Psalms 65:1

1 To victory, the psalm of the song of David. God, praising becometh thee in Zion; and a vow shall be yielded to thee in Jerusalem. (God, praises be due to thee in Zion; and our vows shall be paid to thee in Jerusalem.)

Psalms 65:1 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 65:1

Praise waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion
Who dwells in Sion, as Jarchi interprets it; and so the Targum; whose Shechinah, or glorious Majesty, is in Sion; see ( Psalms 76:2 ) ; or else Sion, which designs no other than the church of God, and which is so called under the Gospel dispensation, ( Hebrews 12:22 ) ( Revelation 14:1 ) ; is the place where "praise" waits for God, that being the city of our solemnities, as well as the city of the great King; and not only a house of prayer, but of praise, where the sacrifices, both of prayer and praise, are offered to God through Christ with acceptance: and praise may be said to "wait" for him here, because it is "due" to him here, as some render it, on account of many blessings and privileges of grace here enjoyed, through the word and ordinances; and because the people of God wait upon him here with their tribute of praise, which is comely in them to bring, and is "agreeable" and acceptable to him; and because it "remains", abides, and continues here; or, in other words, the saints are continually praising the Lord here, giving thanks to him always for all things, ( Psalms 84:4 ) ( Ephesians 5:20 ) ; some render the words "praise [is] silent for thee" ^F5; because there is no end of it, as Jarchi observes; or, because of the greatness of the works of the Lord, praise cannot reach him, as Ben Melech expresses it. The greatest shouts, and loudest acclamations of praise, are but silence in comparison of what ought, if it could be expressed, on account of the nature, perfections, and works of God. The Targum is,

``before thee praise is reputed as silence.''

In the king of Spain's Bible it is,

``the praise of angels is reputed before thee as silence;''

perhaps it may be best rendered, "[to] thee [belong]", or "[are due], silence [and] praise" ^F6: there ought to be first a silent and quiet waiting upon God for mercies wanted, and which he has promised to give; and, when they are bestowed, praise should be rendered unto him. Gussetius ^F7 gives the sense of the words, and renders them,

``praise, which is thine image, which bears a likeness to thee shall be paid in Sion;''

and unto thee shall the vow be performed:
that is, of praise and thankfulness for deliverance and salvation, made in a time of trouble and distress; see ( Psalms 66:13 Psalms 66:14 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 (hlht hymd Kl) "tibi silet laus", Pagninus, Vatablus.
F6 "Tibi silentium est et laus", Piscator, Gejerus.
F7 Ebr. Comment. p. 193.

Psalms 65:1 In-Context

1 To victory, the psalm of the song of David. God, praising becometh thee in Zion; and a vow shall be yielded to thee in Jerusalem. (God, praises be due to thee in Zion; and our vows shall be paid to thee in Jerusalem.)

2 Hear thou my prayer; each man shall come to thee. (Hear thou my prayer; let everyone come to thee.)

3 The words of wicked men had the mastery over us; and thou shalt do mercy to our wickednesses. (The words of the wicked had the mastery over us; but thou hath shown mercy toward our wickednesses.)

4 Blessed is he, whom thou hast chosen, and hast taken; he shall dwell in thy foreyards. We shall be [ful]filled with the goods of thine house; thy temple is holy, (Happy is he, whom thou hast chosen, and thou hast brought to live in thy courtyards; and we shall be satisfied with the good things of thy House, yea, of thy holy Temple.)

5 wonderful in equity. God, our health, hear thou us; thou art hope of all coasts of earth, and in the sea afar. (With wonderful things, and with victory, thou answereth us, O God, our salvation/O God, our deliverance; thou art the hope of all who be at the ends of the earth, and who be far across the sea.)