Psalm 65:9-13 (NRSV)
Read Psalm 65:9-13 on biblegateway.com
Verse 9You visit the earth and water it, you greatly enrich it; the river of God is full of water; you provide the people with grain, for so you have prepared it.
Verse 10You water its furrows abundantly, settling its ridges, softening it with showers, and blessing its growth.
Verse 11You crown the year with your bounty; your wagon tracks overflow with richness.
Verse 12The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy,
Verse 13the meadows clothe themselves with flocks, the valleys deck themselves with grain, they shout and sing together for joy.
Devotion
Today’s verses praise God for a good harvest and celebrate God’s bountiful care of the earth. Author James Mays says the psalmist here presents God as a cosmic farmer.
The verses speak to us in four ways. First, we too, are called to praise God for this marvelous earth, all of its natural beauty and bounty. Second, praise leads and calls us to involvement in being stewards of the earth. We dare not “spiritualize” our faith by ignoring issues such as global warming, clean water and air and use of pesticides. Third, these verses call us to feed the hungry. The earth provides enough food for everyone. God calls us to direct this bounty so everyone can be fed. Fourth, we are reminded of the stewardship of farmers who tend the land and harvest the crops. We thank them for their stewardship of the precious resource of land and water.
Prayer
Dear God, Thank you for your bountiful gift of land, water and harvest. Help us use this bounty to feed the hungry of the world. Amen.