Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Psalm 65 

1 You are to be praised, O God, in Zion; 
  to you shall vows be fulfilled. 
2 To you, the one who answers prayer, 
  to you all flesh shall come. 
3 Our sins are stronger than we are, 
  but you blot out our transgressions. 
4 Happy are they whom you choose and draw to your courts to dwell there! 
  They will be satisfied by the beauty of your house, by the holiness of your temple. 
5 Awesome things will you show us in your righteousness, O God of our salvation, 
  O hope of all the ends of the earth and of the oceans far away. 
6 You make firm the mountains by your power; 
  you are girded about with might. 
7 You still the roaring of the seas, 
  the roaring of their waves, and the clamor of the peoples. 
8 Those who dwell at the ends of the earth will tremble at your marvelous signs; 
  you make the dawn and the dusk to sing for joy. 
9 You visit the earth and water it abundantly; you make it very plenteous; the river of God is full of water. 
  You prepare the grain, for so you provide for the earth. 
10 You drench the furrows and smooth out the ridges; 
  with heavy rain you soften the ground and bless its increase. 
11 You crown the year with your goodness, 
  and your paths overflow with plenty. 
12 May the fields of the wilderness be rich for grazing, 
  and the hills be clothed with joy. 
13 May the meadows cover themselves with flocks, and the valleys cloak themselves with grain; 
  let them shout for joy and sing. 

I love the Psalms for many reasons, but their ability to embody our daily thoughts takes the cake. Even thousands of years later, albeit in a little different linguistic style, the Psalmist words resonate with our daily lived experiences, making us feel seen and heard. 

Verse 3, in particular, makes the bold confession that, when we are honest with ourselves, our sins are stronger than we are…meaning we fall victim to their power every day. As sobering as that is, our acceptance of that reality is important to our ability to look beyond it towards hope. A hope that leans on God as the source for all things, as the Psalmist describes. 

The text from yesterday, today and the next few days are appointed in the lectionary for the Day of Thanksgiving thanks to our Canadian neighbor's celebration a month before ours. So, naturally, we are invited to reflect on that for which we are grateful.  

Theologian Walter Bouzard reminds us that because of God’s grace, we have a lot to be thankful for. He says, “As always, on this side of Eden, proximity to God is by the grace and choice of God and not our own efforts.” Our daily struggle with sin makes us fall short, but God gives us a fresh start each new day. Simple gratitude to God’s gracious love and mercy is a great place to start the day. 

– Pr. Kyle  

God of all mercy, remind us daily of your grace. Fill us up with courage for when our sin let’s You down, because we let ourselves down too. We give this all to You. Amen.