. It is a celebration of God’s grace, might and provision. It clearly celebrates God’s past and present goodness with an attendant anticipation of His future providential blessings. It excels in its beautiful description of God’s care for His creation. His blessings are both beautiful and bountiful! He is the Source of all of nature’s bounty and the “waterer” of your destiny – the Bountiful Blesser!

What an amazing grace; that the One who blesses us is the One who chose us! We didn’t choose ourselves. Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I CHOSE you and APPOINTED you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you” (Jh.15:16). This means that God chose us to bless us, so that we can be a blessing. His Grace qualifies us to become His chosen, blessed, and beloved. Verse 1 says, “Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion…” What a privilege it is to be chosen, appointed, and empowered to approach His gates with thanksgiving, and to enter His courts with praises – to be among those who would “feed” and please Him with praises! God will never lack the praise that His due to Him; but only from those whom He chooses. In verse 2, we see an anticipation of answered prayer: “O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh will come” – the answer of Bountiful Harvests.

Those whom God chooses to approach Him are assured that their vows and prayers would be accepted, not on human merit, but because of Christ’s atonement: “…as for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them” (v.3). Our gratitude to God – for any and all blessings – must be rooted and grounded in the acknowledgement of His grace. Verse 4 speaks of God’s appointment of the one He chooses. The vocabulary of this verse comes from the priestly domain, where God appoints and anoints one to the priesthood. Here it applies more generally to the nation as a whole in line with Exodus 19:6a, “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation…” This implies that it is only by God’s sovereign grace that we are privileged, chosen, and appointed to become beloved and blessed residents in God’s House.

The New Testament corollary says: “But you are a CHOSEN generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvellous light” (1Pet.2:9). Who is this that chooses and blesses us? The rest of Psalm 65 speaks of Him as our mighty Saviour and Creator; His awesome answers, dependable care, and strength (v.5); power and majestic stability (v.6). He, who could establish the mountains by His strength, can certainly be depended on to protect and provide in our times of need. Verses 7-8 picture His sovereignty: in spite of the tumults and turbulences in the world, the Sovereign God continues to be in control; mighty to still, to save and to sustain. He controls both the forces of nature and of the nations. Verses 9-13 describe Him as our Harvest Provider.

The Lord, who chose you to bless you, will water, nourish and greatly enrich your “earth.” He’ll soften the ridges of your life with showers, and bless your growth. He’ll crown your year with His Goodness and His path will drip with abundance. He’ll you into unrestrained worship, rejoicing and singing. These are the portions of the Chosen and the Appointed in Christ!