You Atone (Psalm 65:3)

 

Saturday, July 26, 2025

Psalms 65; 70

2 Samuel 8:15-9:23

John 8:12-30

You Atone (Psalm 65:3)

When iniquities prevail against me,
    you atone for our transgressions.

When we think about the daily blessings of God, I’m sure many of us think of things similar to the second half of Psalm 65. Things such as the enormous amount of food and land we have on this planet (even if we don’t share it very well). In the mind of the Psalmist, this free gift of God is connected to the free gift of God’s forgiveness.

We have a wonderful way of conceptualising our struggle with sin in the third verse. “When iniquities prevail against me” brings to mind the human, made in the image of God, doing their best to walk in God’s light, yet struggling against forces that would separate them from one another. Yet even when those iniquities prevail, and separation does occur, God comes and atones for that, just as he blesses us with everything else this planet has to offer us. Our daily blessings of food and water are just as measurable and demonstrable as God’s daily blessings of forgiveness and his close presence.

When Christ hung on the cross, died, and rose again, it reached back to the start of creation, and forwards to the final day. Every day his blessing of atonement and forgiveness is fresh within us.

What was the last iniquity that prevailed against you? Have you accepted God’s forgiveness in Christ for that, just as much as God has blessed you with everything else you have for today?

Atoning God, whose love reaches beyond time and space into eternity past and eternity to come: give us this day our daily bread, both temporal and spiritual, that we may walk each day with joy in the light of your countenance.