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Psalms 65

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Praise, Atonement, and Access to God 1–4

1
To the chief Musician, A Psalm and Song of David. Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed. ​
2
O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come. ​
3
Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away. ​
4
Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.

The Lord's Awesome Power Over Creation 5–8

5
By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation; who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea: ​
6
Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; being girded with power:
7
Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people. ​
8
They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.

God Provides for the Earth and Harvest 9–13

9
Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it: thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God, which is full of water: thou preparest them corn, when thou hast so provided for it. ​
10
Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof.
11
Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. ​
12
They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side.
13
The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Psalm 65

Verse 1

Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion — ‘Waiteth’ is dumiyyah, silence, the word translated ‘waiteth’ in Ps 62:1: praise stands quiet in Zion until the LORD acts. ‘Praise’ is tehillah. ‘The vow’ (neder) ‘shall be performed’ (shalam, to pay in full), the same pair as in Ps 61:8.

Verse 2

unto thee shall all flesh come — ‘Prayer’ is tephillah, and ‘all flesh’ is every living person, not only Israel. The same reach is stated of the temple: ‘mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people’ (Isa 56:7), and in Ps 86:9, ‘All nations whom thou hast made shall come and worship before thee, O Lord’.

Verse 3

as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away — ‘Iniquities’ are literally ‘words (or matters) of iniquity’, and ‘prevail’ is gabar, to be stronger than. The shift from ‘me’ to ‘our’ leads to kaphar, to cover or atone, the verb of ‘make an atonement for you’ (Lev 16:30) and ‘purge away our sins’ (Ps 79:9).

Verse 5

By terrible things in righteousness — The ‘terrible things’ are the fearful acts of the LORD, as in ‘great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen’ (Deut 10:21). The one who answers is ‘the God of our salvation’ (Ps 79:9), and his confidence reaches ‘all the ends of the earth’ and those ‘afar off upon the sea’, as Isa 45:22 invites them.

Verse 7

Which stilleth the noise of the seas — Shabach, to calm, is the verb translated ‘praise’ in Ps 63:3. The tumult of the nations is set beside the roar of the seas, as in Isa 17:12, ‘the noise of the seas’. The LORD does what Ps 89:9 says, ‘thou stillest them’, and what Christ does when he says to the sea, ‘Peace, be still’ (Mark 4:39).

Verse 9

the river of God, which is full of water — ‘River’ is peleg, a water channel, as in ‘planted by the rivers of water’ (Ps 1:3). ‘Visitest’ is paqad, and ‘preparest’ and ‘provided’ are one verb, kun, to establish. The LORD supplies the water, and from it the ‘corn’ follows as the provision he has set in order.

Verse 11

Thou crownest the year with thy goodness — ‘Crownest’ is atar, to encircle, the verb of ‘who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies’ (Ps 103:4). ‘Paths’ (ma’gal) are the tracks of Ps 23:3, and ‘fatness’ (deshen) is the word of Ps 36:8 and Ps 63:5. Joel 2:26 promises the same plenty: ‘ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied’.