The Book of Psalms
Psalm 65
Psalm LXV · Vol. II, pp. 1027–1028
1 David praiseth God. 4 The blessedness of God's chosen, because of his infinite power and goodness.
To the chief musician, A psalm and song of David.
3 eIniquities2 prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.
e Ps.38.4; 40.13; 25.11. Ro.7.24,25; 5.20,21. Mi.7.18,19. He.1.3; 9.14. 1 Jn.1.7,9.
2 Heb. Words, or matters of iniquities.
4 Blessedg is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be hsatisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.3
5 Byi terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O jGod of our salvation; who art the kconfidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea:
i Ps.45.4; 47.2; 66.3-7; 106.21,22. De.10.17,21. Is.37.35,36,38.
j Ps.68.19,20; 62.5,8.
8 They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at qthy tokens: rthou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.4
9 Thou visitest the earth, and waterest 5it; sthou greatly enrichest it with the river of 6God, which is full of water; thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it.
5 Or, after thou hadst made it to desire rain.
s Ps.68.9; 104.13,14; 46.4. Je.5.24. De.11.10,11,14. Job 37.6.
6 'The river of God' is a metaphor for 'the great river,' a river rich, and full, and perennial, like the Nile. It may also mean a copious rain. In the East the whole soil is parched and barren during the long summer, except where artificially irrigated.—P.
10 Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly; thou settlest the furrows thereof;7 thou makest it soft8 with showers; thou tblessest the springing thereof:
7 Or, thou causest rain to descend into the furrow thereof.
8 Heb. thou dissolvest it.
t 1 Co.3.6,7. Ps.147.8.
12 Theyu drop upon the pastures of the wilderness; and the little hills3 rejoice on every side.4
u Job 38.26,27. Ps.147.8.
3 'Joy girds the hills'—'The hills gird themselves with joy'—a beautiful allusion to the splendid girdles that constitute so important an article of eastern dress.—C.
4 Heb. are girded with joy, Is.35.1.
13 Thev pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.5
A.M. cir. 2987. B.C. cir. 1017.
v Is.55.9-13; xlix. lx. lxv. Je.xxxi. xxxiii.
5 This is a psalm of public thanksgiving, sung by the congregation of Israel in the courts of the new sanctuary set up by David upon Zion. The special circumstance which suggested it was probably a plenteous rainfall after a long drought.—P.
Notes
Ver. 1. Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Zion. 'Praise is silent for thee, O Lord;' silent, as if the heart of the church was too full of gratitude to find utterance; or, as an eastern servant, waiting in silence for a word or sign. C.
Ver. 3. 'Our iniquities have prevailed over us; but our trespasses thou hast covered.'—Boothroyd. An exact description of justification by grace. See Ro. 4. 6-8. C.
Ver. 4. Blessed is the man, &c. The church here describes Messiah, upon whom all gifts originally descend, Ps. 68. 18; Ep. 4. 8, and from whom they come down in rich and plenteous effusion of the Spirit showing the things of Christ. C.
Ver. 5. By terrible things. The answer to all the prayers of faith is concentred in the Father's sending his Son; and most terrible of all the works of God was the deliverance of that Son to the death for the church that he loved, Ep. 5. 25-27. And when the church prays 'Thy kingdom come,' terrible are the judgments that will respond in the coming destruction of Satan's kingdom. C.
Ver. 8. There is no people, even in the uttermost parts of the earth, so barbarous as to deny the being and power of God. God's tokens in the heavens, in the seasons, in thunder, in earthquakes, and storms, produce in the ignorant a superstitious terror, and in the most instructed and pious humble and reverential awe. C.
Reflections.—Patient expectations for God shall be succeeded with joyful praises of him in his church and ordinances. And candid vows must be followed with conscientious fulfilment. God's readiness to hear prayer should encourage every one earnestly and hopefully to address him in every case: and sense of loading guilt or prevalent lusts ought not to make us despair, but to implore, believe, and admire the pardoning and sanctifying mercy of God. Fellowship with God is our greatest happiness. And it is not our merit, but his gracious love and blessed grace, that brings us to it. Nor must it be by transient starts, but by a fixed attendance on the ordinances of his grace, as nothing but the fulness of God in Christ can satisfy our hungry souls. And however terrible the answer must be, God never disappoints the prayers or hopes of his people. Wherever they may be in the world, they have equal access to him as their trust and salvation. Everywhere in the works of nature we may discern the power, wisdom, goodness, and greatness of God. And everything we receive from mountains, from seas, from luminaries, from rains, from pastures, from fields, ought, with thankful admiration and praise, to be received as his gift. But in these let me discern, as in a figure, how he establishes his church, his ordinances, and his people. He limits, restrains, and directs their raging troubles. He enlightens by the word of his grace and the influences of his Spirit. And while Jesus, the Sun of Righteousness, rises with healing under his wings, his showers of gospel declarations and spiritual influences drop down abundantly, for the nourishment, satisfaction, and joy of the human race.