“Thou crownest the year with Thy goodness; and Thy paths drop fatness.” (Psalms 65:11)
There are two distinct things in this Scripture. It first mentions God’s goodness. Because of the Old Testament covenant, many think of God as harsh and unyielding. The times of His punishment in the Old Testament were swift, cut and dry. There was no wavering of His commandment. There was no grace in the Old Testament, that undeserved favor of God. But mercy was available which is His pity, compassion and kindness. That Old Testament picture of God is carried over into today. And many think of God as One Who sits on His Throne punishing the disobedient. The LORD still does hate sin, but sin has been dealt with in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus is the atonement or redemption of mankind, the reconciliation of sinful man and a holy God. (1 John 4:10) “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many...” (Hebrews 9:28a) In the Old Testament, the priests had to offer sacrifices for sin every year. It was on the Day of Atonement when their sins were covered. But the sacrifice of Jesus was made once and forgives all sin, past, present and future, of the whole world, of people who lived before, now and in the future, who believe in Him. “And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool. For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:11-14) This is grace, undeserved favor, which was unavailable in the Old Testament.
Those who believe in Jesus have a relationship with God Who is Good, Who is for us and not against us, Whose promises for us are yea and amen. (Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19; Romans 8:31; 2 Corinthians 1:20) David wrote, “Thou crownest the year with thy goodness...” In the Old Testament, God’s goodness was His blessing. And God blessed according to their works. Today, our works are meaningless and worthless for salvation, but they are a testament of God’s miracle in our hearts and the sanctification work of the Holy Spirit.
David makes another statement in Psalms 65:11, “...Thy paths drop fatness.” The way of the Lord drips with fatness or the richness of God’s goodness. It means to be abundantly satisfied. (Psalm 36:8) We see that David relates being obedient or works by the words “the way of the Lord” as a means of being the beneficiary of God’s goodness. But in the new covenant of Jesus, believing in Jesus is the way of the Lord. Believing in God’s salvation through Jesus is the path that drops fatness. Becoming a child of God (John 1:12) we are abundantly satisfied. This has nothing to do with material possessions, but spiritual blessings, bounty, largeness and benefits. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:” (Ephesians 1:3) In heavenly places means it’s stored up in heaven with Jesus, but it’s available to us here on earth. The prayer pattern that Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earth as it is in heaven” means that whatever is done in heaven we pray, we ask, we petition the Lord for it to be done here on earth. Those spiritual blessings are a done deal in heaven. But we have access to them. We must believe with the faith that moves mountains that first they are ours, that we have access to them, that the Father makes them available to us and that we will receive when we pray. (Matthew 21:22) It’s available to us to walk as God’s children, to bring His kingdom to this earth and to do God’s work. It’s available for the asking in our prayer closet. It’s there where we petition for it and it’s there that we receive it. Then we can just walk that path dripping with the richness of God’s fatness or goodness, abundantly satisfied. This is something that can only be experienced alone with the Lord. It’s a one on one with the Lord. It cannot be shared, gifted to anyone, or given away. It cannot be earned, worked for or gained by any work of ours. It’s received in that time alone with Him.
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