photo lavender flower field under pink sky
Photo by David Bartus on Pexels.com

2 O Thou who dost hear prayer; To Thee all men come. 8 And they who dwell in the ends of the earth stand in awe of Thy signs, Thou dost make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy. 9Thou dost visit the earth, and cause it to overflow; Thou dost greatly enrich it; The stream of God is full of water; Thou dost prepare their grain, for thus Thou dost prepare the earth. 10 Thou dost water its furrows abundantly; Thou dost settle its ridges; Thou dost soften it with showers; Thou dost bless its growth. Psalm 65:2,8-10 NASB

I dusted off my The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible, NASB the other day to do some reading. When I opened it to Psalm 65 I was surprised to see all of the Thee’s Thou’s and Dost. The editor of this version chose to keep the archaic King James expressions for prayers in the Bible. I had to read each verse slowly and aloud to get the rhythm of the beautiful prayer.

I opened up my computer and did comparison of some key verses. It is truly interesting to see the diversity in how translators choose words and phrases to capture the original meanings of the Hebrew into modern day languages. Some expressions are hard to carry over from one language to the next…yet God still let’s His heart speak to ours.

I also read the forward to understand why they chose to keep the Thee’s and Thou’s – most versions of NASB have modernized to current day. As I mentioned, they wanted to keep the formality of prayer. While I was in the forward, I read the Preface to the Hebrew-Greek Study Bible to the reader from the Editorial Staff and Spiros Zodhiates.

Our prayer is that a thorough comprehension of of God’s Word will bring untold blessings to the reader. We believe, however, that understanding God’s word is not enough. It must be energized by the Holy Spirit in the believer’s heart and life so that the written Word may become the Living Word to those who have appropriated the Eternal Word, Jesus Christ, in their hearts.

In the reading of Psalm 65 I felt like I was experiencing the results of their prayers. I read the verses aloud and prayed the scriptures with Pam as she was cooking. God’s presence was full in my heart. Let me share some of my prayers from the above selected verses.

  • Thou who dost hear prayer;  To Thee all men come.  Thank you Lord, You hear our prayers. Thank You that You hear my prayer. Lord would You encourage those who are struggling today that You do indeed hear our prayer.  All are welcomed and invited to approach the throne of grace to present those things which are heavy upon their hearts. God HEARS your prayers.
  • Thou dost make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy. O for ears to hear how creation sings to You, their maker. The trees of the field clap their hands as the wind whooshes through their leaves carrying the bass rhythm of the dance. God, if creation shouts and sings when they are fulfilling their purpose of beauty and splendor each day, PLEASE help us to return our praise to you. Help us live out the purpose and destiny You have for us and return our gratitude and praise to you.
  • Thou dost visit the earth, and cause it to overflow; Thou dost greatly enrich it; The stream of God is full of water – When God shows up He is never empty handed. When He comes His pockets are full and overflowing. Those who receive His presence respond to His fullness. Lord, when You come we are recipients of Your fullness. Your overflow makes a God shaped impression on our hearts of blessing and enrichment. Come Lord Jesus. Come Father God. Come Holy Spirit. Make my heart a place for You to dwell. Thank You for the overflowing streams of life to my dry and parched view of my world. Surely there is blessing in Your presence.
  • Thou dost water its furrows abundantly; Thou dost settle its ridges; Thou dost soften it with showers; Thou dost bless its growth.  Lord the rains softens the hard and jagged rocks of the mountains. Thank You that You send the refreshing showers in my life to soften the ridges in my life. Forgive the judgments I make so quickly on those whom you love. Forgive the harsh words which come forth out of the hurts in my heart. Forgive the callousness toward You when I choose my own path forward. Your kindness changes me into Your image in the softest of ways.

Sometimes when you are fulfilling your daily Bible Readings, I invite you to do as Madame Guyon encouraged her friends to do. This French lady encouraged many who could not read to experience God through His word. Invite the Holy Sprit to speak to you. Read or recite the Word of God. When you ponder a word, invite Holy Spirit to illuminate what God may be speaking to you. Stay with that thought for as long as God may be speaking to you, then continue.

May you encounter God today in His Word to you. May you hear the voice of the author of this Love Letter to us. May all the peoples of the earth have access to the Bible, God’s Holy Word.

Blessings Love y’all