Title. - This title is very similar to many we have before studied. To the Chief Musician. It is consigned to the care of the usual overseer of song. When a man does his work well, there is no use in calling in others for novelty's sake. A Psalm and Song of David, The Hebrew calls it a Shur and Mizmor, a combination of psalm and song, which may be best described by the term, "A Lyrical Poem." In this case the psalm may be said or sung, and be equally suitable. We have had two such Psalms before, Psalm 30:1-12 and 40, Psalm 48:1-14, and we have now the first of a little series of four following each other. It was meet that Psalms of pleading and longing should be followed by hymns of praise.

Subject and Divisions. - David sings of the glory of God in his church, and in the fields of nature: here is the song both of grace and providence. It may be that he intended hereby to commemorate a remarkably plentiful harvest, or to compose a harvest hymn for all ages. It appears to have been written after a violent rebellion had been quelled, Psalm 65:7, and foreign enemies had been subdued by signal victory, Psalm 65:8. It is one of the most delightful hymns in any language.

We shall view in the Psalm 65:1-4the way of approach to God, then Psalm 65:5-8 we shall see the Lord in answer to prayer performing wonders for which he is praised, and then Psalm 65:9-13 we shall sing the special harvest-song.

Hints to Preachers

Psalm 65:1. - The fitness, place, use, and power of silence in worship.

Psalm 65:1. - The limitations, advantages, and obligations of vows.

Psalm 65:2 (first clause). - The hearing and granting of prayer is the Lord's property, his usual practice, his pleasure, his nature, and his glory. - David Dickson.

Psalm 65:3. -

I. The humble confession. Sins prevail against us.

1. When we are unwatchful, or go into temptation, and even after most sacred engagements.

2. How. Through our inbred corruption, natural constitution, suddenness of temptation, neglect of means of grace, and want of fellowship.

3. In whom. In the best of men: David says, "against me." Let us take home the caution.

II. The reassuring confidence. Sin is forgiven.

1. By God: "Thou."

2. By atonement: covering all.

3.:Effectually: "purge away."

4. Comprehensively: "our transgressions."

Psalm 65:3. -

I. A cry of distress. Mansoul besieged: "Iniquities prevail against me."

II. A shout of delight. Mansoul relieved: "Thou shalt purge them away." - E.G. Gange.

Psalm 65:4. - Nearness to God is the foundation of a creature's happiness. This doctrine appears in full evidence, while we consider the three chief ingredients of true felicity, viz., the contemplation of the noblest object, to satisfy all the powers of the understanding; the love of the supreme good, to answer the utmost propensities of the will, and the sweet and everlasting sensation and assurance of the love of an Almighty Friend, who will free us from all the evils which our nature can fear, and confer upon us all the good which a wise and innocent creature can desire. Thus all the capacities of man are employed in their highest and sweetest exercises and enjoyments. - Isaac Watts.

Psalm 65:4. - Election, effectual calling, access, adoption, final perseverance, satisfaction. This verse is a body of divinity in miniature.

Psalm 65:5. - Treat the first clause experimentally, and show how prayers for our own sanctification are answered by trial; for God's glory, by our persecution; for our babes' salvation, by their death; for the good of others, by their sickness, etc., etc.

Psalm 65:7. - The Lord, the giver, creator, and preserver of peace.

Psalm 65:8. - Tokens of God's presence; those causing terror, and those inspiring joy.

Psalm 65:8 (last clause). - The peculiar joys of morning and evening.

Psalm 65:9. - "The river of God." John Bunyan's treatise on "The Water of Life" would be suggestive on this topic.

Psalm 65:9. - Divine visits and their consequences.

Psalm 65:9-13. - A Harvest Sermon.

I. The general goodness of God. Visiting the earth in rotation of seasons: "Seed time and harvest," etc.

II. The greatness of his resources: "The river of God, which is full of water;" not like Elijah's brook, which dried up.

III. The variety of his benefactions: "Corn;" "Water;" "Blessest the springing thereof," etc.

IV. The perpetuity of his blessings: "Crownest the year." - E. G. G.

Psalm 65:10. - Divine grace like rain.

I. In itself.

II. In its abundance.

III. In its effects on the heart and entire nature; falling on ridge and furrow; softening, etc.

IV. In its fruitful results. See the extract from Ralph Robinson in loc.

Psalm 65:10 (last clause). - See "Spurgeon's Sermons," No. 675: "Spring in the Heart."

Psalm 65:11. - See "Spurgeon's Sermons," No. 532: "Thanksgiving and Prayer."

Psalm 65:12 (first clause). -

I. Our dwelling place: "the wilderness."

II. Our spiritual provision: "pastures."

III. Our heavenly refreshment: "they drop."

Psalm 65:12. - Causes for joy for small churches. God remembers them, stablishes and increases them, feeds them and revives them, etc.

Psalm 65:13. - The song of nature and the ear which hears it.

Explanatory Notes and Quaint Sayings

From Psalm 65:1-13 onwards we find ourselves in the midst of a series of Psalms which, with a varying arrangement of the words, are inscribed both מזמו and שׁיר) (Psalm 65:1) The two words signify a Psalm-song, This series, as is universally the case, is arranged according to the community of, prominent watchwords. In Psalm 65:2 we read: "To thee is the vow paid;" and in Psalm 66:13 : "I will pay thee my vows;" in Psalm 66:20 : "Blessed be Elohim;" and in 67:8: "Elohim shall bless us." Besides Psalm 66 and Psalm 67:1-7 have this feature in common, that למנץ־ח, which occurs fifty-five times in the Psalter, is accompanied by the name of the poet in every instance, with the exception of these two anonymous Psalms. The frequently occurring Sela of both Psalms also indicates that they were intended to have a musical accompaniment - Franz Delitzsch.

Title

A Psalm of Jeremiah and Ezekiel. - The Psalm is assigned to them, not as being its authors, but because it is supposed that it was often rehearsed by them at the beginning of the return from captivity, to teach us that those things ought especially to be sung concerning that happy restoration which these prophets were wont to sing about. But this inscription is not in the Hebrew text, nor in some translations, but only in certain versions. Jeremiah was not carried away to Babylon; see Jeremiah 39:11, etc. Moreover, both he and Ezekiel died before the return. - Pool's Synopsis.

Whole Psalm

The author of the Psalm is mentioned, but not the date of its composition; but, from an examination of its contents, it would seem to have been intended as a song for the "day of atonement," and for the "feast of tabernacles," which followed immediately after. Numbers 29:7, Numbers 29:12. The sins of the year were then "covered over," and a thorough purification of the sanctuary was made by a special service of expiation. The labours of the year were also by that time all concluded, and its fruits secured; and Israel could look on the goodness of God towards them, through its entire extent; and this Psalm was penned to serve as a fitting expression of their feelings, It opens with a reference to the "silence" that reigned in the sanctuary; to the profound, unbroken, solemn stillness that reigned within it; while, in deep abasement, the people without waited in hushed expectation the return of their high priest from the immediate presence of God. Leviticus 16:17. It goes on to a statement of the blessedness of those who are accepted of God, and admitted to fellowship with One so unspeakably great; and concludes with a description of the various processes by which the Almighty had fitted the earth to yield a year's supplies for his people. - Dalman Hapstone in "The Ancient Psalms in appropriate Metres ... with Notes." 1867.

Whole Psalm

We have here a psalm of thanksgiving to be sung in the Temple during a public festivity, at which the sacrifices were to be offered which had been vowed during a long and protracted drought (Psalm 65:1-2). To the thanksgiving, however, for a gracious rain, and the hope of an abundant harvest (verses 9-14), is added gratitude for a signal deliverance during a time of distress and commotion affecting all the nations around (Psalm 65:7-8). Thus the Psalm becomes a song of praise to Jehovah as the God of history and the God of nature alike. - From the "Psalms Chronologically Arranged. By Four Friends." 1867.

Whole Psalm

This is a charming psalm. Coming after the previous sad ones, it seems like the morning after the darkness of night: There is a dewy freshness about it, and from Psalm 65:9 to the end there is a sweet succession of landscape pictures that reminds one of the loveliness of spring; and truly it is a description, in natural figures, of that happy state of men's minds which will be the result of the "Day-Spring's visiting us from on high." Luke 1:7, Luke 1:8. - O. Prescott Hiller.

Psalm 65:1

"Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion." The believer sometimes seems to want words to exalt God, and stops, as it were, in the middle; his thoughts are overmatched. Thus praise waits, or is silent for God; it is silent to other things, and it waits to be employed about him. The soul is often put to a nonplus in crying up the grace of God, and wants words to express its greatness; yea, to answer the elevation of the thoughts; the heart indites a song of praise, but it is silentium intellectus), for when the mind can rise no higher, it falls admiring; hence some say, God is most exalted with fewest words. - Alexander Carmichael.

Psalm 65:1

"Praise waiteth for thee, O God." Mercy is not yet come, we expect it: whilst thou art preparing the mercy, we are preparing the praise. - Edward Leigh in "Annotations on the Five Poetical Books of the Old Testament." 1657.

Psalm 65:1

"Praise waiteth on thee." As a servant, whose duty it is to do what thou commandest; or, for thee; is ready to be offered in thy courts for special favours. I think there is an allusion to the dally service in which God was praised. - Benjamin Boothroyd.

Psalm 65:1

"Praise Waiteth for thee, O God," Te decet hymnus, so the vulgar edition reads this place. To thee, O Lord, belong our hymns, our psalms, our praises, our cheerful acclamations, and conformable to that, we translate it, "Praise waiteth for thee, O God." But if we take it according to the original, it must be tibi silentium laus est, Thy praise, O Lord, consists in silence. That man praises God best that says least of him; of his mysterious essence, of his unrevealed will and secret purposes. - Abraham Wright.

Psalm 65:1

"To thee is silence and praise." - Piscator.

Psalm 65:1

"The Hebrew may be rendered, Praise is silent for thee." As if the holy man had said, "Lord," I quietly wait for a time to praise thee; my soul is not in an uproar because thou stayest. I am not murmuring, but rather stringing my harp and tuning my instrument with much patience and confidence, that I may be ready to strike up when the joyful news of my deliverance come. - William Gurnall.

Psalm 65:1

"To thee belongeth silence-praise." Praise without any tumult. (Alexander.) It has been said, "The most intense feeling is the most calm, being condensed by repression." And Hooker says of prayer, "The very silence which our unworthiness putteth us unto doth itself make request for us, and that in the confidence of his grace. Looking inward, we are stricken dumb; looking upward, we speak and prevail." Horsley renders it, "Upon thee is the repose of prayer.". - Andrew A. Bonar.

Psalm 65:1

"Praise is silent for thee." The Chaldee interpretation is, that our praise is not sufficiently worthy that we should praise God. The very praises of angels are esteemed as nothing before him. For so its rendering is "Before thee, O God, whose Majesty dwells in Zion, the praise of angels is regarded as silence." Jerome's version here is, "To thee silence is praise, O God, in Zion." Atheneus says, silence is a divine thing; and Thomas Kempis calls silence the nutriment of devotion. - Thomas Le Blanc.

Psalm 65:1

"To thee belong submission, praise, O God, in Sion." [Version of the American Bible Union.] Thou hast a claim for submission in times of sorrow, for praise in seasons of joy. - Thomas J. Conant, in "The Psalms ... with occasional Notes." 1871.

Psalm 65:1

"Vow." A vow is a voluntary and deliberate promise made unto God in an extraordinary case. "It is a religious promise made unto God in a holy manner:" so a modern writer defines it. It is a "holy and religious promise advisedly and freely made unto God, concerning something which to do or to omit appeareth to be grateful and well-pleasing unto him." so Bucanus. I forbear Aquinas's definition of a vow. It these which I have given satisfy not, then view it in the words of Peter Martyr, a man of repute, and well-known to our own nation in the days of Edward VI., of ever-blessed memory: "It is a holy promise, whereby we bind ourselves to offer somewhat unto God." There is one more who defines it, and he is a man whose judgment, learning, and holiness hath perfumed his name; it is learned Perkins, in his "Cases of Conscience." "A vow," saith he, "is a promise made unto God of things lawful and possible." - Henry Hurst in The Morning Exercises. ( - 1690)

Psalm 65:1 (last clause)

The reference here is to the vows or promises which the people had made in view of the manifested judgments of God, and the proofs of his goodness. Those vows they were now ready to carry out in expressions of praise. - Albert Barnes.

Psalm 65:2

"O thou that hearest prayer," etc. This is one of his titles of honour, he is a God that hears prayer; and it is as truly ascribed to him as mercy or justice. He hears all prayer, therefore, "unto thee shall all flesh come." He never rejects any that deserves the name of prayer, how weak, how unworthy soever the petitioner be. "All flesh!" And will he (may faith say) reject mine only? Rein. Psalm 10:12, "He is rich unto all that call upon him;" Psalm 86:5, "Thou art plenteous in mercy to all that call upon thee;" Hebrews 11:6. "A rewarder of them that diligently seek him." This must be believed as certainly as we believe that God is. As sure as God is the true God, so sure is it that none who sought him diligently departed from him without a reward. He rewards all seekers, for indefinita in materia necessaria aequipollet universali. And if all, why not me? You may as well doubt that he is God, as doubt that he will not reward, not hear prayer; so James 1:5, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." - David Clarkson.

Psalm 65:2

"O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come." What avails prayer, if it be not heard? But God's people need not lay it aside on that score. Our text bears two things with respect to that matter. 1. A comfortable title ascribed to God, with the unanimous consent of all the sons of Zion, who are all praying persons: "O thou that hearest prayer." He speaks to "God in Zion," or Zion's God, that is in New Testament language, to God in Christ. An absolute God thundereth on sinners from Sinai, there can be no comfortable intercourse betwixt God and them, by the law: but in Zion, from the mercy-seat, in Christ, he is the hearer of prayer; they give in their supplications, and he graciously hears them. Such faith of it they have, that praise waits there for the prayer-hearing God. 2. The effect of the savour of this title of God, spread abroad in the world: "Unto thee shall all flesh come:" not only Jews, but Gentiles. The poor Gentiles who have long in vain implored the aid of their idols, hearing and believing that God is the hearer of prayer, will flock to him, and present their petitions. They will throng in about his door, where by the gospel they understand beggars are so well served. They will "come in even unto thee," Heb. They will come in even to thy seat, thy throne of grace, even unto thyself through the Mediator. That God is the hearer of prayer, and will hear the prayers of his people, is evident from these considerations: - First. The supernatural instinct of praying that is found in all that are born of God, Galatians 4:6. It is as natural for them to fall a praying when the grace of God has touched their hearts, as for children when they are born into the world to cry, or to desire the breasts. Zechariah 12:10, compared with Acts 9:11, where in the account that is given of Paul, at his conversion, it is particularly noticed, "Behold he prayeth." Hence the whole saving change on soul comes under the character of this instinct, Jeremiah 3:4, Jeremiah 3:19. Secondly. The intercession of Christ, Romans 8:34. It is a great part of the work of Christ's intercession to present the prayers of his people before his Father, Revelation 8:4, to take their causes in hand, contained in their supplications. 1 John 2:1. Thirdly. The promise of the covenant, whereby God's faithfulness is impawned for the hearing of prayer, as Matthew 7:7 : see also Isaiah 65:24. Fourthly. The many encouragements given in the Word to the people of God, to come with their cases unto the Lord by prayer. He invites them to his throne of grace with their petitions for supply of their needs. Sol 2:14. He sends afflictions to press them to come. Hoses Sol 5:15. He gives them ground of hope of success, Psalm 1:1-6 :15, whatever extremity their case is brought to. Isaiah 41:17. He shows them that however long he may delay for their trial, yet praying and not fainting shall be successful at length. Luke 18:8. Fifthly. The gracious nature of God, with the endearing relations he stands in to his people. Exodus 22:27. He wants not power and ability to fulfil the holy desires of his people; he is gracious, and will withhold no good from them that they really need. He has the bowels of a father to; pity them, the bowels of a mother to her sucking child. He has a most tender sympathy with them in all their afflictions, the touches on them are as on the apple of his eye; and he never refuses them a request, but for their good. Rein. Exodus 8:28. Sixthly. The experiences which the saints of all ages have had of the answer of prayer. The faith of it brings them to God at conversion, as the text intimates; and they that believe cannot be disappointed. Lastly. The present ease and relief that prayer sometimes gives to the saints, while yet the full answer of prayer is not come. Psalm 138:3. - Thomas Boston (1676-1732).

Psalm 65:2

"O thou that hearest prayer." Observe 1. That God is called the hearer of prayers, since he hears, without distinction of persons, the prayers of every one poured forth with piety: not only of the Jews but also of the Gentiles: as in Acts 10:34, Acts 10:35..., It follows, therefore, as a necessary consequence, that all flesh should come to him. 2. To come to God, is not indeed simply tantamount to saying, to draw near to God, to adore, call upon, and worship him, but to come to Zion for the purpose of adoring God; for it was just now said, that God must be praised in Zion, and to this the phrase, to come to God, must be referred. On this account also אל is not used, but עד, whose proper force is right up to God, or to the place of the habitation of God to render adoration to God. - Hermann Venema.

Psalm 65:2

"To thee shall all flesh come." To Christ "all flesh comes," that is (1), every sinner and carnal man. He himself says, Matthew 9:13, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners." The Grecian priest in olden times, when approaching to receive the sacrifice, used to exclaim, Who comes there? and the reply was, 3I any and good. But God receives publicans and sinners, and inviteth them to his banquet, and eateth with them; but for the purpose of delivering them from sin. "All flesh shall see the salvation of God." (2.) All flesh may be taken for the whole flesh, the whole body; all the senses and members of the body Shall come to God that they may pay him tribute as their King. - Thomas Le Blanc.

Psalm 65:2

"All flesh." By flesh is meant man in his weakness and need. - J. J. Stewart Perowne.

Psalm 65:3

"Iniquities prevail against me." There are two ways in which iniquities may prevail against the Christian - the first is in the growing sense of his guilt, the second is in the power of their acting, This prevalence cannot be entire, for sin shall not have dominion over them; but it may be occasional and partial. There are two ways, according to Scripture, in which God purges our transgressions; and they always go together. The one is by pardoning mercy. Thus David prays "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean." Thus the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin. The other is by sanctifying grace: "I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean." And this is as much the work of God as the former. He subdues our iniquities as well as forgives them. - William Jag.

Psalm 65:3

"Iniquities." Literally, Words of iniquities, by some regarded as a pleonastic phrase for iniquities themselves. More Probably, however, the phrase means the charge or accusation of iniquity. - Joseph Addison Alexander.

Psalm 65:3

The deeds of iniquity are said to prevail against us, in so far as they are too strong and powerful for us to deny or refute, and so subject us to a demand of those penalties which the sin merits; hence there remains no other refuge than the clemency and grace of God, the Judge. See Psalm 143:2; Psalm 130:3; Psalm 4:1-8. - Hermann Venema?

Psalm 65:3

"As for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away." In the Hebrew it is, Thou shalt hide them. It alludes to the mercy-seat, which was Covered with the wings of the Cherubim; so are the Sins of the godly, when repented of, covered with the wings of mercy and favour. - Thomas Watson.

Psalm 65:3

"Thou shalt purge them away;" or "Thou coverest them." The pronoun is emphatic, as though to express the conviction that God and God alone could do this. - J. J. Stewart Perowne.

Psalm 65:3

The holy prophets, and penmen of Scripture, have no grounds of hope for pardon of sin, save those which are common to the meanest of God's people; for David, in his confession, cometh in by himself alone, aggravating his own sins most: "Iniquities prevail against me," saith he, But in hope of pardon, he joineth with the rest of God's people, Saying, "As for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away." - David Dickson.

Psalm 65:3, Psalm 65:4

Now, soul, thou art molested with many lusts that infest thee, and obstruct thy commerce with heaven; yea, thou hast complained to thy God, - what loss thou hast suffered by them; is it now presumption to expect relief from him, that he will rescue thee from them, that thou mayest serve him without fear, who is thy liege Lord? You have the saints for your precedents; who, When they have been in combat with their corruptions, yea, been foiled by them, have even then exercised their faith on God; and expected the ruin of those enemies, which, for the present, have overrun them. "Iniquities prevail against me;" he means his own sins; but see his faith; at the same time that they prevailed over him, he beholds God destroying them, as appears in the very next words, "As for our transgressions, thou shalt purge theme away." See here, poor Christian, who thinkest that thou shalt never get above deck, holy David has a faith, not only for himself, but also for all believers, of whose number I suppose thee one. And mark the ground he hath for this his confidence, taken from God's choosing act: "Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts." As if he had said, Surely he will not let them be under the power of sin, or in want of his gracious succour, whom he sets so near himself. This is Christ's own argument against Satan, in the behalf of his people. "The Lord said unto Satan, the Lord rebuke thee." Zechariah 3:2. - William Gurnall.

Psalm 65:4

"Blessed is the man whom thou choosest." The benedictions of the Psalter advance in spirituality and indicate a growth. The first blessed the godly reader of the word. Psalm 1:1. The second described the pardoned child. Psalm 32:1. The third pronounced a blessing upon faith. Psalm 34:8 and Psalm 40:4. The fourth commended the active and generous believer, abundant in deeds of charity (Psalm 41:1); and this last, mounting to the fountain head of all benediction, blesses the elect of God. - C. H. S.

Psalm 65:4

"The man whom thou choosest." Christ, whom God chose, and of whom he said, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased," is, indeed, "over all, God blessed for ever;" but in him his elect are blessed too. For his sake, not for our own, are we chosen; in him, not in ourselves, are we received by God, being accepted in the Beloved; and, therefore, in him are we blessed: he is our blessing. With that High Priest who has ascended into the holy place and entered within the vail, we enter into the house of God; we learn to dwell therein; we are filled with its spiritual joys; we partake of its holy mysteries and sacraments of grace and love. - From "A Plain Commentary on the Book of Psalms," 1859.

1 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.

Psalm 65:1

"Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion." Though Babylon adores Antichrist, Zion remains faithful to her King; to him, and to him only, she brings her perpetual oblation of worship. Those who have seen in Zion the blood of sprinkling, and know themselves to belong to the church of the firstborn, can never think of her without presenting humble praise to Zion's God; his mercies are too numerous and precious to be forgotten. The praises of the saints wait for a signal from the divine Lord, and when he shows his face they burst forth at once. Like a company of musicians gathered to welcome and honour a prince, who wait till he makes his appearance, so do we reserve our best praises till the Lord reveals himself in the assembly of his saints; and, indeed, till he shall descend from heaven in the day of his appearing. Praise also waits like a servant or courtier in the royal halls - gratitude is humble and obedient. Praise attends the Lord's pleasure, and continues to bless him, whether he shows tokens of present favour or no; she is not soon wearied, but all through the night she sings on in sure hope that the morning cometh. We shall continue to wait on, tuning our harps, amid the tears of earth; but O what harmonies will those be which we will pour forth, when the home-bringing is come, and the King shall appear in his glory. The passage may be rendered "praise is silent for thee;" it is calm, peaceful, and ready to adore thee in quietness. Or, it may mean, our praise is but silence compared with thy deservings, O God. Or, in solemn silence we worship thee, because our praise cannot be uttered; accept, therefore, our silence as praise. Or, we are so engrossed in thy praise, that to all other things we are dumb; we have no tongue for anything but thee. Perhaps the poet best expressed the thought of the Psalmist when he said -

"A sacred reverence checks our songs,

And praise sits silent on our tongues."

Certainly, when the soul is most filled with adoring awe, she is least content with her own expressions, and feels most deeply how inadequate are all mortal songs to proclaim the divine goodness. A church, bowed into silent adoration by a profound sense of divine mercy, would certainly offer more real praise than the sweetest voices aided by pipes and strings; yet, vocal music is not to be neglected, for this sacred hymn was meant to be sung. It is well before singing to have the soul placed in a waiting attitude, and to be humbly conscious that our best praise is but silence compared with Jehovah's glory.

"And unto thee shall the vow be performed." Perhaps a special vow made during a season of drought and political danger. Nations and churches must be honest and prompt in redeeming their promises to the Lord, who cannot be mocked with impunity. So, too, must individuals. We are not to forget our vows, or to redeem them to be seen of men - unto God alone must they be performed, with a single eye to his acceptance. Believers are all under covenant, which they made at conversion, and have renewed upon being baptised, joining the church, and coming to the table, and some of them are under special pledges which they entered into under peculiar circumstances; these are to be piously and punctually fulfilled. We ought to be very deliberate in promising, and very punctilious in performing. A vow unkept will burn the conscience like a hot iron. Vows of service, of donation, of praise, or whatever they may be, are no trifles; and in the day of grateful praise they should, without fail, be fulfilled to the utmost of our power.

Psalm 65:2

"O thou that hearest prayer." This is thy name, thy nature, thy glory. God not only has heard, but is now hearing prayer, and always must hear prayer, since he is an immutable being, and never changes in his attributes. What a delightful title for the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christi Every right and sincere prayer is as surely heard as it is offered. Here the Psalmist brings in the personal pronoun "thou," and we beg the reader to notice how often "thou, thee," and "thy," occur in this hymn; David evidently believed in a personal God, and did not adore a mere idea or abstraction. "Unto thee shall all flesh come." This shall encourage men of all nations to become suppliants to the one and only God, who proves his Deity by answering those who seek his face. Flesh they are, and therefore weak; frail and sinful, they need to pray; and thou art such a God as they need, for thou art touched with compassion, and dost condescend to hear the cries of poor flesh and blood. Many come to thee now in humble faith, and are filled with good, but more shall be drawn to thee by the attractiveness of thy love, and at length the whole earth shall bow at thy feet. To come to God is the life of true religion; we come weeping in conversion, hoping in supplication, rejoicing in praise, and delighting in service. False gods must in due time lose their deluded votaries, for man when enlightened will not be longer be fooled; but each one who tries the true God is encouraged by his own success to persuade others also, and so the kingdom of God comes to men, and men come to it.

Psalm 65:3

"Iniquities prevail against me." Others accuse and slander me, and in addition my own sins rise up and would beset me to my confusion, were it not for the remembrance of the atonement which covers every one of my iniquities. Our sins would, but for grace, prevail against us in the court of divine justice, in the court of conscience, and in the battle of life. Unhappy is the man who despises these enemies, and worse still is he who counts them his friends! He is best instructed who knows their deadly power, and flees for refuge to him who pardons iniquity. "As for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away." Thou dost cover them all, for thou hast provided a covering propitiation, a mercy-seat which wholly covers thy law. Note the word "our," the faith of the one penitent who speaks for himself in the first clause, here embraces all the faithful in Zion; and he is so persuaded of the largeness of forgiving love that he leads all the saints to sing of the blessing. What a comfort that iniquities which prevail against us, do not prevail against God. They would keep us away from God, but he sweeps them away from before himself and us; they are too strong for us, but not for our Redeemer, who is mighty, yea, and almighty to save. It is worthy of note that as the priest washed in the laver before he sacrificed, so David leads us to obtain purification from sin before we enter upon the service of song. When we have washed our robes and made them white in his blood, then shall we acceptably sing, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain."

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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.

Psalm 65:5

"By terrible things in righteousness wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation." God's memorial is that he hears prayer, and his glory is that he answers it in a manner fitted to inspire awe in the hearts of his people. The saints, in the commencement of the Psalm, offered praise in reverential silence; and now, in the like awe-stricken spirit, they receive answers to their prayers. The direct allusion here is, no doubt, to the Lord's overthrow of the enemies of his people in ways calculated to strike terror into all beholders; his judgments in their severe righteousness were calculated to excite fear both among friends and foes. Who would not fear a God whose blows are so crushing? We do not always know what we are asking for when we pray; when the answer comes, the veritable answer, it is possible that we may be terrified by it. We seek sanctification, and trial will be the reply: we ask for more faith, and more affliction is the result: we pray for the spread of the gospel, and persecution scatters Us. Nevertheless, it is good to ask on, for nothing which the Lord grants in his love can do us any harm. Terrible things will turn out to be blessed things after all, when they come in answer to prayer.

See in this verse how righteousness and salvation are united, the terrible things with the gracious answers. Where but in Jesus could they be blended? The God who saves may answer our prayers in a way which puts unbelief into a flutter; but when faith spies the Saviour, she remembers that "things are not what they seem," and she is of good courage. He who is terrible is also our refuge from terror when we see him in the Well-beloved. "Who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth." The dwellers in the far-off isles trust in God; those most remote from Zion yet confide in the ever living Jehovah. Even those who dwell in countries, frozen or torrid, where nature puts on her varied terrors, and those who see dread wonders on the deep, yet fly from the terrors of God and place their confidence in the God of terrors. His arm is strong to smite, but also strong to save. "And of them that are afar off upon the sea." Both elements have their elect bands of believers. If the land gave Moses elders, the sea gave Jesus apostles. Noah, when all was ocean, was as calm with God as Abraham in his tent. All men are equally dependent upon God: the seafaring man is usually most conscious of this, but in reality he is not more so than the husbandman, nor the husbandman than anyone else. There is no room for self-confidence on land or sea, since God is the only true confidence of men on earth or ocean. Faith is a plant of universal growth, it is a tree of life on shore and a plant of renown at sea; and, blessed be God, those Who exercise faith in him anywhere shall find that he is swift and strong to answer their prayers. A remembrance of this should quicken our devotions when we approach unto the Lord our God.

Psalm 65:6

"Which by his strength setteth last the mountains." He, as it were, fixed them in their sockets, and preserved them from falling by earthquake or storm. The firmest owe their stability to him. Philosophers of the forget-God school are too much engrossed with their laws of upheaval to think of the Upheaver. Their theories of volcanic action and glacier action, etc., etc., are frequently used as bolts and bars to shut the Lord out of his own world. Our poet is of another mind, and sees God's hand settling Alps and Andes on their bases, and therefore he sings in his praise. Let me for ever be just such an unphilosophic simpleton as David was, for he was nearer akin to Solomon than any of our modern theorists. "Being girded with power." The Lord is so himself, and he therefore casts a girdle of strength around the hills, and there they stand, braced, belted, and bulwarked with his might. The poetry is such as would naturally suggest itself to one familiar with mountain scenery; power everywhere meets you, sublimity, massive grandeur, and stupendous force are all around you; and God is there, the author and source of all.

Let us learn that we poor puny ones, if we wish for true establishment, must go to the strong for strength. Without him, the everlasting hills would crumble; how much more shall all our plans, projects, and labours come to decay. Repose, O believer, where the mountains find their bases - viz., in the undiminished might of the Lord God.

Psalm 65:7

"Which stilleth the noise of the seas." His soft breath smooths the sea into a glass, and the mountainous waves into ripples. God does this. Calms are of the God of peace; it needs not that we look for a hurricane when it is said that he cometh. He walked of old in the garden in the cool of the day; he is resting even now, for his great seventh day is not yet over, and he is always "the Lord and giver of peace." Let mariners magnify the God who rules the waves. "The noise of their waves." Each separate brawler amid the riot of the storm is quieted by the divine voice. "And the tumult of the people." Nations are as difficult to rule as the sea itself, they are as fitful, treacherous, restless, and furious; they will not brook the bridle nor be restrained by laws. Canute had not a more perilous sea by the rising billows than many a king and emperor has had when the multitude have been set on mischief, and have grown weary of their lords. God alone is King of nations. The sea obeys him, and the yet more tumultuous nations are kept in check by him. Human society owes its preservation to the continued power of God: evil passions would secure its instant dissolution; envy, ambition, and cruelty would create anarchy tomorrow, if God did not prevent; whereof we have had clear proof in the various French revolutions, Glory be unto God who maintains the fabric of social order, and checks the wicked, who would fain overthrow all things. The child of God in seasons of trouble should fly at once to him who stills the seas: nothing is too hard for him.

Psalm 65:8

"They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens." Signs of God's presence are not few, nor confined to any one region. Zembla sees them as well as Zion, and Terra del Fuego as surely as the Terra Sacra. These tokens are sometimes terrible phenomena in nature - such as earthquake, pestilence, tornado, or storm; and when these are seen, even the most barbarous people tremble before God. At other times they are dread works of providences such as the overthrow of Sodom, and the destruction of Pharaoh. The rumour of these judgments travels to earth's utmost verge, and impresses all people with a fear and trembling at such a just and holy God. We bless God that we are not afraid but rejoice at his tokens: with solemn awe we are glad when we behold his mighty acts. We fear, but not with slavish fear. "Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice." East and west are made happy by God's favour to the dwellers therein. Our rising hours are bright with hope, and our evening moments mellow with thanksgiving. Whether the sun go forth or come in we bless God and rejoice in the gates of the day. When the fair morning blushes with the rosy dawn we rejoice; and when the calm evening smiles restfully we rejoice still. We do not believe that the dew weeps the death of the day; we only see jewels bequeathed by the departing day for its successor to gather up from the earth. Faith, when she sees God, rounds the day with joy. She cannot fast, because the bridegroom is with her. Night and day are alike to her, for the same God made them and blessed them. She would have no rejoicing if God did not make her glad; but, blessed be his name, he never ceases to make joy for those who find their joy in him.

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.

Psalm 65:9

"Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it." God's visits leave a blessing behind; this is more than can be said of every visitor. When the Lord goes on visitations of mercy, he has abundance of necessary things for all his needy creatures. He is represented here as going round the earth, as a gardener surveys his garden, and as giving water to every plant that requires it, and that not in small quantities, but until the earth is drenched and soaked with a rich supply of refreshment. O Lord, in this manner visit thy church, and my poor, parched, and withering piety. Make thy grace to overflow towards my graces; water me, for no plant of thy garden needs it more.

"My stock lies dead, and no increase

Doth my dull husbandry improve;

O let thy graces without cease

Drop from above."

"Thou greatly enrichest it." Millions of money could not so much enrich mankind as the showers do. The soil is made rich by the rain, and then yields its riches to man; but God is the first giver of all. How truly rich are those who are enriched with grace; this is great riches. "With the river of God, which is full of water." The brooks of earth are soon dried up, and all human resources, being finite, are liable to failure; but God's provision for the supply of rain is inexhaustible; there is no bottom or shore to his river. The deluge poured from the clouds yesterday may be succeeded by another tomorrow, and yet the waters above the firmament shall not fail. How true is this in the realm of grace; there "the river of God is full of water," and "of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace." The ancients in their fables spake of Pactolus, which flowed over sands of gold; but this river of God, which flows above and from which the rain is poured, is far more enriching; for, after all, the wealth of men lies mainly in the harvest of their fields, without which even gold would be of no value whatever. "Thou preparest them corn." Corn is specially set apart to be the food of man. In its various species it is a divine provision for the nutriment of our race, and is truly called the staff of life. We hear in commerce of "prepared corn-flour" but God prepared it long before man touched it. As surely as the manna was prepared of God for the tribes, so certainly is corn made and sent by God for our daily use. What is the difference whether we gather wheat-ears or manna, and what matters it if the first comes upward to us and the second downward? God is as much present beneath as above; it is as great a marvel that food should rise out of the dust, as that it should fall from the skies. "When thou hast so provided for it." When all is prepared to produce corn, the Lord puts the finishing stroke, and the grain is forthcoming; not even, when all the material is prepared, will the wheat be perfected without the continuous and perfecting operation of the Most High. Blessed be the Great Householder; he does not suffer the harvest to fail, he supplies the teeming myriads of earth with bread enough from year to year. Even thus does he vouchsafe heavenly food to his redeemed ones: "He hath given meat unto them that fear him; he is ever mindful of his covenant."

Psalm 65:10

"Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof." Ridge and furrow are drenched. The ridges beaten down and settled, and the furrows made to stand like gutters flooded to the full. "Thou makest it soft with showers." The drought turned the clods into iron, but the plenteous showers dissolve and loosen the soil. "Thou blessest the springing thereof." Vegetation enlivened by the moisture leaps into rigour, the seed germinates and sends forth its green shoot, and the smell is that of a field which the Lord has blessed. All this may furnish us with a figure of the operations of the Holy Spirit in beating down high thoughts, filling our lowly desires, softening the soul, and causing every holy thing to increase and spread.

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