IN A PSALM OF DAVID , he views the LORD as “God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth.” (Psa. 65:5b) This is a far-reaching vision of God. It encompasses not just the geographical reaches of “the farthest seas” (Psa. 65:5c), but in a prophetic way—for David is a prophet—the mysterious distances of time. David is not thinking only of Israel, but of all the peoples of the earth. And he is not musing only in present tense, but with a pressing sense of all time.
Many of the priestly contributions to scripture focus on Israel as a nation chosen by God, but fail to unveil God’s plan for the rest of humanity. Not so David. He has a more comprehensive view of God’s interaction with all of humanity, akin to Isaiah’s later prophetic Messianic revelation. “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles.” (Isa. 42:6) This re-aligns our concept of God at work in the O.T. more closely with the covenant of Grace extended to all mankind though Christ Jesus. But the prophecy of David is revealed here only as a foreshadow of things to come.
And what a portent it is. In David’s time, and still today, the religion of Judaism understood forgiveness of sin as something that could only happen once a year. The Feasts of Rosh Hashanah and Passover blended into the time when the high priest could go into the Holy of Holies and, in that sacred space, carefully observe all the duties of his office, which included a once-yearly sacrifice for the purification of the nation from their accumulated sins. In David’s psalm, the priests, the place, and the procedures all seem bypassed. He says, “You who answer prayer, to you all people will come. When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave our transgressions.” (Psa. 65:2-3
The heavy weight of sin is lifted, and there begins a palpable joy of restored relationship and favor. “Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple.” (Psa. 65:4) David adds, so that we will not miss the direct connection between the penitent and the redeemer, “You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior.” (Psa. 65:5a, b) His portrayal of God is not that of the distant God of Wrath we so commonly encounter in the O.T. Instead, David’s interaction with God is clearly personal and has a sense of God’s immanence; for David, God is clearly present and available.
The God of the O.T., we are reminded, is the God “Who formed the mountains” and who “stilled the roaring of the seas” and “the turmoil of the nations.” (Psa. 65:6a, 7) This pictures the transcendent God of Creation, and “The whole earth is filled with awe at his wonders.” (Psa. 65:8a) This is the God above all, the God who cares for his creation. “He cares for the land and waters it.” He “Drenches its furrows” to “provide the people with grain.” Their “carts overflow with abundance.” The “hills are clothed with gladness,” and “the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.” (Psa. 65:8-13)
But these are also pastoral images; the God of Creation is exerting beneficial care and dominion over the earth, the very thing he charged mankind with at their creation: “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” (cf. Gen. 1:26-28) In David’s view, God is not so very far away, nor has he ever been so. David sees God, yes, as Creator, as all-powerful, and as the vengeful God of Wrath. Elsewhere in the psalms he says, “If only you, God, would slay the wicked! I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies.” (Psa. 139:19a, 22) But here, in the psalm, he sees God as highly relational, personal, and accessible to personal needs, able to heal wounds and forgive sins. “Praise awaits you, our God, you who answer prayer, to you all people will come.” (Psa. 65:1a, 2)
David the man, David the king, warrior, and poet, could not have known of the ways in which the various Messianic prophecies he spoke of, here and elsewhere, would be brought to pass by the God he knew so personally. David the prophet certainly seemed to have some sense of these things. His reference here to ‘God our Savior’ as ‘the hope of all the ends of the earth’ certainly is a pleasant harbinger of the coming of the Messiah. And elsewhere in his psalms, he indicates this same ‘knowing.’ He infers that God will be God of all. “I will praise you, LORD, among the nations.” (Psa. 18:49) The Messiah will be God’s Lord and King. “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.’” (Psa. 110:1) In all, there are at least 68 Messianic prophecies made by David in the psalms.
Especially however, David-the-prophet speaks past his own understanding to the eternal priesthood that will be established through the Messiah, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.’” (Psa. 110:4; cf. Heb. 6:17-20) And this high priest will reveal the eternal merciful heart of God to the ecclesia: “I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly.” (Psa. 40:9-10)
This David’s realized message—not in his own time—fulfilled by Jesus, the Christ, the anointed One of God, the Eternal High Priest: “The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mark 1:15) That message has gone is going to the ends of the earth. It is a timeless message, but it has an end-time date-stamp, and it is truly the only present hope for all of us.
Q. Is my H.O.P.E. a Healthy Optimistic Prayer for Eternity?
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