Psalm Sixty Five

by Dr. Henry M. Morris

(taken from the Defender's Study Bible)

Navigate to Verse

To the chief Musician, A Psalm and Song of David.

Psalm 65:1 Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed.

Psalm 65:2 O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.

hearest prayer. It is most amazing and wonderful that the omnipotent God, seated on His heavenly throne, listens to our prayers! He can do this because the third Person of the Triune Godhead, the Holy Spirit, is present in the bodies of all believers (John 14:16-18).

Psalm 65:3 Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.

Psalm 65:4 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.

whom thou choosest. Although we may freely choose to approach God (Romans 10:13, etc.), the glorious mystery of God's election is that we then find that He had already chosen us (Ephesians 1:4; John 15:16)!

Psalm 65:5 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:

Psalm 65:6 Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; being girded with power:

Psalm 65:7 Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.

stilleth the noise of the seas. The roar of a troubled sea is analogous to the tumult of quarreling anxious nations (Luke 21:25). Only the Lord Himself can still the waves (Matthew 8:26), speak peace to the nations (Zechariah 9:10) and calm the troubled soul (Isaiah 26:3).

Psalm 65:8 They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice.

at thy tokens. The “tokens” of the Lord are the “signs” (same word) established in the heavens (Genesis 1:14), to be seen by people of all times, even in the uttermost parts of the earth, as a testimony of the Creator and His purpose in creation.

outgoings. The “outgoings” (same Hebrew word as for “goings forth” in Psalm 19:6 and Micah 5:2) of the morning refers to the life-sustaining radiations from the sun; the “outgoings” of the evening refers to the guiding lights of the moon and stars.

Psalm 65:9 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.

river of God. The “river of God” in this context refers to the remarkable machine known as the hydrologic cycle, which continually provides water for the life of the earth.

Psalm 65:10 Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof.

Psalm 65:11 Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.

Psalm 65:12 They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side.

Psalm 65:13 The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.