Psalms 65

Psalms 65:1-13

Abundant Favor from Our Gracious God Psalms 65:1-13 This joyous hymn was probably composed for use in the sanctuary at one of the great annual festivals. It deals expressly with God’ s bounty in the fertility of the earth. The Temple courts, Psalms 65:1-4 God hears our prayer, purges away our transgressions, chooses us, and causes us to approach. Let us ask Him to cause us to approach and to make us dwell in the consciousness of His presence. If iniquities prevail and transgressions shame us, there is provision for these also. God shall purge them away. For such condescending love all flesh shall ultimately come to His footstool. Terrible things, Psalms 65:5-7 Thunder tones and lightning flashes, inaccessible mountains and roaring seas-such are the darker aspects of nature. But beneath all, like a sweet refrain, we hear Him praised as the God of salvation. Make Him your confidence, by land and sea. The beauty and order of the world, Psalms 65:8-13 Brimming rivers, soft spring showers, golden harvests, the hum of the bees in mountain pastures, the call of the ewes to their lambs-all bespeak God’ s goodness. Let us ask Him to visit our hearts with the throb of springtime.

The river of God This joyous hymn was probably composed for use in the sanctuary on the occasion of one of the great annual festivals. It expressly dwells on the Divine bounty in the fertility of the earth (Leviticus 23:9-14). There is a marvelous blending of nature and grace in its entire texture, which makes it one of the most beautiful of all sacred lyrics.

There are three divisions. We are transported successively to the Courts of the Lord’s house (Psalms 65:1-4); to the shore of the sea, where rockbound coasts resist the fury of the waves (Psalms 65:5-8); and to the pasture-lands and cornfields of Canaan (Psalms 65:9-13).

Psalms 65:1. For Thee is the silence of praise is the literal reading. Such praise as is too great and deep for tumultuous expressions, and so arrests the fever of the soul. It has been said, “The most intense feeling is the most calm, being condensed by repression.”

Psalms 65:2. Unto Thee shall all flesh come! By the word flesh the Psalmist would call attention to our weakness and need as men (Genesis 9:11, Genesis 9:15; Psalms 136:25; Isaiah 40:5), each deficiency on our part pointing us to God. The more needy we are, the greater cause is there for going to God. And He answers prayer. There is no definition of the kind of prayer which He answers, because the outward expression matters nothing, if the heart speak. And wherever the heart speaks, God hears.

Psalms 65:3. Words of iniquities (marg.) This prevailing may be because they act more masterfully or because they excite deeper contrition. The Hebrew word capher translated cover implies, “To cover with the atonement.” And the pronoun, Thou, is emphatic, intimating that God, and God alone, could do this.

Psalms 65:4. Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest God hath chosen Christ and all who are one with Him (Ephesians 1:4). We need to be caused, ere we can approach or dwell (John 6:44; Galatians 4:9). But in each case God is prepared to do this by the Holy Spirit. Dwell in Thy courts. What a sacred position would this be! Why should we not seek it! “And go no more out!” (Revelation 3:12). Satisfied. Such a condition is involved in the realization of the presence of God and when we are abiding in Him. Thy holy temple. The word “temple” was applied to the Lord’s house even before Solomon’s temple was erected (1 Samuel 1:9; 2 Samuel 22:7).

Psalms 65:5. By terrible things in righteousness The terror is towards God’s foes; the answer towards his friends (2 Samuel 7:23). Ultimately all mankind shall come to acknowledge Him (Isaiah 66:16; Isaiah 66:18). Afar off upon the sea will mean not only those afloat, but those living on the seashore in distant lands.

Psalms 65:8. The morning and evening may mean dwellers in East and West or the mercies which characterize dawn and eve and which lead us to new songs and joys.

Psalms 65:9. Thou visitest the earth Every spring is like a Divine visit. The holy soul looks through second causes to the present tenses of the I am.

Psalms 65:10. Thou waterest the ridges The ridges of the plowed fields are lowered through the plenteous rains and fertilized to fatness.

Psalms 65:12-13. The hills rejoice; the pastures are clothed; the valleys are covered Let us seek an equal fertility in the life of the soul through the river of God, which is the Holy Spirit (Revelation 22:1).