The Book of Psalms

Word Study

"hearest prayer," Hebrew shomea tefillah (שֹׁמֵעַ תְּפִלָּה). David praises God by a title rather than a deed: God is the great hearer of prayer. It is not an occasional favour but what He is, and the whole psalm rests on it.

"all flesh," kol-basar (כָּל־בָּשָׂר). "Unto thee shall all flesh come." The door is not opened to Israel only; the phrase takes in mortal humanity as a whole, weak and perishable, streaming toward the God who hears.

"purge them away," tekhapperem (תְּכַפְּרֵם), atone for, cover, wipe away. But first there is a barrier: "Iniquities prevail against me", they overpower, they win, if left to themselves. And notice who removes it: "as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away." David does not say he will make up for them; the guilt is dealt with by God's own act.

"choosest," tivchar (תִּבְחַר). Only after the sins are purged does the blessing come, and it begins with God's choice, not man's. The sinner does not barge into God's presence uninvited.

"causest to approach," teqarev (תְּקָרֵב), bring near. "Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee." Even the drawing near is God's doing; the man is not merely permitted to come, he is brought.

"dwell in thy courts," yishkon chatzerekha (יִשְׁכֹּן חֲצֵרֶיךָ). Feel the sequence: sins purged, then drawn near, then dwelling. The end of the whole movement is not a visit but a home in the courts of God.

"satisfied," nisbe'ah (נִשְׂבְּעָה). And the result is the deepest satisfaction a soul can know: "we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house." The word is of a hunger fully met, nothing left wanting.

Explanation

Watch the order of these three verses, because it is the order of the gospel itself. First comes an honest confession of an obstacle: "Iniquities prevail against me." Before David can speak of drawing near to God, he must face the thing that keeps every sinner out, sin, and he does not minimize it; it "prevails," it overpowers, it wins, if left to itself. Then comes the removal of the obstacle, and notice who does it: "as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away." He does not say "I shall make up for them" or "I shall do better"; the guilt is purged by God's own act, the word kaphar, to atone, to cover. And only after the sins are purged does the great blessing come: "Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts." Feel the sequence, sins purged, then drawn near, then dwelling. You cannot reverse it. No one approaches the holy God with his iniquities still prevailing; the guilt must be dealt with first, and God must deal with it. And mark every verb of the approach: God "choosest," God "causest to approach." The sinner does not barge into God's presence uninvited or drag himself near by his own strength; he is chosen and brought. From first to last the drawing-near is God's doing, and the result is the deepest satisfaction a soul can know, "we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house."

Gospel Focus

"As for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away... blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee", this whole movement is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, through whom our sins are purged and we are brought near to God. The purging that David trusted God to do is accomplished at the cross, for Christ "when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1:3); the word is the same, He purged them away. And the drawing-near is His work too, "now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ" (Ephesians 2:13), so that "through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father" (Ephesians 2:18). The barrier of prevailing iniquity is removed only by the blood of Jesus, and only so may the guilty "dwell in thy courts." And it is God who "chooseth" and "causeth to approach," for "no man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him" (John 6:44), and we love Him "because he first loved us" (1 John 4:19). So the blessedness of Psalm 65, drawn near to dwell with God and satisfied with the goodness of His house, is the believer's portion in Christ, who purged our sins and opened the way in. Come to the God who hears prayer; your iniquities are no barrier, for in Jesus He has purged them away and chosen to bring you near.

Word Study

"terrible things," Hebrew nora'ot (נוֹרָאוֹת), awesome deeds. Not dreadful in the sense of evil, but awe-inspiring, the works that make men stand back. God answers His people "by terrible things in righteousness", and even His awesome acts are acts of right.

"confidence," mivtach (מִבְטָח), trust, security. The word is from the same root as the psalms' constant "trust." This God is not merely feared for His power; He is the settled security men lean their weight upon.

"ends of the earth," katzvei-eretz (קַצְוֵי־אֶרֶץ). Notice the reach of His care: "the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea." Not a local, tribal deity, but the trust of the farthest peoples and the loneliest sailor on the remotest ocean.

"setteth fast the mountains," mekhin harim (מֵכִין הָרִים). The mountains are the most immovable things men know, and God is the one who set them there and holds them. His strength is not displayed only in storms but in the great steady weight of the world.

"stilleth," mashbiach (מַשְׁבִּיחַ), calms, quiets. The same hand that fixed the mountains quiets what will not stay still. Whatever this verb touches goes silent, and the next two phrases name two very different kinds of uproar it touches.

"the noise of the seas," she'on yammim (שְׁאוֹן יַמִּים). The wild, untameable roar of the ocean, the ancient symbol of everything chaotic and beyond human control. To this raging God says, thus far and no farther.

"tumult of the people," hamon le'ummim (הֲמוֹן לְאֻמִּים). And in the same breath, without a pause, the roaring nations. The two words stand side by side as the same sort of thing, so that the uproar of politics and history is no more beyond God's control than the surf on the shore.

Explanation

Do not hurry past the way verse 7 links two very different kinds of chaos and puts them both under the same hand. God, it says, "stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves", the wild, untameable roar of the ocean, the ancient symbol of everything chaotic and beyond human control, and then, without a pause, "and the tumult of the people." The Hebrew even echoes: the "noise" (she'on) of the seas and the "tumult" (hamon) of the peoples are set side by side as the same sort of thing. And that is the point: the raging of the nations, the uproar of politics and history, the surging crowds and their fury, is no more beyond God's control than the surf on the shore. The same voice that says to the breakers "thus far, and no farther" says it to the tumult of the peoples. If you have ever stood on a beach and watched the immovable calm with which God governs a storm-tossed sea, you have seen a picture of how He governs the storms of human history. And notice the reach of this God's care: He is "the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea." Not a local, tribal deity, but the trust of the farthest peoples and the loneliest sailor on the remotest ocean. From the "uttermost parts" to the daily "outgoings of the morning and evening," this is the God who both awes the distant with His mighty "tokens" and makes the sunrise and sunset "rejoice." The God who forgives (vv2-4) is the God who reigns over sea and nation alike, and He is the confidence of the whole earth.

Gospel Focus

"Which stilleth the noise of the seas... and the tumult of the people", the God who calms the ocean and the nations came in flesh in Jesus Christ, who stilled a literal storm with a word. On the Sea of Galilee, when the waves were filling the boat, "he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm" (Mark 4:39); the very power Psalm 65 ascribes to God, stilling the noise of the seas, was exercised by Jesus, so that the disciples asked, "What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" He is the answer: the LORD who reigns over sea and storm, come near. And He stills "the tumult of the people" too, for He is "the confidence of all the ends of the earth," the Saviour to whom the nations are gathered, "in his name shall the Gentiles trust" (Matthew 12:21). The raging of the peoples against Him and His anointed comes to nothing, for "he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh" (Psalm 2:4), and His kingdom cannot be shaken. So whatever storms rage, on the sea of your circumstances or in the tumult of a troubled world, the God who is "the confidence of all the ends of the earth" is Jesus Christ, and He can say to any of them, "Peace, be still." Make Him your confidence, and rest under the hand that governs the sea and the nations alike.

Word Study

"visitest," Hebrew paqadta (פָּקַדְתָּ), attend to, care for, come to. The psalm overflows into praise for the harvest, and it is all God's doing. Count the verbs: God "visitest," "waterest," "enrichest," "preparest," "settlest," "makest soft," "blessest," and "crownest the year with thy goodness." This first one is the tenderest of them; God does not water the fields from a cold distance but visits the earth like a friend coming to tend a garden.

"waterest," teshoqeqeha (תְּשֹׁקְקֶהָ). Every rain is His personal work. The harvest is not an impersonal machine of "nature" running on its own, but the hands-on work of a God intimately involved in each raindrop.

"river of God," peleg Elohim (פֶּלֶג אֱלֹהִים). The rain-swollen channel that carries the water down to the fields is called God's own river, "which is full of water." The supply never runs short, because the source is His.

"settlest the furrows," nachet gedudeha (נַחֵת גְּדוּדֶהָ). The care is detailed down to the plough-lines in a field. God attends not only to whole seasons and nations but to the ridges and furrows of the ground a farmer walks.

"makest it soft with showers," birvivim temogegennah (בִּרְבִיבִים תְּמֹגְגֶנָּה). Hard ground receives no seed, and it is God who softens it. The gentle showers that break up the crust are as much His work as the great acts that still the sea.

"crownest," ittarta (עִטַּרְתָּ). Look at the crowning image: "Thou crownest the year with thy goodness." The turning year, with its round of seasons, is pictured as a head, and God sets His goodness on it like a diadem circling the whole calendar.

"goodness," tovatekha (טוֹבָתֶךָ). This is what the crown is made of. Every year that passes wears God's goodness for a crown, and the bread on the table and the rain on the fields are the jewels in it.

"drop fatness," yir'afun dashen (יִרְעֲפוּן דָּשֶׁן). "Thy paths drop fatness." Wherever God walks, richness falls after Him; the ordinary providence of daily provision is here seen for the miracle of grace it is.

Explanation

Read this passage slowly and count the verbs, because the piling-up of them is the whole point. In these three verses God "visitest" the earth, "waterest" it, "enrichest" it, "preparest" the corn, "waterest the ridges," "settlest the furrows," "makest it soft with showers," "blessest the springing," and "crownest the year." Nine or ten active verbs, and the subject of every one is Thou, God Himself. The point is that the harvest is not an impersonal machine of "nature" running on its own; it is the hands-on work of a God who is intimately, personally involved in every raindrop and every ripening ear. The word "visitest" is especially tender, paqad means to attend to, to come and care for; God does not water the fields from a cold distance but visits the earth like a friend coming to tend a garden. And look at the crowning image: "Thou crownest the year with thy goodness." The turning year, with its round of seasons, is pictured as a head, and God sets His goodness on it like a crown, a diadem of grace circling the whole calendar. Every year that passes wears God's goodness for a crown; the bread on your table and the rain on the fields are jewels in it. This is a call to see the ordinary providence of daily provision for the miracle of grace it is, and to thank the God who does not merely set the world spinning and walk away, but visits it, waters it, and crowns each year with His goodness, so that even "thy paths drop fatness."

Gospel Focus

"Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it... thou crownest the year with thy goodness", the God who visits and provides for the earth has visited it most wonderfully in Jesus Christ, and He is the true Bread that the harvest foreshadows. Zacharias prophesied of Christ's coming with the same tender word this psalm uses, "the Lord God of Israel... hath visited and redeemed his people" (Luke 1:68); the God who "visitest the earth" with rain came in person to visit and save it in His Son. And every harvest points beyond bread to Him, for Jesus said, "I am the bread of life... which came down from heaven" (John 6:35, 51), the food that truly satisfies the soul. The God who "crownest the year with thy goodness" is the same God whose supreme goodness is "his unspeakable gift" (2 Corinthians 9:15), Christ Himself; and the harvests of the field are a standing parable of the greater harvest, "the fields... are white already to harvest" (John 4:35), the ingathering of souls. His providence still preaches His character, for He "left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness" (Acts 14:17). So receive your daily bread as a jewel in the crown God sets on the year, give thanks to the God who visits and provides, and feed your soul on Christ, the Bread of life, in whom the goodness that crowns every year is fully and forever given.