King James Version
Psalms 65
13 verses with commentary
O God of Our Salvation
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. waiteth: Heb. is silent
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion: and unto thee shall the vow be performed.</strong> This opening establishes Zion (Jerusalem/the temple) as the focal point of worship where Israel's corporate praise and vow-keeping occur. The phrase "praise waiteth" translates the Hebrew <em>lekha dumiyah tehillah</em> (לְךָ דֻמִיָּה תְהִלָּה), literally "to you silence praise." The word <em>dumiya...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(1) **Praise waiteth . . .**—Literally, *To thee silence praise, *which recalls Psalm 62:1 (see Note), but must be differently explained. To say, *Praise is silence to thee, *is hardly intelligible. The LXX. and Vulg. read differently, “praise is comely.” Better supply a conjunction, *To thee are quiet and praise, i.e., *submissive expectation till the deliverance come (Psalm 62:1), and then exult...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 65
Chapter Outline
God is to be praised in the kingdom of grace.(1-5)
In the kingdom of providence.(6-13)
**Verses 1-5**
All the praise the Lord receives from this earth is from Zion, being the fruit of the Spirit of Christ, and acceptable through him. Praise is silent unto thee, as wanting words to express the great goodness of God. He reveals himself upon a mercy-seat, ...
Read full commentary →O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come.</strong> This verse identifies God by His responsive character—He is the One who hears prayer—and makes a universal claim about humanity's ultimate accountability to Him. "Thou that hearest prayer" (<em>shomea tefillah</em>, שֹׁמֵעַ תְּפִלָּה) uses the active participle of <em>shama</em> (שָׁמַע), emphasizing God's ongoing, charac...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) **Unto thee shall all flesh come.**—This has usually, and most truly, been taken as prophetic of the extension of the true religion to the Gentiles. But we must not let what was, in the Divine providence, a fulfilment of the psalmist’s words, hide their intention as it was conscious to himself. The psalm shows us the exclusiveness of Hebrew belief, and, at the same time, the nobler and grander...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
PSALM 31 Psa 31:1-24. The prayer of a believer in time of deep distress. In the first part, cries for help are mingled with expressions of confidence. Then the detail of griefs engrosses his attention, till, in the assurance of strong but submissive faith, he rises to the language of unmingled joyful trust and exhorts others to like love and confidence towards God.
1. Expresses the general tone o...
Read full commentary →Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 65
Chapter Outline
God is to be praised in the kingdom of grace.(1-5)
In the kingdom of providence.(6-13)
**Verses 1-5**
All the praise the Lord receives from this earth is from Zion, being the fruit of the Spirit of Christ, and acceptable through him. Praise is silent unto thee, as wanting words to express the great goodness of God. He reveals himself upon a mercy-seat, ...
Read full commentary →Iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away. iniquities: Heb. Words, or, Matters of iniquities
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The confession 'Iniquities prevail against me' acknowledges sin's overwhelming power apart from grace. Yet the pivot 'as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away' demonstrates covenant confidence in atonement. The Hebrew 'kipper' (purge/atone) is sacrificial language, anticipating Christ's definitive purging of sins (Hebrews 1:3).
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(3) **Iniquities.**—Literally, *Words *(or, *things*)* of iniquities, i.e., *details of crime, or instances of wickedness. (Comp. Psalm 35:20; Psalm 105:27; Psalm 145:5.)
**Prevail.**—Better, *have prevailed, have overcome me, been too much for me. No *doubt, though the pronoun is singular, we are to think of Israel at large here, confessing, by the mouth of the poet, its unworthiness of that Divi...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2-4. He seeks help in God's righteous government (Psa 5:8), and begs for an attentive hearing, and speedy and effectual aid. With no other help and no claim of merit, he relies solely on God's regard to His own perfections for a safe guidance and release from the snares of his enemies. On the terms "rock," &c., (compare Psa 17:2; 18:2, 50; 20:6; 23:3; 25:21).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 65
Chapter Outline
God is to be praised in the kingdom of grace.(1-5)
In the kingdom of providence.(6-13)
**Verses 1-5**
All the praise the Lord receives from this earth is from Zion, being the fruit of the Spirit of Christ, and acceptable through him. Praise is silent unto thee, as wanting words to express the great goodness of God. He reveals himself upon a mercy-seat, ...
Read full commentary →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.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>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.</strong> This verse celebrates the privilege of divine election and access to God's presence. "Blessed" (<em>ashrey</em>, אַשְׁרֵי) is the same word beginning Psalm 1—"Blessed is the man who walks not in th...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) **Blessed.**—The ellipse of the relative is common enough (see Psalm 34:8, &c), but here the antecedent is wanting as well. Perhaps we ought to read, *He whom thou choosest and bringest near shall dwell, *&c
**Courts.**—From a root meaning *to wall round; *especially applied to the open space within the outer fence of the Tabernacle, or to the different courts of the Temple (Exodus 27:9; 1King...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2-4. He seeks help in God's righteous government (Psa 5:8), and begs for an attentive hearing, and speedy and effectual aid. With no other help and no claim of merit, he relies solely on God's regard to His own perfections for a safe guidance and release from the snares of his enemies. On the terms "rock," &c., (compare Psa 17:2; 18:2, 50; 20:6; 23:3; 25:21).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 65
Chapter Outline
God is to be praised in the kingdom of grace.(1-5)
In the kingdom of providence.(6-13)
**Verses 1-5**
All the praise the Lord receives from this earth is from Zion, being the fruit of the Spirit of Christ, and acceptable through him. Praise is silent unto thee, as wanting words to express the great goodness of God. He reveals himself upon a mercy-seat, ...
Read full commentary →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:
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
God answering 'by terrible things in righteousness' reveals that divine deliverance often comes through fearsome displays of power. The phrase 'God of our salvation' identifies YHWH as deliverer. His saving acts extend to 'all the ends of the earth,' anticipating gospel's universal reach. 'Confidence of all the earth' shows creation's dependence on the Creator.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) **By terrible things.**—Rather, *wondrously, *a noun used adverbially.
**Wilt thou answer us.**—Better, *Thou dost answer us; *describing the usual course of God’s providence. The LXX. and Vulg. make it a prayer: “Hear us.”
The conviction that God, the God of Israel’s salvation or deliverance, would answer wonderfully in *righteousness, *was, of course, based on the whole experience of the Div...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
2-4. He seeks help in God's righteous government (Psa 5:8), and begs for an attentive hearing, and speedy and effectual aid. With no other help and no claim of merit, he relies solely on God's regard to His own perfections for a safe guidance and release from the snares of his enemies. On the terms "rock," &c., (compare Psa 17:2; 18:2, 50; 20:6; 23:3; 25:21).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
Chapter 65
Chapter Outline
God is to be praised in the kingdom of grace.(1-5)
In the kingdom of providence.(6-13)
**Verses 1-5**
All the praise the Lord receives from this earth is from Zion, being the fruit of the Spirit of Christ, and acceptable through him. Praise is silent unto thee, as wanting words to express the great goodness of God. He reveals himself upon a mercy-seat, ...
Read full commentary →Which by his strength setteth fast the mountains; being girded with power:
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
God establishing mountains 'by his strength' demonstrates creative power. Being 'girded with power' depicts God ready for action. Mountains, ancient symbols of permanence, owe their stability to God's word. This anticipates Christ's authority over nature, demonstrated when He rebuked winds and waves (Mark 4:39), showing that nature's Creator sustains His people.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Girded.**—We see the Divine Architect of the world, girt for his labours in the Oriental fashion (see Note, Psalm 18:32), setting the mountains firm on their bases (comp. Psalm 75:3), the poet evidently thinking at the same time how empires, as well as mountains, owe their stability to God.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-6. commit my spirit--**my life, or myself. Our Saviour used the words on the Cross [Lu 23:46], not as prophetical, but, as many pious men have done, as expressive of His unshaken confidence in God. The Psalmist rests on God's faithfulness to His promises to His people, and hence avows himself one of them, detesting all who revere objects of idolatry (compare De 32:21; 1Co 8:4).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-13**
That Almighty strength which sets fast the mountains, upholds the believer. That word which stills the stormy ocean, and speaks it into a calm, can silence our enemies. How contrary soever light and darkness are to each other, it is hard to say which is most welcome. Does the watchman wait for the morning? so does the labourer earnestly desire the shades of evening. Some unders...
Read full commentary →Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
God stilling the seas' noise parallels calming tumultuous peoples. The Hebrew 'sha'on' (roar/tumult) applies to both natural and human chaos. That God quiets both demonstrates sovereignty over creation and history. This anticipates Christ's stilling the storm (Mark 4:39) and establishes peace despite nations' rage (Psalm 2:1).
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) **Tumult.**—Here we see the literal passing into the figurative. From the raging seas the poet’s thought goes to the anarchies arising from the wild passions of men, for which in all literature the ocean has furnished metaphors. (Comp. Isaiah 17:12.) In a well-known passage, the Latin poet Virgil reverses the simile, likening the sudden calm which succeeds the storm that wrecked Æneas to the e...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**5-6. commit my spirit--**my life, or myself. Our Saviour used the words on the Cross [Lu 23:46], not as prophetical, but, as many pious men have done, as expressive of His unshaken confidence in God. The Psalmist rests on God's faithfulness to His promises to His people, and hence avows himself one of them, detesting all who revere objects of idolatry (compare De 32:21; 1Co 8:4).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-13**
That Almighty strength which sets fast the mountains, upholds the believer. That word which stills the stormy ocean, and speaks it into a calm, can silence our enemies. How contrary soever light and darkness are to each other, it is hard to say which is most welcome. Does the watchman wait for the morning? so does the labourer earnestly desire the shades of evening. Some unders...
Read full commentary →They also that dwell in the uttermost parts are afraid at thy tokens: thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice. rejoice: or, sing
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Those dwelling in earth's 'uttermost parts' fearing God's signs (tokens) shows that creation's testimony reaches all. 'Morning and evening to rejoice' indicates God's blessings span all time—dawn and dusk represent totality. This anticipates Psalm 19's teaching that creation declares God's glory universally (Psalm 19:1-4).
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **They also . . .**—Or, *So they.*
**The outgoings . . .**—A pregnant expression for the *rising of the morning and setting of the evening sun. *East and west.
**To rejoice.**—Better, *to sing for joy. *The whole earth from one utmost bound to the other is vocal with praise of the Creator and Ruler of the universe. So the morning stars sang together at the creation (Job 38:7).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**7. hast known my soul, &c.--**had regard to me in trouble.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-13**
That Almighty strength which sets fast the mountains, upholds the believer. That word which stills the stormy ocean, and speaks it into a calm, can silence our enemies. How contrary soever light and darkness are to each other, it is hard to say which is most welcome. Does the watchman wait for the morning? so does the labourer earnestly desire the shades of evening. Some unders...
Read full commentary →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. and: or, after thou hadst made it to desire rain
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
God visiting the earth depicts divine attention and care. The 'river of God' provides abundant water, ensuring grain. This combines providence (natural rainfall) with imagery of Eden's river (Genesis 2:10), anticipating the river of life (Revelation 22:1). God's preparation of grain shows comprehensive care from soil to harvest.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) **Thou visitest . . .**—Better, *Thou hast visited. *Even if there is not reference to some particular season of plenty, yet with a glance back on the memory of such. Instead of “earth,” perhaps, here, “land.”
**Waterest.**—Or, *floodest. *The river of God stands for the rain. There is a Arabic proverb, “When the river of God comes, the river Isa (in Bagdad) ceases.” The Rabbins say, *“*God ha...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**8. shut me up ... enemy--**abandon to (1Sa 23:11).
**large room--**place of safety (compare Psa 18:19).
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-13**
That Almighty strength which sets fast the mountains, upholds the believer. That word which stills the stormy ocean, and speaks it into a calm, can silence our enemies. How contrary soever light and darkness are to each other, it is hard to say which is most welcome. Does the watchman wait for the morning? so does the labourer earnestly desire the shades of evening. Some unders...
Read full commentary →Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly: thou settlest the furrows thereof: thou makest it soft with showers: thou blessest the springing thereof. settlest: or, causest rain to descend into makest: Heb. dissolvest it
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
God watering furrows abundantly and settling ridges demonstrates meticulous care for cultivation. Making earth soft with showers and blessing the springing thereof shows God governs growth's details. This providence in agriculture reveals that God's sovereignty extends to minute particulars, not merely grand events, anticipating Christ's teaching about God's care for sparrows (Matthew 10:29).
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **Thou waterest . . . settlest.**—Better, by *watering **. . .*** *settling.*
**Ridges . . . furrows.**—These terms would be better transposed since by “settling” (literally, *pressing down*) is meant the softening of the ridges of earth between the furrows. The LXX. and Vulgate have “multiply its shoots.”
**Showers.**—Literally, *multitudes *(of drops).
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9-10. mine eye, &c.--**denotes extreme weakness (compare Psa 6:7).
**grief--**mingled sorrow and indignation (Psa 6:7).
**soul and ... belly--**the whole person.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-13**
That Almighty strength which sets fast the mountains, upholds the believer. That word which stills the stormy ocean, and speaks it into a calm, can silence our enemies. How contrary soever light and darkness are to each other, it is hard to say which is most welcome. Does the watchman wait for the morning? so does the labourer earnestly desire the shades of evening. Some unders...
Read full commentary →Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness. with: Heb. of
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.</strong> This verse celebrates God's agricultural provision, viewing the agricultural year as crowned with divine generosity. "Thou crownest" (<em>itarta</em>, עִטַּרְתָּ) uses the verb <em>atar</em> (עָטַר), meaning to crown, encircle, surround. The imagery suggests the year as a circle completed by harvest, with God's ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **Thou crownest.**—Better, *hast crowned. *We generally connect the idea of *completion *with this metaphor, but the original thought in the Hebrew word, as in the Greek στέφω***, ***is probably to *encompass. *Comp. the Latin *corono *in *Lucretius, *2:802—
“Sylva coronat aquas ingens nemus omne.”
All “the circle of the golden year” had been attended by Divine goodness. The meaning seems to ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**9-10. mine eye, &c.--**denotes extreme weakness (compare Psa 6:7).
**grief--**mingled sorrow and indignation (Psa 6:7).
**soul and ... belly--**the whole person.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-13**
That Almighty strength which sets fast the mountains, upholds the believer. That word which stills the stormy ocean, and speaks it into a calm, can silence our enemies. How contrary soever light and darkness are to each other, it is hard to say which is most welcome. Does the watchman wait for the morning? so does the labourer earnestly desire the shades of evening. Some unders...
Read full commentary →They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness: and the little hills rejoice on every side. rejoice: Heb. are girded with joy
View commentary (4 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The year being crowned with God's 'goodness' depicts harvest as divine coronation of time. 'Thy paths drop fatness' indicates that wherever God's providence moves, abundance follows. This language of path and fatness anticipates the good Shepherd leading beside still waters (Psalm 23:2), showing God's paths always lead to provision.
Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(12) **They drop upon.**—Supply “fatness” from the last verse.
**And the** **little hills.**—See margin. The freshness and beauty of plant life, which suddenly, as by a miracle, in Eastern lands clothes the hill-sides, resembles a fair mantle thrown round their shoulders, as if to deck them for some festival.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by P...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**11. among--**or, literally, "from," or, "by" my enemies. The latter clauses describe the progress of his disgrace to the lowest degree, till,
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-13**
That Almighty strength which sets fast the mountains, upholds the believer. That word which stills the stormy ocean, and speaks it into a calm, can silence our enemies. How contrary soever light and darkness are to each other, it is hard to say which is most welcome. Does the watchman wait for the morning? so does the labourer earnestly desire the shades of evening. Some unders...
Read full commentary →The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Pastures 'clothed' with flocks and valleys 'covered' with corn depicts creation adorned in productivity. The final image of creation shouting and singing demonstrates that nature itself praises God through fulfilling its purpose. This anticipates Romans 8:19-22 where creation groans awaiting redemption, and Psalm 96:11-12 where trees and fields rejoice.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
12. he is forgotten as one dead, and contemned as a useless broken vessel.
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
**Verses 6-13**
That Almighty strength which sets fast the mountains, upholds the believer. That word which stills the stormy ocean, and speaks it into a calm, can silence our enemies. How contrary soever light and darkness are to each other, it is hard to say which is most welcome. Does the watchman wait for the morning? so does the labourer earnestly desire the shades of evening. Some unders...
Read full commentary →