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Psalm 65

Thanksgiving for Earth’s Bounty

To the leader. A Psalm of David. A Song.

1

Praise is due to you,

O God, in Zion;

and to you shall vows be performed,

2

O you who answer prayer!

To you all flesh shall come.

3

When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,

you forgive our transgressions.

4

Happy are those whom you choose and bring near

to live in your courts.

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,

your holy temple.

 

5

By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,

O God of our salvation;

you are the hope of all the ends of the earth

and of the farthest seas.

6

By your strength you established the mountains;

you are girded with might.

7

You silence the roaring of the seas,

the roaring of their waves,

the tumult of the peoples.

8

Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;

you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.

 

9

You visit the earth and water it,

you greatly enrich it;

the river of God is full of water;

you provide the people with grain,

for so you have prepared it.

10

You water its furrows abundantly,

settling its ridges,

softening it with showers,

and blessing its growth.

11

You crown the year with your bounty;

your wagon tracks overflow with richness.

12

The pastures of the wilderness overflow,

the hills gird themselves with joy,

13

the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,

the valleys deck themselves with grain,

they shout and sing together for joy.


6. By his strength setting fast the mountains For the sake of illustration, he instances the power of God seen in the general fabric of the world. In these times it sounded as a new and strange truth to say that the Gentiles should be called to the same hope with the Jews. To prove that it was not so incredible as they were apt to conceive, the Psalmist very properly adverts to the Divine power apparent in all parts of the world. He instances the mountains rather than the plains, because the immense masses of earth, and the lofty rocks which they present, convey a more impressive idea of the Godhead. Interpreters are not agreed as to the exact meaning of the verse which follows. Some think that the mark of similitude must be supplied before the first word of the sentence, and that it is meant to be said that God stills the tumults of men when raging in their insolent attempts, as he stills the agitations of the sea. Others understand the first part of the verse to be a metaphorical declaration of what is plainly stated in the close. I would take the words simply as they stand, and consider that in the first member of the verse, David adverts to the illustration of the divine power which we have in the sea, and in the second to that which we have in his operations amongst men. His strength is shown in calming the waves and tempestuous swellings of the ocean. It is put forth also in quelling tumults which may have been raised by the people.


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