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title: "Clarke"
description: "The title, \"To the chief Musician or conqueror, a Psalm and Song of David.\" So the Hebrew; and, in effect, the Chaldee, AEthiopic, and best copies of the"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/clarkes-commentary/psalms/65"
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The *title*, "To the chief Musician or conqueror, a Psalm and Song of David." So the *Hebrew*; and, in effect, the *Chaldee, AEthiopic*, and best copies of the *Septuagint*. The *Arabic* has, "A Psalm of David concerning the transmigration of the people."
The *Vulgate* is singular: "A Psalm of David. A hymn of Jeremiah and Ezekiel for the people of the transmigration, when they began to go out," from Babylon, understood. This title is of no authority; it neither accords with the *subject* of the Psalm, nor with the *truth of history*. *Calmet* has very properly remarked that *Jeremiah* and *Ezekiel* were never found together, to compose this Psalm, neither *before, at*, nor *after* the captivity. It should therefore be utterly rejected. In the *Complutensian* edition *Haggai* is added to *Jeremiah* and *Ezekiel*, all with equal propriety.
It is supposed to have been written after a great drought, when God had sent a plentiful rain on the land. I rather think that there was no direct drought or rain in the prophet's view, but a celebration of the praises of God for his giving rain and fruitful seasons, and filling men's mouths with food, and their hearts with gladness. There is a particular providence manifested in the quantity of rain that falls upon the earth, which can neither be too much admired nor praised.
Verse [Psalms 65:1](../../../kjv/psalms/65/1). ***Praise waiteth for thee*** — Praise is *silent* or *dumb* for thee. *Thou* alone art worthy of praise; all other perfections are lost in thine; and he who considers *thee* aright can have no other subject of adoration.
***Unto thee shall the vow be performed.*** — All offerings and sacrifices should be made to thee. All human spirits are under obligation to live to and serve thee. All Jews and Christians, by circumcision and baptism, belong to thee; and they are all bound to *pay the vow* of their respective *covenants* to thee alone; and the spirit of this *vow* is, to love thee with all their powers and to serve thee with a perfect heart and willing mind, all the days of their life.

Verse [Psalms 65:2](../../../kjv/psalms/65/2). ***Unto thee shall all flesh come.*** — All *human beings* should pray to God; and from him alone the sufficient portion of human spirits is to be derived. It is supposed to be a prediction of the calling of the Gentiles to the faith of the Gospel of Christ. A minister, immensely *corpulent*, began his address to God in the pulpit with these words: "O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come!" and most unluckily laid a strong *emphasis* on ALL FLESH. The coincidence was ominous; and I need not say, the people were not edified, for the effect was ludicrous. I mention this fact, which fell under my own notice, to warn those who minister in righteousness to avoid expressions which may be capable, from a similar circumstance, of a ludicrous application. I have known many good men who, to their no small grief, have been encumbered with a preternatural load of muscles; an evil to be deprecated and deplored.

Verse [Psalms 65:3](../../../kjv/psalms/65/3). ***Iniquities prevail against me*** — This is no just rendering of the original, דברי עונת גברו מני *dibrey avonoth* *gaberu menni*; "iniquitous words have prevailed against me," or, "The words of iniquity are strong against me." All kinds of calumnies, lies, and slanders have been propagated, to shake my confidence, and ruin my credit.
***Our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.*** — Whatsoever offences we have committed against thee, thou wilt pardon; תכפרם *tecapperem*, thou wilt make *atonement* for them, when with hearty repentance and true faith we turn unto thee. This verse has been abused to favour Antinomian licentiousness. The true and correct translation of the former clause will prevent this.
The old Scottish Version of this verse, in their *singing Psalms*, is most execrable: -
"Iniquities, I must confess,
Prevail against me do:
And as for our trans-gres-si-ons
Them purge away wilt thou."

O David, if thou art capable of hearing such abominable doggerel substituted for the nervous words thou didst compose by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, what must thou feel, if chagrin can affect the inhabitants of heaven!

Verse [Psalms 65:4](../../../kjv/psalms/65/4). ***Blessed*****is the man whom*****thou choosest*** — This is spoken in reference to the *priests* who were *chosen of God* to minister at the tabernacle; and who were permitted to *approach, draw nigh*, to the Divine Majesty by the various offerings and sacrifices which they presented.
***We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house*** — Though *we* are not priests, and have not the great felicity to minister before thee in holy things; yet *we* can worship at thy temple, feel the outpouring of thy Spirit, and be made happy with the blessings which thou dispensest there to thy true worshippers.

Verse [Psalms 65:5](../../../kjv/psalms/65/5). By ***terrible things in righteousness*** — The *Vulgate* joins this clause to the preceding verse: "Thy holy temple is wonderful in righteousness: thou wilt hear us, O God of our salvation." But the psalmist may refer to those wonderful displays of God's providence in the change of seasons, and fertilization of the earth; and, consequently, in the sustenance of all animal beings.
***The confidence of all the ends of the earth*** — Thou art the hope of thy people scattered through different parts of the world, and through the isles of the sea. This passage is also understood of the vocation of the Gentiles.

Verse [Psalms 65:6](../../../kjv/psalms/65/6). ***Setteth fast the mountains*** — It is by thy strength they have been raised, and by thy power they are girded about or preserved. He represents the mountains as being formed and pitched into their proper places by the mighty hand of God; and shows that they are preserved from splitting, falling down, or mouldering away, as it were, by a girdle by which they are surrounded. The image is very fine. They were hooped about by the Divine power.

Verse [Psalms 65:7](../../../kjv/psalms/65/7). ***Stilleth the noise of the seas*** — Thou art Sovereign over all the operation of sea and land. Earthquakes are under thy control: so are the flux and reflux of the sea; and all storms and tempests by which the great deep is agitated. Even the *headstrong* *multitude* is under thy control; for thou stillest the madness of the people.

Verse [Psalms 65:8](../../../kjv/psalms/65/8). ***Are afraid at thy tokens*** — Thunder and lightning, storms and tempests, eclipses and meteors, tornadoes and earthquakes, are proofs to all who dwell even in the remotest parts of the earth, that there is a Supreme Being who is wonderful and terrible in his acts. By these things an eternal power and Godhead become manifest even to the most barbarous. From this verse to the end of the Psalm there is a series of the finest poetic imagery in the world.
***The outgoings of the morning, &c.*** — The *rising* and *setting* sun, the morning and evening twilight, the invariable succession of day and night, are all ordained by thee, and contribute to the happiness and continuance of man and beast. Or, All that fear thee praise thee in the *morning*, when they go to their work, and in the *evening*, when they return home, for thy great goodness manifested in the continuance of their strength, and the success of their labour.

Verse [Psalms 65:9](../../../kjv/psalms/65/9). ***Thou visitest the earth*** — God is represented as going through the whole globe, and examining the wants of every part, and directing the *clouds* how and where to deposit their fertilizing showers, and the *rivers* where to direct their beneficial courses.
***The river of God*** — Some think the *Jordan* is meant; and the visiting and watering refer to rain after a long drought. But the *clouds* may be thus denominated, which properly are the origin of rivers.
***Thou preparest them corn*** — Or, Thou wilt prepare them corn, because "thou hast provided for it." Thou hast made all necessary provision for the fertilization of the earth. Thou hast endued the ground with a vegetative power. Rains, dews, and the genial heat of the sun enable it to put forth that power in providing grass for cattle, and corn for the service of man.

Verse [Psalms 65:10](../../../kjv/psalms/65/10). ***Thou waterest the ridges*** — In seedtime thou sendest that measure of rain that is necessary, in order to prepare the earth for the plough; and then, when the *ridges* are thrown into *furrows*, thou makest them *soft* with showers, so as to prepare them for the expansion of the seed, and the vegetation and developement of the embryo plant.
***Thou blessest the springing thereof.*** — Literally, *Thou wilt bless* *its germinations*- its *springing buds*. Thou watchest over the young sprouts; and it is by thy tender, wise, and provident care that the *ear* is formed; and by thy bountiful goodness that *mature* *grains* fill the *ear*; and that *one* produces *thirty, sixty*, or a *hundred* or a *thousand* fold.

Verse [Psalms 65:11](../../../kjv/psalms/65/11). ***Thou crownest the year*** — A full and *plentiful harvest* is the *crown* of the year; and this springs from the unmerited *goodness* of God. This is the *diadem* of the earth; עטרת *ittarta,* *Thou encirclest*, as with a *diadem*. A most elegant expression, to show the progress of the sun through the *twelve* signs of the zodiac, producing the seasons, and giving a sufficiency of light and heat alternately to all places on the surface of the globe, by its north and south declination (amounting to 23° 28' at the solstices) on each side of the equator. A more beautiful image could not have been chosen; and the very appearance of the *space* termed the *zodiac* on a celestial globe, shows with what propriety the idea of a *circle* or *diadem* was conceived by this inimitable poet.
***Thy paths drop fatness.*** — מעגליך *magaleycha*, "thy orbits." The various planets, which all have their revolutions within the zodiacal space, are represented as contributing their part to the general fructification of the year. Or perhaps the solar revolution through the *twelve* signs, dividing the year into *twelve* parts or months, may be here intended; the *rains* of *November* and *February*, the *frosts* and *snows* of *December* and *January*, being as necessary for the fructification of the soil, as the gentle *showers* of *spring*, the warmth of *summer*, and the *heat* and *drought* of *autumn*. The earth's diurnal rotation on its axis, its annual revolution in its orbit, and the moon's course in accompanying the earth, are all *wheels* or *orbits* of God, which drop fatness, or produce fertility in the earth.

Verse [Psalms 65:12](../../../kjv/psalms/65/12). ***The pastures of the wilderness*** — Even the places which are not cultivated have their *sufficiency of moisture*, so as to render them proper places of pasturage for cattle. The terms *wilderness* and *desert*, in the Sacred Writings, mean, in general, places *not inhabited* and *uncultivated*, though abounding with timber, bushes, and herbage.
***The little hills rejoice*** — Literally, *The hills gird themselves* *with exultation*. The metaphor appears to be taken from the frisking of lambs, bounding of kids, and dancing of shepherds and shepherdesses, in the joy-inspiring summer season.

Verse [Psalms 65:13](../../../kjv/psalms/65/13). ***The pastures are clothed with flocks*** — Cattle are seen in every plain, avenue, and vista, feeding abundantly; and the *valleys* are *clothed*, and wave with the richest *harvests*; and transports of joy are heard every where in the cheerful songs of the peasantry, the singing of the birds, the neighing of the horse, the lowing of the ox, and the bleating of the sheep. Claudian uses the same image: -
This is wholly a poem of thanksgiving; and teaches us *how*, and for *what*, we are to praise God. 1. For *spiritual*; 2. For *temporal* blessings; and, 3. This *publicly; in Zion*- in his *Church*.
It has *two* general parts: -
I. Praise to God for his blessings to his followers, [Psalms 65:1-5](../../../kjv/psalms/65/1-5).
II. His common benefits to all mankind, [Psalms 65:6-13](../../../kjv/psalms/65/6-13).
I. He sets forth God's grace to his followers of which he reckons several particulars: -
1. He has established a public ministry among them, and *an* *atoning sacrifice*.
2. He directs and hears their prayers; and to him by sacrifice, prayer, and praise, may all human beings come.
3. Though evil tongues may prevail against them for a time, yet he will deliver them.
4. The *transgressions* committed against him he will accept an *atonement for*, and *pardon*, [Psalms 65:1-4](../../../kjv/psalms/65/1-4). See the notes.
5. All that truly worship him in his ordinances shall be made partakers of spiritual blessedness: "We shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house," [Psalms 65:4](../../../kjv/psalms/65/4).
6. He works powerfully and terribly, but righteously, in behalf of his followers, against their enemies: "By terrible things in righteousness," [Psalms 65:5](../../../kjv/psalms/65/5). 1. He *answers* them when they call. 2. By *terrible* things, - as in *Egypt*, the *wilderness*, c. 3. And the *motive* to it is, his *justice* or *righteousness*, by which he punishes his enemies, and gives retribution to his people.
All this he concludes with a double *eulogy* of God:
1. Showing what he is *peculiarly* to his people: "O God of our salvation."
2. What he is to ALL "the confidence of all the ends of the earth," for he sustains all, be they where they may.
II. He descends from his *peculiar providence*, - the care he takes of, and the benefits he bestows on, his *Church*, - to his *general* *providence*, his ordering and sustaining the *whole world*; which he amplifies: -
1. "By his strength he setteth fast the mountains," c., which is true literally: but, *tropologically*, it may mean *kingdoms* and *states*.
2. He stilleth the noise of the sea, - and of the waves, - for to them he sets bounds: "And the tumult of the people." He stills devils, tyrants, armies, seditions, &c.
3. He does this so, that even those who are in the *uttermost* *parts of the sea* are afraid at his tokens. They see from the phenomena of nature how powerful and fearful God is.
4. The *sun, moon, planets*, and *stars* are under his guidance. *Day* and *night* are ordered by him: "Thou makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice."
5. The earth and its inhabitants are his peculiar care: "Thou visitest the earth," &c., [Psalms 65:9-11](../../../kjv/psalms/65/9-11).
In all which the prophet shoves God's mercy, 1. In the *rain*. 2. In the *rivers*. 3. In the *growing of the corn*. 4. In *providing* *grass for cattle*. 5. In providing *store* in the *summer* and *autumn*. 6. His *clouds* drop fatness upon the earth, and all nature rejoices. The meaning of all is, Man may plough, sow, dig, manure, prune, watch, fence, &c. but it is God that gives the increase.
For an account of the *imagery* here employed, see the notes. The Psalm is grand beyond description, and can never be sufficiently admired.

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