Chapter Sixty-Five

The writer of the psalm invites all peoples to render praise to God, who has manifested His power in extraordinary deeds (Ps 65:2-3). After enumerating examples of God’s guidance of the Hebrews from their exodus from Egypt, the writer dwells on describing the present calamity (Ps 65:10-12) from which the Lord delivered His people through the prayer of the psalm writer (Ps 65:18-19). All peoples saw this deliverance and it should fill them too with a sense of awe before God. Such content of the psalm applies most to the time of King Hezekiah, when the Lord destroyed the army of Sennacherib under the walls of Jerusalem through his prayer. The destruction of his army was also a relief for all the peoples of Asia Minor, since the military campaigns of this king had brought under his power almost all the tribes of the East, and the sad end of his campaign against Jerusalem could not fail to fill them with a sense of grateful admiration before the Savior.

All peoples should praise God at the sight of His deeds (1–5). He wondrously helped the Hebrews in their past history (6–7)—and now, although He has sent them a powerful enemy, He has not deprived them of freedom (8–12). I have brought God abundant sacrifices and through my pure prayer He sent mercy by delivering me from the enemy (14–20).

Psalm 65:1. Shout joyfully to God, all the earth. “Shout joyfully to God, all the earth.” By “earth” are meant not the products of the earth, not physical nature, but its—conscious inhabitants, people.

Psalm 65:3. Say to God: “How awesome are You in Your deeds! By the greatness of Your power, Your enemies will submit to You. “By the greatness of Your power, Your enemies will submit to You.” The subjection and submission of enemies to the Lord depends on the fact that He has “greatness” of power; all-mightiness is in His hands, and therefore no one from among men is able to resist Him.

Psalm 65:5. Come and see the works of God, awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men. To worship and render praise to God are invited “all peoples”—that is, even gentiles. The latter could determine the degree of God’s greatness and His almightiness not through His spiritual and gracious influence on the Hebrew and the Hebrew people, since such influence, touching the inner side of a person’s life, may be both unknown and inarticulate for the unbeliever, but they judged from external facts demonstrating His indestructible power. Therefore the “awesome” deeds of the Lord first of all attracted the attention of the pagan. Such awesome deeds fill the history of the Hebrew people, both in the past, when the Lord wondrously showed His protection in what seemed inevitable destruction—for example, at the exodus from Egypt—and now in the destruction of the army of the Assyrians.

Psalm 65:7. You rule by Your power forever; Your eyes keep watch on the nations—let not the rebellious rise up against You. The Lord is eternal, and eternal and unshakeable is the power of His dominion over all peoples.

Psalm 65:10. You have tested us, O God; You have refined us, as silver is refined. Psalm 65:11. You brought us into the net; You placed shackles on our loins, Psalm 65:12. You set a ruler over us. We went through fire and water, and You brought us out to a place of abundance. A figurative description of the recent siege of Jerusalem by the Assyrians, when the Hebrews were in “fire” (an image of the force of calamities) and in “water” (a symbol of the abundance of calamities), but from all of them the Lord delivered them.

Psalm 65:17. I have cried out to Him with my mouth; His praise is on my tongue. The prayer pronounced by Hezekiah in the temple before the Lord was a confession of His greatness and truthfulness (2 Sam 19:15-19).

Psalm 65:18. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have heard me. Hezekiah’s prayer was heard by the Lord because there was no “iniquity” in his heart; it was a sincere outpouring of his faith and pure feeling.